Cichlid tank

[Chinaman0389]

I want to start a jack dempsey tank and I looked I to the caring of cichlids. I wanted to see what you guy said about starting a tank...I have a 55gallon picked out for it and that's all I have now.

[mark razmandi]

I want to start a jack dempsey tank and I looked I to the caring of cichlids. I wanted to see what you guy said about starting a tank...I have a 55gallon picked out for it and that's all I have now.

what kind of filter do you have, or plan on getting. get some pool filter sand from leslies pool supply and then get some driftwood/rocks that look natural and then cycle your tank and you should be good to go.

[cichlid1409]

im guessing you want to put a few dempsey's in there. in which case your 55g will be too small long term. but you could use it for a grow out until they get bigger. gravel,sand or bare bottom doesn't matter. give them some caves and plenty of rocks or driftwood and you'll be fine.

[FrontosaurusRex]

You might want to add extra filtration because in my experience, SA Cichlids are messy. Also, I tried to keep more than one Jack in a tank and one of em killed the other. Sand, rocks, wood, plants and some plecos and you should be able to house them in the 55g for 6 months or so. My Jack grew real quick and within 6 months, he was around 5" or so. Good luck and keep us updated on the progress

[armthehomeless]

I want to start a jack dempsey tank and I looked I to the caring of cichlids. I wanted to see what you guy said about starting a tank...I have a 55gallon picked out for it and that's all I have now.

Chinaman0389-

First of all, welcome to the box!

As others have mentioned, keeping Jack Dempseys in a 55 gallon tank will be too small for a group long term, although you could certainly keep 1 or even a pair in that size tank. Jack Dempeys don't do well in groups anyhow. They tend pair off and become hyper-aggressive to the tankmates. Jack Dempseys make great fish and are relatively forgiving for people just getting into cichlids. It was actually my first cichlid, and had to put up with me learning how to take care of him. Will you want to keep other fish in the same tank with the JDs?

By by way, I'm moving the thread to the CA/SA cichlid section . . . since Jack Dempseys are not African cichlids. :)