Jack Dempsey with Yellow Lab?
28 posts • Page 1 of 3
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dream2reef - Posts: 521
- Joined: Sun Jun 20, 2010 4:19 am
Jack Dempsey with Yellow Lab?
Could that happen? Please say yes! I know I have a long hard expensive road ahead with the JD but he's sooo big and sooooo cool and I got him for free dollars! pics coming soon!
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yasherkoach - Posts: 1306
- Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:24 pm
Jack Dempsey, adult size: 10 inches, is territorial and will eat smaller fish that they can swallow.
Yellow Lab/Electric Yellow Cichlid, adult size: 5 inches, will act aggressively towards fish of similar body shape and color perceived to be a threat for food and mate plus displays distinct social and territorial behaviors.
so compatible?
Dempsey is aggressive...Lab is semi-aggressive. The only possible way around this, is each side of the tank has many levels of caves/ledges...minimum of 50 gallons, preferably 90 gallons.
BUt if I was you...I'd forget the idea, for it's a 50-50 gamble.
Yellow Lab/Electric Yellow Cichlid, adult size: 5 inches, will act aggressively towards fish of similar body shape and color perceived to be a threat for food and mate plus displays distinct social and territorial behaviors.
so compatible?
Dempsey is aggressive...Lab is semi-aggressive. The only possible way around this, is each side of the tank has many levels of caves/ledges...minimum of 50 gallons, preferably 90 gallons.
BUt if I was you...I'd forget the idea, for it's a 50-50 gamble.
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EazyE - Posts: 8
- Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 11:20 pm
NOT compatible. Dempsey: large carnivore, messy as hell and needs lots of space.
Yellow Lab: Hard water, medium sized African Mbuna, herbivore.
If Mbuna are fed high protein foods ( which the Dempsey will require ), eventually it will lead to Malawi Bloat and you will lose it if the Demspey hasn't eaten it already. Not even 50/50 IMO unless you consider keeping them alive for less than their lifespan okay.
Yellow Lab: Hard water, medium sized African Mbuna, herbivore.
If Mbuna are fed high protein foods ( which the Dempsey will require ), eventually it will lead to Malawi Bloat and you will lose it if the Demspey hasn't eaten it already. Not even 50/50 IMO unless you consider keeping them alive for less than their lifespan okay.
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yasherkoach - Posts: 1306
- Joined: Sat Jul 26, 2008 1:24 pm
50-50 if the tank is very large, say around 90 gallons and there are caves/edges on each side of the tank, that is, one side of the tank for the dempsey and the other far side for the Lab...but is it worth the chance? I agree with you, I would vote against such two fish only because the dempsey is aggressive and the lab is semi-aggressive, and furthermore, the dempsey is 10 inches and the lab is 5 inches (that is, at adult size)...it's a gamble, but I don't believe it is worth it
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tekneb - Posts: 211
- Joined: Fri Apr 16, 2010 3:45 am
My dad has a JD, the thing is extremely smart, an absolute beast when its territory is threatened, and is only about 3 inches right now, so not even close to full size. Right now we keep it with an Oscar twice its size, and they don't bother each other. However, we used to have an Oscar that was a little smaller then the JD, and the JD harassed it to the point where we returned the Oscar to the LFS. Bottom line, don't put anything smaller then the JD in with the JD, it'll tear it apart.
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dream2reef - Posts: 521
- Joined: Sun Jun 20, 2010 4:19 am
Yea yea yea yea I know allll about em. My step dad had one years ago small lil guy bout 3 or 4 inches. He lived with 4 piranhas and 2 oscars in a 55 gallon with minimal hiding spots. But this guy is in a 110 gal with plenty of hiding places and whatnot some vegetation which I like them to have. So I did it. The dempseys 7 or 8 inch. The labs about 5 now. Got some other random ones from random lakes. I have 3 times the hiding places as fish. I think that will help with the territorial issues some (cpt. obvious)lol. I acclimated all of them suspended in the transport devices (plastic bags) for around 2 hrs. so they could see each other and go nuts and calm down. Meanwhile the jack was real curious. I tore down the entire tank AGAIN! For obvious territory deconstruction. Let them all go while tore down. I rebuilt it as they expored so they'd get used to me right away. I'm the hand that feeds them. So far so good. They are pretty used to each other. Occasional chase or stalk. Well see. Good thing I have a hospital tank lol. I'll have to post some pics when I get some time. I'm very excited about this new world of fishery and whatnot! It was kinda an accidental thing traded a piranha and 30g for a 110 and hundred bucks. Got the demsey and pleco free! He's gorgeous! I'd like to wait and let them get fully colored up. They may be already idk much about these guys yet.
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dream2reef - Posts: 521
- Joined: Sun Jun 20, 2010 4:19 am
So here are so quick shots. The dang water is hazy so the scratches so up more and don't pay attention to the substrate lol. But here are most of the cichlids I picked up. Only one didn't show up for the photo-op....
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EazyE - Posts: 8
- Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2008 11:20 pm
That first fish I can't ID by pic. Almost looks to be a hybrid M. Auratus to me. The second one is P. Crabro. This fish grows to nearly 8" and is one of the " killer 3 "... crabro, kenyi, auratus. All 3 of these are common in pet stores.. I don't know why.
Crabro gets big and mean. It will bully the Dempsey eventually. They don't retain that nice yellow coloration for life and eventually turn nearly black when in full display. If you like that golden stripe look, find yourself a Neolamprologus sexfasciatus ( Tanganyikan cichlid with a much more easygoing disposition )
Auratus is one of the most aggressive Africans there are. They WILL kill every fish they can. When kept, you need to pack this fish in there. They do best with their own kind, with 1 male to 3-5 females. Same with Kenyi.
You have an OB peacock... they may work with the JD. Both are carnivores and the peacocks will hold their own. Blue peacocks may harass the JD for spawning aggression, which may lead to your JD getting injured.
These fish are from completely different environments and lead different styles of lives. JDs live singly and with loose pair bonds with a single other fish. Mbuna live in dense populations and spend their time guarding areas of rock covered in algae and courting females into their territory.
The point of all this is understanding the way the fish behave, and keeping them in way that suits them will make your tank an environment where the fish thrive, rather than a holding tank for stressed fish that are killing eachother. Headache for them, headache for you.
You have sooo many options to choose from with that tank. South America has alot more to offer than JDs. Check out the Eartheaters ( Geophagus sp. ), especially " Tapajos Red ".
In the African category you can go nuts. Pack that thing with rock ( texas holy rock looks great ), and choose 5-7 species of Mbuna ( ciclid-forum.com has an excellent index of fishes ), and keep them 1 male to 3-5 female ratio for a total of 40-50 fish. They should be packed in there, so that no one fish can be targeted for long.
Crabro gets big and mean. It will bully the Dempsey eventually. They don't retain that nice yellow coloration for life and eventually turn nearly black when in full display. If you like that golden stripe look, find yourself a Neolamprologus sexfasciatus ( Tanganyikan cichlid with a much more easygoing disposition )
Auratus is one of the most aggressive Africans there are. They WILL kill every fish they can. When kept, you need to pack this fish in there. They do best with their own kind, with 1 male to 3-5 females. Same with Kenyi.
You have an OB peacock... they may work with the JD. Both are carnivores and the peacocks will hold their own. Blue peacocks may harass the JD for spawning aggression, which may lead to your JD getting injured.
These fish are from completely different environments and lead different styles of lives. JDs live singly and with loose pair bonds with a single other fish. Mbuna live in dense populations and spend their time guarding areas of rock covered in algae and courting females into their territory.
The point of all this is understanding the way the fish behave, and keeping them in way that suits them will make your tank an environment where the fish thrive, rather than a holding tank for stressed fish that are killing eachother. Headache for them, headache for you.
You have sooo many options to choose from with that tank. South America has alot more to offer than JDs. Check out the Eartheaters ( Geophagus sp. ), especially " Tapajos Red ".
In the African category you can go nuts. Pack that thing with rock ( texas holy rock looks great ), and choose 5-7 species of Mbuna ( ciclid-forum.com has an excellent index of fishes ), and keep them 1 male to 3-5 female ratio for a total of 40-50 fish. They should be packed in there, so that no one fish can be targeted for long.
