Expert: Lynda - 11/1/2009

Question
Hi

What size tank is good enough for four Electric Blue Jack Jempseys?  They are only about 2 inches long but I know they get 8 inches so how big of a Tank should I get for 4 8" inch Electric Blue Jack Dempseys?  Also is it a bad idea to put four Jack Dempseys in the same environment together even if the tank is very large and even if they grew up with each other or will they start fighting and tearing each others fins apart when they get older?

Thank you for your time.

Answer
Hi Thomas,
One Jack Dempsey needs a 60 gallon tank all to himself, and bigger is better.  He is best kept alone.  Two Jack Dempsey would need 120 gallons, and three 180, and so on.  They must be kept in a big tank at an early age.  When kept in tanks too small for them, their growth is stunted, their internal organs have no room to grow, and they die a horrible death.  If you get a bigger tank, nothing guarantees that they will not fight.  They have a violent temper which only gets worse with age.  I would never recommend keeping more than one in a tank.  Even if they grow up together, there will come a day when they won't accept each other, and the strongest one will win.  Jack Dempseys are true to their name.  They do not call them this for nothing.  When you see fish with names like Green Terrors, or Red Devils, you can be sure that these fish are not community tank fish.  
Hope this helps.
Lynda