[richardsville]

Jack Dempsey's are great. There is only one problem. They get big fast. My first recommendation is to not get skimpy on the tank size. Start big, 55 gal at least. The fish will even out grow that eventually. They grow fast, so 30 gallons gets small after 6 months or so. Get a couple of them. They also go great with Texas cichlids and Oscar's. Feed the pellets and guppies. The best way to get guppies is to get a 10 gal tank with a small filter and heater. Buy 20 guppies and wait for them to start spawning. It shouldn't take long and you will have a great feeder tank. Buying minnows or goldfish at the store can sometimes spread disease to your fish. They like to move rocks and plants, so don't plan on your tank looking orderly all the time.

Good luck...just post any ?'s you may have!

Jeff

[sunny]

Thanks for the helpful info!

[warren4066]

Jack Dempseys are a good start, but if you can start big with a larger tank becuause you'll need it later on anyways. The bigger the better. All fish growth are due to the tank size. So if you keep it in a 20g, it will only get so big that it won't grow ne more. Jack's are fairly easy to maintain and they don't get sick easily either. Books don't really tell you too much of what you really need to know. It tells you the basic only.

[sick-lids]

tank size has nothin to do with fish growth. my dempsey is in a 30 gal. and is just as big as one in a 150 gal. but anyways i feed mine hikari medium pellets about 7 of them, and red minnows when im on business trips. i also have a pair of pink cinvicts with him, but he doesnt seem to mind them. they had fry and man-o-man there is a lot.