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I have 5 dempseys in a 55 gallon tank and all they do all day is hide. If i fed them they sprint from 1 hiding sapce to the next trying to get as much food as they can, then hide for a bit, check to make sure the coast is clear then make another mad dash to the next hidding space. Is this normal for dempseys... i though that all cichlids were more active during te day

If they are juveniles, they'll be more timid. Try adding some larger dither fish, such as giant danios, as watchout fish. When the fish have other fish in the tank, they will feel more secure. Silver dollars may work, but they do get a tad bit big and might overcrowd the 55 gallon.

Are you trying to establish a pair?

my JD swims in front of my 55 gallon tank when i come in the room it looks like he wants to eat every second. he is in there with 1 breeding pair of convicts 3 baby convicts 1 oscar 1 green terror and a fire mouth. and a texas cichlid and going to get a pike cichlid and a maganease cichlid.

5 dempseys is asking for trouble in all honesty. Even if you could keep up with maintainance to kepe the water quality good, 5 dempseys will eventually start world war 3. A pair would be nice in a 55, so hold on to the 5 juvies you have and wait until a pair starts to form. Once they do, see if you can trade the other 3 for store credit.

Keep in mind a male dempsey can get anywhere from about 8-10 inches long with some people reporting up to a foot. A female usually tops out at 8 or so. Obviously 5 10 inch monsters is nOT what you are looking for. If you keep them all, the pair will gang up on individuals - or if by chance you have too many males (or not enough actually) vs females the males will fight for dominance and you will have deaths.

as far as dither fish to coax them out of hiding I had success with tiger barabs while my jack was small, but he eventually ate them. I ahve heard of giant danios or buenos aires tetras being used. Alot of people say tinfoil barbs, but they get huge! Also silver dollars are nice and all, but like schools and get half a foot or more.

Good lcuk with your tank!

UPDATE:
i just got back from a few LFSs in the area. I traded in 3 JDs and got 2 Salvini cichlids and 2 green terrors, bringing my tank populatin to 2 JDs, 2 Sallvini, and 2 Green Terrors, oh and 2 clown plecos

There are so many things wrong in this post that I dont know where to start!

Most New World Cichlids are not like Africans where you can pack them into a tank. They need their space. Some of them need a lot of space.

5 JD in a 55 is a bad idea as stated before. Maybe just have a breeding pair but still 55 gallons is not a lot of space for two fish adding up to 18+ inches.

GT also get very big (12+ inches) and can be quite mean. Your stocking for this tank had way too many fish in it.

convicts ~ 5-6 inches
One of the meanest fish when breeding. They have been known to kill much larger fish than themselves.

oscar ~ 13 inches +
green terror ~ 12 inches +
fire mouth ~ 6 inches
texas cichlid ~ 11 inches +
pike cichlid ~ 8 inches
Salvinis ~ 8 inches +
maganease cichlid ~ 13 inches +
JD ~ 8-10 inches


All of these fish are very cool fish and I understand you all wanting them but give them a good home. A 55 gal doesn't cut it for putting them all in it. You are going to end up with WWIII. You might beable to mix a few of these guys if you have maybe a 75 Gal but still that is risky.

For darter fish in a 55 I would say that giant danios and most rainbows would work well because they are so fast.

Good luck everyone. I hope you dont kill to many fish! It might be a good idea to check out some fish profiles before you get too caried away!



Last edited by Wingsdlc at 23-Oct-2005 18:15

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

Hey wings, not to Thread Hijack, but would a JD pair be ok in a 55 gal? I have heard 55 is fine and others have said 75. I saw the idea on one of cichlid-forums cookiee cutter 55 gallon set ups, but some others here have given conflicting info.

If it is ok would some smaller dither fish (barbs, giant danios, ect) be ok or even a good idea? If so can you recomend anything that is appropriate from a biotope aspect (ie. they might actually see each other in the wild)

Thanks, and again sorry if I hijacked the thread, But I did not want to start another thread when this one seemed appropriate

Personaly I would not like to keep a fish that gets to be about 8-10 inches in a tank that is only 12 inches wide. You might be able to keep a breeding pair in a 55. If I were you and wanted to go with a New World Cichlid I would do some reserch and find some smaller guys. (Convicts, firemouths....fish like that....)

As for your dither fish question check out This thread from Calilasseia


Edit: I am by no means the New World Cichlid expert around here. There were just a lot of things I found wrong with what people were talking about doing in this thread.

Last edited by Wingsdlc at 26-Oct-2005 23:17

Last edited by Wingsdlc at 26-Oct-2005 23:17

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

I think a pair of JDs would be fine if it's a breeding pair. Usually breeding pairs would work better together, not fighting as much as a JD and another species.

Many breeders use 55 gallons as breeding tanks for large cichlids, its just mainly because there isnt that much space in fish rooms to provide 75-100 gallons for every species they own.

Yes - a 75+ is no doubt better than a 55, but a 55 would be okay.

Note that there are some 55 gallons that are 48"x14" too (I got one).

48 X 14........ I have never heard of one of thoses.....but they wouuld be much better than the 48 x 12's.

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

Hmmm 48x14?

Does that sacrice height for width? I agree that probably would be better except for maybe angels. Ill look into that since i have not purchased the tank yet.

I may just break down and get the 75 gallon...got to approve it with the boss (wife) first though.

I would say go with a 75 Gallon. I wish I would have.

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric