Jack Dempsey Biotype?

[mkbuckham]

I was recently given Two Jack Dempseys by a freind before she moved. I have learned allott in the last several days and would like to learn more. I am verry intresed in setting up a biotype. The JD's are two inches for now and the local fish store has almost anything. I bought a 29 gallon tall but I do not know what other inhabatints I can Mix. I would like to attemot live plants. (I have a 55 gallon community with lots of plants and I love it.) I will also need an algae crew other than pleco ( I was told they eat fish eggs in the middle of the night.) In summary if anyone has advice, words of wisdom, links to helpful sites or suggestions about how to create a South American slow water Biotype please help

Thanks,
Michael

 

[NickH]

For biotope ideas check out Monga Bay.

You may or may not know that JD's can attain 10 inches in length. To successfully keep a full grown pair you are going to need a a larger tank.

As far as algae eaters, anything that could live with a JD without getting eaten/killed is going to end up eating the eggs. Unless anyone else has an idea...?

 

[mkbuckham]

Thank You Nick
The link is not working but I will keep trying to go contact mongobay.com. My plan is to upgrade to a 55 as soon as possible. A fish like these deserve more room but are only two inches long currently. Checked out your tank, looks awsome. If you have any more advice it is greatly appriciated.

Thanks
Michael

 

[daveedka]

As far as algae eaters, anything that could live with a JD without getting eaten/killed is going to end up eating the eggs. Unless anyone else has an idea...?

This is petty much the case, snails will help but with JD's the population will never get very big, and snails are extremely slow. If you don't get live plants, an apple snail or two may survive, but I've been told they are very hard on plants. Even the bitter tasting plants will suffer. I haven't tried Apple snails but have been told they don't work out with any plant.

My plan is to upgrade to a 55 as soon as possible. A fish like these deserve more room but are only two inches long currently.

Just my thoughts and experiences
IMO if you haven't bought anything yet for the upgrade, I'd go with a 75 or 90 ( 48x18 footprint) the cost difference isn't huge, and a 10 inch fish will be much much happier in an 18" deep tank. If you get a 55 you will find yourself wishing it was bigger Both of these tanks are the sme length so it usually isn't difficult to make a 75 fit where a 55 was. The JD's can and often do live comfortably in a 55 but they would be much better off in a wider tank. Jd's don't grow at an extremely rapid rate (compared to fish like Oscars) So you have a little time to save up and plan.

 

[NickH]

Checked out your tank, looks awsome.

Thanks!

The link is not working but I will keep trying to go contact mongobay.com.

Yeah, it wasn't working yesterday but seems to be working today. I found the site helpful...Here is the biotope page:

http://www.mongabay.com/fish/biotope.htm

I agree with daveedka, an 18" wide tank would be a huge upgrade for keeping larger cichlids.