# Jack Dempsey & Pleco in 29 gallon tank!



## Fishandpitbulls (May 20, 2015)

It all happened so fast! My friend was moving and getting rid of a 29 gallon including filter, lights and hood for free. I drove to get it and she asked if I wanted to take the fish. I wasn't planning to take them but the lemon-spotted pleco was cool-looking and there was this GORGEOUS, big JD with such bright colors and the next thing I knew I was taking them both with the tank. He wouldn't give me the driftwood so there's literally nothing in there but the fish and I'm panicking. They're doing fine for now and I'll be testing the water and doing a lot of changes, but obviously this can't last. I'm going to LFS to get driftwood tomorrow and hope they can coexist for a few days while I figure this out.

What is the minimum tank size I would need to keep both of them together (is that unrealistic?) Why does the JD need a minimum of 55 gallons?

The guy I got them from was keeping 3 JD's and a common pleco in a 55 gallon and the lemon-spotted pleco and 2 other JDs were in the 29. Too many fish in too little space! But obviously the JD and the pleco CAN coexist.

Anyone have experience with this?


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## james1983 (Dec 23, 2007)

I would say 55 is a minimum size because of the adult size of the fish and they are messy. More water is easier to keep stable compared to smaller tanks. Not to mention sometimes they can get aggressive.


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## Fishandpitbulls (May 20, 2015)

Thanks for your reply! I didn't know what their bioload was compared to other fish. I'm happy to get the larger tank, I just wanted to know why. I'm not worried about aggression. He will be the only fish in the tank. I found a home for the pleco. A friend of mine has a 100 gallon acrylic column tank with 5 little measly tetras in there. Well, I mean, they're big for tetras, but they're small for a tank that size. I guess they've been bullying smaller fish when they try to add them in, but I'm thinking they will probably leave the pleco alone since he's literally 3 times the size of all of them put together. I'm happy for him though. He'll have so much space to swim and he'll be the only algae eater in the tank. Now I just need to get my JD situated and it will be a happy ending for both of them


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