does anyone own jack dempseys or oscars, if so what are your expieriences, i was at my LFS (jacks) and saw these fish and thouhgt they looked really cool, so anyone who has one give me some feedback about taking care of them, there max. length, what they eat, correct tank size, etc..
Jack dempsey? oscars?
- Thread starter adgolde
- Start date
I personally dislike Oscars, and currently own a juvenile Jack Dempsey that I got for free. Another thing I dislike is the popularity of these fish amongst the people who can not provide a proper home for these guys.
He is still looking a bit beat-up but he is getting better.
edit: Forgot to add anything about the actual fish, heh.
My guy is still a baby and is currently being housed in a 55 gallon and with time he will be moved to a 180 gallon. They get about 8”-9” inches and compared to some of the other cichlids I have, JD are not as aggressive (comparing to Green Terror, Buttikoferi, and Red Devils). Food wise, just like all the other aggressive fish these guys are always ready to eat and will eat anything. His basic diet right now consists of Cichlid pellets, Krill, and once or twice a week something along the lines of beefheart.
I would not keep these guys in anything smaller then a 55, I like my fish to actually swim around a little.
Beautiful fish that is fun to watch and to own.
He is still looking a bit beat-up but he is getting better.
edit: Forgot to add anything about the actual fish, heh.
My guy is still a baby and is currently being housed in a 55 gallon and with time he will be moved to a 180 gallon. They get about 8”-9” inches and compared to some of the other cichlids I have, JD are not as aggressive (comparing to Green Terror, Buttikoferi, and Red Devils). Food wise, just like all the other aggressive fish these guys are always ready to eat and will eat anything. His basic diet right now consists of Cichlid pellets, Krill, and once or twice a week something along the lines of beefheart.
I would not keep these guys in anything smaller then a 55, I like my fish to actually swim around a little.
Beautiful fish that is fun to watch and to own.
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I have owned many oscars and a few Jacks over the years. My personal opinion is that A single fish should have a 75g minimum more than one 90g minimum. especially if you keep a scavenger or pleco with them. Both of the fish are awesome IMO the jacks get 8-9 inches as said, the oscars will push 11-14 depending on food, and genetics. 14" oscars are really rare, but they do exist. Some folks would argue that Dempsey's are fine in a 55, having kept them in 55's and in bigger tanks, I found the bigger tanks to be a much better idea. The jack is a little more aggressive than the oscar would be but either one can be quite territorial, and both are tough fish. either one will eat about anything, I used a couple types of prepared pellets, everything you can imagine in the frozen food department, and snails shrimp and guppies as occasional treats. The primary housing concern is that these fish need clean water and good nutrition. They will live in some pretty nasty tanks, but are succeptable to disease and problems in dirty tanks. couple that info with the fact that they are both messy eaters, and big waste producers and you need to be prepared for good maintenance and overfioltration to truly house them well. Both of these breeds are notorious for re-arranging the decor of a tank. Oscars especially will constantly try to re-position plants and rocks to their liking. This problem tends to be way less evident in bigger tanks IME, this is just one more argument for keeping them in larger volumes.
Dave
Dave
Just a thought, You might ask a Mod to move this to the cichlids forum. Many of us look at every forum, but there are some folks who only hit their specialties, and may not see it here.
dave
dave
I've had my Oscar for ~4yrs, I'm not sure of the correct way to measure fish but tip to tip it's at least ~12"s. It's in a 90gal, just him and a Pl*co, he decided thats the only other fish he wants in the tank with him. Even in the 90gal he still decides where and how he wants "his" decorations set up, every now and then when I go and look at the tank he's moved the driftwood or rock set up. I used to keep one of those bendable bubble things in the tank, I would bury it in the gravel and as soon as I let go of it he would dig it up and use it like a dog uses a pull toy, it was pretty funny to watch, overall IMO it's a fun fish.