# 55g New World tank



## TCNFishtivities (Jul 28, 2010)

Let me know what you guys think!

1 Electric Blue Jack Dempsey
2 Jack Dempsey
2 Convicts
1 Green Terror
1 Dragon fish
2 Plecos
1 YoYo loach

(Taken on a cell phone)










The biggest Jack Dempsey and the EBJD up close


----------



## Trevor55 (Jan 9, 2009)

I like your tank! What is a dragon fish? :fish:

trevor


----------



## TCNFishtivities (Jul 28, 2010)

real ugly bottom lurking fish, but i like him cause he digs real deep into the sand and makes cool boroughs


----------



## duds (Apr 16, 2010)

That tank will seem pretty cozy as the fish grow. Any backup plans if the aggression level gets too high? I'd hate to see you lose that EBJD, it's a beauty :thumb: . A couple more caves or other hiding places may help for a bit, but you'll likely need to get a bigger tank or split the fish up after a while.


----------



## TCNFishtivities (Jul 28, 2010)

yeah i understand they're all aggressive fish and technically SHOULDNT be able to get big and all live together but im hoping since i started them all young, it'll work. the EBJD is my favorite so the only plan is to do whatever i need to in order to keep him alive lol


----------



## Walter&amp;Norm&amp;Luke (Jul 28, 2010)

Marshall is a boss.


----------



## PepoLD (Dec 9, 2009)

TCNFishtivities said:


> yeah i understand they're all aggressive fish and technically SHOULDNT be able to get big and all live together but im hoping since i started them all young, it'll work. the EBJD is my favorite so the only plan is to do whatever i need to in order to keep him alive lol


Well the EBJD is way weaker than regular JD's.. not to tell GT,

Id keep an eye close and remove a JD or the GT as soon as you notice any hint of agression towards the EBJD.

I didnt got the "technically shouldnt be able to get big" but they will grow, and territory will be an issue in a few months (GTs grow very slow, but JD grows pretty quick, and agression comes along with sexual maturity).

Id also remove at least 1 Pleco or even both (unless you really like them)... they poop like crazy!!

clown loaches live better in groups of 5 of more, no clue about YoYo ones, but my first guess would be the same.

nice looking EBJD btw!


----------



## TCNFishtivities (Jul 28, 2010)

here another picture of him


----------



## chrispyweld (Dec 20, 2005)

Most people will recommend a 55g for a lone pair o JD's. My GT will be in a 55g by itself out of necessity before long. I had to do the same with my last one due to aggression. I moved it to a 125g and it claimed 2/3 of that while living with many of the same fish you have stocked and some much larger. A breeding pair of cons will take up half a 55g when breeding easily if not more. Your EBJD will not have the tools or attitude to compete with much of anything in that tank.

I think you have little chance of long term success with those fish and by cramming them together during the time of their highest growth potential you will end up with fish that do not meet their full potential in size or coloration.

I would recommend getting rid of half of your fish very soon. If it was my tank I would try the pair of cons with a single JD (if you choose the EBJD i would keep a divider handy just in case) or with the GT and hope it works long term because they are great fish.

Another option I would look at would be the three JD's and hope a pair forms if you are not sure of sexes. You might get some blue gene JD's which are valuable to the right person or you can line breed your on Electric blues and you get to see the breeding behavior of New World's

Ditch one plec unless they are a smaller variety. I would leave the other non cichlids in if you are comfortable with the possibility they wont make it but might.

Just giving you my honest opinion take it as you will. No offense intended.


----------



## mlancaster (Jul 24, 2009)

Hi *TCNFishtivities*,

*chrispyweld* gives some good advice, the fish you have have potential to live together but not all of them in one 55g. You do have the advantage of seeing how they pair up and treat each other to make a good decision.

Regarding your tank, I really like the look of you tank. As others have noted you should add a few more caves, probably in the back or front corners. If you do not mind clay pots they will work well. I think the fake plants look great, however based on your stocking i would consider adding some more tall fake plants and making sort of a wall in the middle of the tank to provide more escape routs for fish being chased. Finally a black background will really bring you tank together. I think it looks great as is, but will need some more cave/plants for the amount of fish you have.

Keep us posted on your thoughts.

Thanks,
Matt


----------



## TCNFishtivities (Jul 28, 2010)

thanks for all the advice, no offense taken. im in the stage where im figuring out which fish get along or go well together, and i'm really hoping that the EBJD and JD pictured can make it together more than anything. i have a number of 55g's i can any fish into so we'll just see how things go. the dynamics of everything havent changed yet although i know they probably will once they get bigger


----------



## mlancaster (Jul 24, 2009)

Hi *TCNFishtivities*,

The JD pictured looks nice, do you know if it is a male or female? Do you have a cleare shot of him/her?

Thanks,
Matt


----------



## jturkey69 (Jun 6, 2011)

sorry for the thread revival, but I was wondering how your dragonfish is doing, and what happened with your set-up over the almost last year?

we just bought a dragonfish, as my wife really wanted one, and just walking by the fish tanks at WALMART of all places!!!...I never want to buy a fish from there, but for some reason something bigger caught my eye, and lo and behold, 4 dragon fish in one of the cubes!!....so I grabbed one for 6.78

and then figured I would look at the cichlid tank just to see how many are dead from poor stocking, and found 4 that look like haps/peacocks??...again....one caught my eye as it was dark black convict looking (1.5") and had blue gill plates, then went almost white when I started to try to cath it...so he/she is now in my wifes growout tank with an acei and ob peacock...lol


----------

