How's My Plan

**Yankee** · 01-25-2007, 11:23 PM

Hi
I've been planning a 55gal. tank for a Jack Dempsey and another cichlid. This is a tenitive shopping list. See what you think and tweek it if you think I need to: Eheim classic model 2215 / 164gpm. , Emperor filter model 400/400 gpm. , wisper 60 air pump , visi-therm 200w. heater .
Do I need more filteration?

Thanks for your help.
Yankee

**blue fin** · 01-25-2007, 11:31 PM

Sounds pretty good to me... I have the 2215 and an aquaclear 110 running 75 gal, but it depends on how heavily you populate the tank also..

**Cichlid_Man** · 01-25-2007, 11:33 PM

Originally Posted by Yankee

Hi
I've been planning a 55gal. tank for a Jack Dempsey and another cichlid. This is a tenitive shopping list. See what you think and tweek it if you think I need to: Eheim classic model 2215 / 164gpm. , Emperor filter model 400/400 gpm. , wisper 60 air pump , visi-therm 200w. heater .
Do I need more filteration?

Thanks for your help.
Yankee

I think your choices are excellent.
You have way more filtration then you need...just the way I like it!

You can never have too much filtration.

Either one of those filters would be ample alone, but go for it!

**Yankee** · 01-25-2007, 11:33 PM

I was just thinking a Jack and another cichlid of the same size.
Thanks

**Glasstapper** · 01-26-2007, 02:06 AM

as for your other cichlid, usually another central american or south american cichlid of similar size that is of equal aggression. Those two should probably be the only two in the tank unless you wanted to try some tiger barbs as "distractions", but don't be surprised if they get eaten later on down the road.

You could try a male and female pair of dempseys, or a green terror, or a convict, or a texas cichlid, or maybe an oscar. None of those are guarantees, though, and will always require monitoring. Keep the temp a little on the low side, and have tons of tall plants and decorations in their line of view of each other to help cut back on their aggression.

From experience, I can say that the electric blue jack dempsey variation is much more peaceful than the regular jack dempsey, so if you happen to think about wanting one of those, go with more peaceful cichlids as tankmates for the blue.

**jeffs99dime** · 01-26-2007, 02:10 AM

Originally Posted by Glasstapper

as for your other cichlid, usually another central american or south american cichlid of similar size that is of equal aggression. Those two should probably be the only two in the tank unless you wanted to try some tiger barbs as "distractions", but don't be surprised if they get eaten later on down the road.

You could try a male and female pair of dempseys, or a green terror, or a convict, or a texas cichlid, or maybe an oscar. None of those are guarantees, though, and will always require monitoring. Keep the temp a little on the low side, and have tons of tall plants and decorations in their line of view of each other to help cut back on their aggression.

From experience, I can say that the electric blue jack dempsey variation is much more peaceful than the regular jack dempsey, so if you happen to think about wanting one of those, go with more peaceful cichlids as tankmates for the blue.

to add to what glasstapper stated; ALL CICHLIDS CAN BE AGGRESSIVE AT ANY TIME FOR ANY REASON, INCLUDING DWARF CICHLIDS. IT'S JUST THEIR NATURE

**Glasstapper** · 01-26-2007, 02:28 AM

^^^^ that guy knows! :)

No, you certainly can't ever predict any cichlid's behavior. I'm currently experiencing this for myself right now.

**Yankee** · 01-26-2007, 11:06 AM

Is it possible to tell the sex when they are small?
Thanks for the info. Computers are great for this stuff!

**Glasstapper** · 01-26-2007, 04:02 PM

It depends on which species you're trying to sex. On some, the only difference is the male will be larger with extended dorsal and anal fins and the female will be smaller with rounded fins. On other species, the male has bright colors while the female stays drab and colorless. And others you just really can't tell until a pair has formed and you see which one lays the eggs and which one fertilizes. It's different for a lot of cichlids.

**Ascendant** · 01-27-2007, 09:31 AM

Is the whisper air-pump going to be used in air-stones, or are you going to run some kind of airpowered internal filtration, like a box or sponge filter?