Jack Dempsey
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Scientific Name: Rocio octofasciata Price: Upon Request Origin: Central America Family: Cichlidae NOT AVAILABLE NOW |
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Other Names: ack Dempsey cichlid, Nandopsis octofasciatum. |
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Technical Info
Temperature: 22 - 28 ℃
pH: 6.5 - 7.5
GH: 8 - 12
Max size: 25 cm
Min Tank size: 400 Ltr
Position in Aqua: No special swimming level
Description
The body of the Jack Dempsey is stocky and compact. Adults are striking colored having a dark purple-gray background contrasted with brilliant iridescent blue, green, and gold flecks. Males develop long pointed dorsal and anal fins and may also have a round black spot in the center of the body and at the base of the tail. Juveniles are less brilliant, having light gray or tan background with faint turquoise flecks. If stressed or moody these fish can exhibit great color change in the aquarium, and also with age. Stressed fish will be lighter and their spots will be less striking.
Food
Since they are omnivorous, the Jack Dempsey will generally eat all kinds of live, fresh, and flake or pelleted foods. They get quite large so they should be fed a high quality pelleted food and large chunk foods such as meat or fish.
Breeding
Within a group, a pair can take up to a year to decide to pair off and breed. Give your Jack Dempseys as large a tank as possible. If the male gets too rough, the female needs room to get away. Provide plenty of cover, such as rocks, caves and fake plants (if you have to). They're substrate spawners, and like many Central American cichlids, you can expect many fry! Both parents will help incubate the eggs and guard the fry when they hatch.
Compatible with
Their aggressive behaviour means it can be difficult to find suitable tank mates to live with them. They are very territorial and when kept in the aquarium they claim part of the tank as their own defend it against intruders. They will eat smaller fish such as guppies, therefore any tank mate should be around the same size or bigger. These fish can also be aggressive towards their own kind. The level of aggression in these fish tends to increase as they get older. These fish also enjoy digging and eating the aquarium plants.
Note
The Jack Dempsey Cichlid gets its name from the boxer of the same name, they got this name due to their aggressive nature.