# Black Belt and Jack Dempsy



## eric_roberts1969 (Jun 16, 2010)

I have a Black Belt and a Jack Dempsey Cichlid In a 55 gal. tank . could anyone tell me how big the black belt will get and If these two are compatible tank mates . I have had cichlids in the past . How many can i have in a 55 gal . And what are good companions with a jack dempsey . The black belt seems a little crazy . And Killed a 4 inch tigher oscar I had in with them . Any input would be wonderful . Eric


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## spxsk (Mar 29, 2006)

Well it is possible for your Black Belt to get 12" so you are going to need a bigger tank ASAP. Likely it will kill the JD in that tank too. They are really awesome fish and get nice girth as well as length, but will ultimately suffer and die an early death in a 55. Sorry to pass on the bad news. Hopefully you can get your hands on a bigger tank though!


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## mlancaster (Jul 24, 2009)

Hi *eric_roberts1969*,

Black belts get to be large at around 16 inches and will likely be too big for your 55g as it is probably only a foot wide.

Some other options to go with you JD in your 55g tank would be: convict, fire-mouth, salvini .....

None of these are a sure bet as cichlids have very different temperaments and it will be a tight fit in a 55g, seeing as JDs can get to be 10 inches.

I would contemplate getting a JD of the opposite sex for your current JD and letting the pair live in the 55g with some dither fish such as giant danios.

Try posting in the central American cichlid section of the forum, you will receive much better advice concerning these central American cichlids.

If you have any pictures please post them.

Thanks,
Matt


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## cage623 (Feb 2, 2008)

I have to agree with everyone else. I would love to have a BB some day but they get much too large for the tank you have. They are also very aggressive fish, your JD in compairison is not. JDs are for sure tough fish but is no match for a larger more aggressive tankmate like a blackbelt. I would remove the blackbelt and find your JD some new tankmates. IMO a pair would work well but that tank is a bit small for that (75 would be better) but it can work. Good luck.


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## Electrophyste (Aug 5, 2009)

mlancaster said:


> Hi *eric_roberts1969*,
> I would contemplate getting a JD of the opposite sex for your current JD and letting the pair live in the 55g with some dither fish such as giant danios.


Please... dont even put a JD in a 55 gallon....... they get much too large!

i had a jack i had sold about three months ago and he was WAY too large for a 55. i had him in a 45 gallon, same footprint as a 55 only less tall, and i felt horrible and he was only in there till i could re-home the inhabitants of my 110gall.

small tank + one big fish = JAIL CELL for the fish....


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## RyanR (Apr 29, 2008)

You'll need a 125g to even consider having a tankmate for the BB.

-Ryan


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## wpk22 (Jan 17, 2010)

Electrophyste said:


> mlancaster said:
> 
> 
> > Hi *eric_roberts1969*,
> ...


i disagree with the jd statement


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## Briguy (Aug 10, 2009)

wpk22 said:


> Electrophyste said:
> 
> 
> > mlancaster said:
> ...


I agree with your disagreement. I currently have a pair of JD's in a 33 gallon while I am trying to rehome a couple of fish. No issues.


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## conoholic (Nov 12, 2005)

um i disagree.. jacks should be in a tank no less then a 75. a 55 to me is way to small for them. my lfs has a pair in a 55 that breeds or did breed for them regalersly, and the male was a foot long and female 8 inches and the 55 looked way to small for them, a female MAY be fine considering she wont reach as big as a male will, but a male in a 55 is asking for trouble,


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## Briguy (Aug 10, 2009)

conoholic said:


> um i disagree.. jacks should be in a tank no less then a 75. a 55 to me is way to small for them. my lfs has a pair in a 55 that breeds or did breed for them regalersly, and the male was a foot long and female 8 inches and the 55 looked way to small for them, a female MAY be fine considering she wont reach as big as a male will, but a male in a 55 is asking for trouble,


How much of a difference is a 55 gallon going to a 75 gallon? 20 gallons obviously but really for a pair of JD's and 55 is plenty large enough and is commonly acceptable by JD keepers.

Also I have never seen a 12" JD.


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## wpk22 (Jan 17, 2010)

Briguy said:


> wpk22 said:
> 
> 
> > Electrophyste said:
> ...


I dont agree with statement either, a 33 is WAY TOO SMALL


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## Briguy (Aug 10, 2009)

All aquariums are "jail cells" for fish. That's why we call it "Captivity"

A breeding pair of JD's typically take up 3 feet of territory. A 33 gallon is 3 feet long. A 55 gallon is a bit longer, at 40" I think. A 75 gallon can be 4 or 5 feet long. The foot print is more relevant than the total volume. Really what is a few inches give or take to a 8" fish in a glass box? :fish:


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## spxsk (Mar 29, 2006)

Get in your car, drive out of the drive way and do a three point turn in the street to change directions, then drive back into your driveway and do the same three point turn, OK, OK, too tight, you can get turned around in more turns if you need to. OK, turned around now? Now you know what it is like for a fish that is nearly as long, or longer than a tank is wide. it is not the gallons most times, it is the foot print those gallons are held in. If you give the fish room to move, and get around easily, they will reward you with nearly natural behavior, both every day behavior and breeding behavior.

Please think of this fish as much as you think of your entertainment, they will reward you for it.


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## Briguy (Aug 10, 2009)

spxsk said:


> Get in your car, drive out of the drive way and do a three point turn in the street to change directions, then drive back into your driveway and do the same three point turn, OK, OK, too tight, you can get turned around in more turns if you need to. OK, turned around now? Now you know what it is like for a fish that is nearly as long, or longer than a tank is wide. it is not the gallons most times, it is the foot print those gallons are held in. If you give the fish room to move, and get around easily, they will reward you with nearly natural behavior, both every day behavior and breeding behavior.
> 
> Please think of this fish as much as you think of your entertainment, they will reward you for it.


I can actually do a 3 point turn in my driveway 
JD's aren't as long as a tank is wide, 33 gallons or larger.
There is nothing natural about keeping fish in a glass box with bright lights shining on them.


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## spxsk (Mar 29, 2006)

I am happy you can get that done in your driveway, but I am sure you understood the frustration of having to do that in a driveway you cannot pull off a 3 point turn, this is what the fish feel. You are right, it is not natural to keep fish in a glass box, but if you can, then you should provide the most natural existence you can for the fish.

Work toward biotope aquarium keeping.


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## wpk22 (Jan 17, 2010)

Briguy said:


> All aquariums are "jail cells" for fish. That's why we call it "Captivity"
> 
> A breeding pair of JD's typically take up 3 feet of territory. A 33 gallon is 3 feet long. A 55 gallon is a bit longer, at 40" I think. A 75 gallon can be 4 or 5 feet long. The foot print is more relevant than the total volume. Really what is a few inches give or take to a 8" fish in a glass box? :fish:


a standard 55 gallon is 48 inches long and 13 inches wide. a 33 gallon tank, that is 3 feet long is too small no matter how you flatter it


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## Briguy (Aug 10, 2009)

OK...I understand the point of view for what is an acceptable size aquarium to keep fish in...but not one of you can tell me why a 48"x12" foot print is better than a 36"x12" foot print for an 8" fish.


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## spxsk (Mar 29, 2006)

If you look at the fish in the wild, see the territory it will defend/eat/breed in, then you will find that it is larger than 36" and likely larger than 48"x48" so more is better here.


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## cage623 (Feb 2, 2008)

Larger tanks are always better, PERIOD. Why is it that people get so defensive about this, it is a fact. The main two reason I have for this statement are health/stress of the fish and water conditions. I am sure that people can easily come up with equally important reasons.

More space for a fish, especially territorial fish like cichilds, makes a large difference on their stress level and thus their health and well being. I lived in a dorm room for 3 years with my same college roommate. It was a cramped space, I can only imagine if I never was able to leave my cramped room I would have been very stressed. This stress would have been made worse if I didn't get along with my roommate. This is like fish, they don't get to leave there cramped spaces ever so an extra foot is a huge difference, like if you would have shortened my dorm room by 25%. I bring up me and my roommate getting along because if we had not then this would have been like keeping fish together that don't get along either. Keeping aggressive cichlids in the same tank raised stress levels as well, so they need their own territories to feel safer.

The second point, and perhaps more important one, is water conditions. It is obvious that water will stay at a more constant state when you have more of it. You will see little changes when you have more water compared to larger swings in water perimeters with smaller tanks. A single JD will always produce the same amount of waste in a week. So you will have to do more of a percentage of water change weekly to keep up in a smaller tank versus having a larger tank that will be effected less.

I am not saying I am perfect by any means, I have been told my common pleco is not happy in the 72 gallon I had him in (I have moved him recently to a LFS that had a 125 show tank), but I understand why people would say that and don't get all defensive and choice not to listen to common sense. Smaller tanks short term are sometimes a necessity for various reasons but the key is short term and making sure that for the long term you have the best environment to suit your fish you chose to keep.


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