# Electric Blue Jack Dempsey and Tiger Oscar?



## Sj45 (Jan 5, 2009)

Will they get along or will this not work, was thinking 55 gallon. Moving my other fish to a 20 gallon spare tank. (after I get it cycled)


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## donatar (Jan 6, 2009)

Jacks are pretty mean from what I have read, But really the Oscar just by itself needs at least 75 gallon tank long wise.


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## Sj45 (Jan 5, 2009)

donatar said:


> Jacks are pretty mean from what I have read, But really the Oscar just by itself needs at least 75 gallon tank long wise.


kk, thanks


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## conger (Feb 2, 2008)

I think standard 55 gallon and 75 gallon tanks are the same length, 4'. 75 gallon is deeper front-to-back, and a 90 gallon is deeper top-to-bottom than a 55/75 (but still 4' long). However, it maybe true that Oscars need a tank larger than 55 gallons, as I am not familiar with Oscars.

Just to share some personal experience, I kept a Jack Dempsey for a little over two years before having to give it to my LFS as I was moving across the country :-(. I kept him in a tank with several other fish that normally it shouldn't be kept with (not a danger to the JD, but that a JD might be likely to kill), but I gave him a nice, large, intricate rock cave to live in, and he happily stayed almost exclusively in his cave. Never bothered another soul. I think the JD's temper might be tested if he does not have a cave to call his own, and is forced to constantly share swimming/living space. Then again, fish have their own personalities, so maybe I had a relatively docile (or apathetic ) JD.

Now, an Oscar could probably hold it's own against a JD from what I know about them (the JD might be the one who is in danger), but each of those fish by themselves would need at least a 55 gallon tank, so I can't imagine being able to house two of them in the same 55 without having them tussle a bit if not worse. But, maybe there's hope if you can provide a large cave that the JD can reside in (again, I say this not having any experience or knowledge about Oscars). Hopefully someone else chimes in, I'm curious to hear what others think!


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## Sj45 (Jan 5, 2009)

conger said:


> I think standard 55 gallon and 75 gallon tanks are the same length, 4'. 75 gallon is deeper front-to-back, and a 90 gallon is deeper top-to-bottom than a 55/75 (but still 4' long). However, it maybe true that Oscars need a tank larger than 55 gallons, as I am not familiar with Oscars.
> 
> Just to share some personal experience, I kept a Jack Dempsey for a little over two years before having to give it to my LFS as I was moving across the country :-(. I kept him in a tank with several other fish that normally it shouldn't be kept with (not a danger to the JD, but that a JD might be likely to kill), but I gave him a nice, large, intricate rock cave to live in, and he happily stayed almost exclusively in his cave. Never bothered another soul. I think the JD's temper might be tested if he does not have a cave to call his own, and is forced to constantly share swimming/living space. Then again, fish have their own personalities, so maybe I had a relatively docile (or apathetic ) JD.
> 
> Now, an Oscar could probably hold it's own against a JD from what I know about them (the JD might be the one who is in danger), but each of those fish by themselves would need at least a 55 gallon tank, so I can't imagine being able to house two of them in the same 55 without having them tussle a bit if not worse. But, maybe there's hope if you can provide a large cave that the JD can reside in (again, I say this not having any experience or knowledge about Oscars). Hopefully someone else chimes in, I'm curious to hear what others think!


wow, thanks for posting  very informative. Like you said I'd be pushing it, but the cave is an interesting mention although seeing Jd's go for $50+ I myself would hate to see them fighting...beautiful fish though.


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

As an eighteen year old (man, that was sooo long ago) I kept a JD with an Oscar in a 100g along with some redtail tinfoils. I never witnessed a shuffle but I purchased them all as teeny tiny youngsters. I had them for about a year before I moved to another state and couldn't take them with me. After learning what I have here on the forum I would not do it again. In time I'm sure my 100g would have turned into a boxing ring. I agree with you..beautiful fish.


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## Sj45 (Jan 5, 2009)

aunt kymmie said:


> As an eighteen year old (man, that was sooo long ago) I kept a JD with an Oscar in a 100g along with some redtail tinfoils. I never witnessed a shuffle but I purchased them all as teeny tiny youngsters. I had them for about a year before I moved to another state and couldn't take them with me. After learning what I have here on the forum I would not do it again. In time I'm sure my 100g would have turned into a boxing ring. I agree with you..beautiful fish.


gosh kymmie, your all over the forums  yah, I'm afraid as they'd mature I'd end up w/ serious problems...then again kymmie - a 100g is much larger than a 55.


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## conger (Feb 2, 2008)

They are indeed beautiful fish  One of my favorites for freshwater. I got mine when it was pretty small, maybe 1.5", and by the time I had to give him up, he had grown to almost 7"! I hated having to give him up, but there was no way for me to keep him as I moved from Florida to New Mexico :-(.


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## conger (Feb 2, 2008)

Finally found it, here's a pic of my Jack Dempsey that I took back in Feb. 2008, a couple of months before I had to move. He was awesome! You can see the cave I had for him too, he stayed in the right side mostly, you can see how he dug out the sand :-D


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

Awwww...nice fish! Sorry you had to let him go. Did his awesome digs get to go with? Quite the cave set up!


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## conger (Feb 2, 2008)

yeah, i brought the tank and rocks and stuff with me. I don't know the weight in rocks for that tank, but its a bunch... there was more off to the left of the picture above. Every couple of months I take all the rocks out of the tank to do a thorough clean, so I get to re-aquascape it each time I do that :-D Thats one of my favorite things, arranging stuff in the tanks to look cool (not saying I'm good at it, sometimes I get something awesome, sometimes it looks really bad lol).

Now, I've got a Midas Cichlid in the tank instead of Jack (my JD's name). My girlfriend saw the large, pink fish in the store and we just had to get it haha. She (the Midas) has to live alone though, she's too mean to house anything else with her.


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