Animals
Bunnies
Bunnies II 
Chinchillas
Degus
Ferrets
Ferrets by BOB
Gerbils
Ground Squirrels
Guinea Pig
Hamsters I
Hamsters II
Hamsters III
Hamsters IV
Hamsters V
Hedgehogs
Kittens
Kids & Kittens
Mice
Mice Pets II
Parasites
Rats I
Rats II
Rats III
Rats, Hairless
S-T Opossums
Siberian Chipmunks
Sugar Gliders
Sugar Gliders II
Water Bottles

Bugs
Crabby 500
Crab 04 Results
Centipedes
Cray/Lobsters
Crayfish II
Crayfish III
Cray, Yucatan
Fiddler Crabs
Shrimp, Algae
Shrimp, Aqua
Shrimp, Red
Shrimp, Flower
Shrimp, Ghost
Shrimp, Rudolph
Hermit Crabs
Hermit Crabs II
Madagas Roach
Mantids
Mini-Clams
Mini-Crabs
Patriot Crabs
Giant Millipedes
Red Claw Crabs
Reiman Butterfly
Snail, Apple
Snail, Colombian
Snail, Land
Snail, Malaysian
Snail, Mystery
Snail, Trapdoor 
Scorpions
Tarantulas
Tarantulas II
Tarantula Night 2006
TarantulaWeen VII
TarantulaWeen 9
Misc. Bugs
Misc Bugs II  

Birds
Breeding Tips
Button Quail
Canaries
Cockatiels
Dove, Diamond
Dove, Ringneck
Finches
Love Birds
Parakeets
Pelleted Foods
Quaker Parrots
Parrot Pictures
Parrot Pix II
Parrot Pix III
Dave's Parrots

Lizards
Alligators
Anoles
Bearded Dragon
Beardies II
Calotes
Chamel, Jackson
Chamel, Panther
Chamel, Veiled
Crested Geckos
Gecko, Golden
Gecko, House
Gecko, Leopard
Gecko, Tokay
Horned "Toads"
Iguana New
Iguana Dragons
Iguana Q&A I
Iguana Q&A II
Iguana Training
Iguana Update
Cool Iguana Pics
Knight Anoles
Monitors, Nile
Monitors, Savana
Monitors, Water
Salmonella
Skinks
Skinks Blue-Tongue
Tegus
Uromastyx maliensis
Water Dragon
Misc Lizards
Misc Lizards 2
Misc Lizards 3
Misc Lizards 4
Misc Lizards 5
Misc Lizards 6
Misc Lizards 7
Misc Lizards 8
Misc Lizards 9


Snakes
Anacondas
Boa, Rosy
Boa, Red-Tail
Corn Snake
Garter Snake
Green Snake
Kids/Corn Snakes
Kids/Red-Tail Boas

Kids at Pet Expo 1

Kids at Pet Expo 2

Kids at Pet Expo 3

Kids at Pet Expo 4

Kids at Pet Expo 5
King & Milk
Python, Ball
Python, Burmese

Snakes Alive
Snakesgiving
Snakesgiving II
Misc Snake Pix
Misc Snakes II
Misc Snakes III  

Turtles/Tortoises
Box, Asian
Box, USA
Races
Snapping

Sulcata
Water
Western Painted

Live Foods
Blackworms
Blood Worms
Br Shrimp I
Br Shrimp II
Crayfish 1
Crayfish 2
Crayfish 3 
Crickets
Daphnia
Earthworms
Feeder Goldfish
Fruit Flies
Ghost Shrimp

Glass Worms

Grindal Worms
Infusoria
Mealworms
Microworms
Rosy Reds

Super Worms

Wax Worms
White Clouds

Decorating
Bubbles
Driftwood
Gravel
Plastic Plants
Rocks
Slow Growing Plants

Miscellaneous
Bob's Acclimation

How to Start
How to Add New Fish
How to Keep Healthy
Which Fish Get Along?
10 Questions to Ask
What is Ich?
Under Gravel Filters

Sponge Filters
Cloudy Water
Cool Water Tanks
Gravel Vacuums
Preventing Disease
Feeding to the Max
Frozen Foods
Green Water
Nasty Chemicals
Overfeeding
Power Filters
Rift Lake Salts
Quarantine Tank
Mini-Tank
2nd Av Bait

Pet World Visit
Dandelions

Aquatic Plants
Amazon Swords
More Swords
Sword Plants III
Anubias
Aponogetons
A. boivinianus
A. fenestralis
A. ulvaceous
Aquarium/Bog
Banana Plant
Bolbitis
Bunch
Bunch Plants II
Cryptocorynes
Crystalwort
Dwarf Lily
Grassy
Grassy II
Hornwort
Hygrophila
Lace
Java Lance Fern
Java Moss
Moss Balls
Onion
Vermiculite
Watersprite

LA
You want your Jack Dempsey to look like this healthy mature male.

LA Pic
Not like this half-starved trade-in we took in.  We'll see what a healthy diet will do for her.

Why the Name?  Jack Dempsey was a world-renown heavy-weight boxer (or pugilist) in his day.  His name lives on today in the form of one of the more pugilistic fishes -- the Jack Dempsey, Cichlosoma octofasciatum, or whatever descriptive Latin tag the experts put on him these days.

LA Pic 
This "gold" male Dempsey is not near as pretty as the original.  Actually ugly.

LA Pic
Much smaller female of the breeding pair of gold Dempseys.

LA Pic
This guy looks much better.

You could make the point that all cichlids are rambunctious specimens that enjoy beating up on their tank mates and re-arranging their tank decor.  We could mention a few exceptions.  But on the average you’d be right.  Most cichlids do not belong in your average community tank.  (See our American Cichlid Fact Sheets for our tables of compatible and available Central and South American cichlids.)

The Beginning.  Small Dempseys start life smaller than a baby guppy.  Their parents fiercely protect them from other fishes.  Dempsey parents will bite you if you put your hand in with their fry.  

Tiny fry sport the typical black line that helps their parents keep them in line.  As they mature, they develop an extremely attractive black and white pattern.

Dempseys are one of the few egglayers that will eat dry food from birth.  Newly-hatched brine shrimps work better, of course, but many will accept finely powdered dry foods.

Parallel Worlds.  Think of Jack Dempseys as warm water sunfishes (Centrarchids).  If you’ve ever fished for bluegills in a clear water lake in the spring, you’ve seen typical Jack Dempsey spawning behavior.  Pairs dig theoretically defendable shallow pits in which they lay their eggs.  If you drag a plug or any crank bait thru that protected area, you will harvest that sunfish -- the male over 90% of the time.

LA Pic
We keep our larger Dempseys way up on the top.

Adults.  Full-grown Dempseys can grow to 12 or more inches.   We saw an ancient one in Peoria that was a misshapen 14 inches.  Most top out at eight..  They are a very dark blue liberally sprinkled with iridescent blue spangles.  Males usually sport twice as many spangles as the females.  Their top and bottom fins are often trimmed in red, orange, or yellow.   Cichlids and centrarchids both intensify their colors at breeding time -- especially the males.  

LA Pic
One of the new dwarf blue Jack Dempseys.  Expensive even at one inch.

Substrate.  Over dark gravels, Dempseys develop darker colors.  Over lighter gravels they bleach out.

Color Foods.  Cichlids are nearly all strongly affected by the color foods and those with spirulina.  Color foods work to bring out their breeding colors.

Dempsey Fry.  Most small fry are neutral or camouflage colors.  Predators always eat the pretty fish first.   Half-inch-long Dempsey babies stand out from other cichlid fry because they are an eye-catching mottled black and white.  (Baby oscars look like this also.)  These eye-catching juvenile colors make them sellable at an early age.

LA Pic
Baby Jack Dempseys at 1.5 inches (over light gravel).

LA Pic
Some one inch Jack Dempseys over no gravel.

LA Pic
At 1.5 inches, Jack Dempseys start developing attractive colors.

LA Pic
At 4-inches, Jack Dempseys develop even more colors.

The Young.  At young ages (under two inches) Dempseys get along fine with other more average fishes (swords, mollies, tetras and so forth).  But Dempseys keep growing.  At three inches long they are not so much bullies (like red devils) as they are needful of more room.  And they take it.

Give them Room.  In a 10-gallon tank,  your Dempsey will take his 90% of the space and keep the other fish intimidated into whatever nooks and crannies they can find.

In a 20H, he only needs half the tank space.  In a 30, he’ll only take a third.  Problems with Dempseys arise when you try to keep them in small quarters. 

LA Pic
At 4 to 6 inches Jack Dempseys start fighting and pairing off.

LA Pic
Broken nose?

LA Pic
Female Dempseys usually have half the spangles of the male above.

Half-grown (4-6 inch) Dempseys want a cubic foot of space.  Unless kept with other equally stout and argumentative fishes, they will take it -- often to the detriment of less combative tank mates.  For best results keep them mostly with other rowdy cichlids.

Good mixers with young Dempseys include:

1.  Convicts, regular

2.  Convicts, pink

3.  Curviceps

4.  Firemouths

5.  Keyhole Cichlids

6. Acaras (various)

7. Blue Acaras

8.  Festivums

9. Kribensis*

Good mixers with half-grown Dempseys include:

1.  Jewels*, various color types

2.  Latifrons

3.  Porties

4.  Rainbows

5.  Black Belts (B)

6.  Chocolates (B)

7.  Friedrichstahlis (B)

8.  Geophagus, various

9.  Green Terrors

10.  Other Jack Dempseys

11.  Managuenses (B)

12.  Ocellaris (B)

13.  Oscars (B)

14.  Red Terrors

15.  Salvinii

16.  Severums, Green

17.  Severums, Gold

18. Texas Cichlids

*not American but always sold as American.  

Species marked with a (B) grow large and belligerent enough to pose a threat to the life of Jack Dempseys.  Also note that we did not list Red Devils.  Unless considerably smaller, they are not good mixers with anything.

African Cichlids.  Oddly enough, you can mix Dempseys with African cichlids – for a while.  African cichlids ignore them until the Africans get about half grown.  We would not recommend this mix for most Cichlasoma (whatever) species.  Maybe convicts.

Provide Room.  As usual, the larger your tank, the fewer fights for territory you will see.  Losers of these squabbles in big tanks also have room to retreat, recover, and re-fight in the future.  If you have limited space, put a divider (or dividers) high on your shopping list.  

LA Pic
Dempseys rate fairly high on the smartometer.

LA Pic
Gold Dempseys don't look quite as smart.

The Pairs.  Adult Dempseys select their own mates.  You see typical sidling up to one another and undulating together, chasing one another around the tank, and lip-locking.  Lip-locking panics new fish keepers that have never seen it happen before.  The male and female lock lips and try to overpower one another -- just like on SkineMax.. 

Match Sizes.  Here’s where you prefer two future parents of about the same size.  Males tend to be larger and rougher.  Too large a male often winds up killing his prospective mate.  Try to keep them about the same size (within an inch or two).  Although some males will breed with females half their size.

They Decide.  No matter how carefully you pick your breeders, they will decide who breeds with whom.  Since mated pairs are not often on the market, most would-be Dempsey breeders select six or so fry and rear them together.  The process takes about a year.  (And never pick out all the biggest ones or you’ll get all males.)  If you’re in a hurry (this is America, isn’t it?), toss four six-inch specimens in a 30-gallon tank and be prepared to remove the non-breeders.  They will be the ones with the torn fins and missing scales, often lying on their side at the surface.  

Your Breeding Tank.  Give them a 20H or way larger tank.  If the male gets too rough, the female needs room to get away.  Provide at least one cave (the more bridal suites, the merrier).  Lots and lots of plastic plants really help provide cover.  Don’t decorate with expensive live plants.  Dempseys will redecorate to their own preferences.  Anacharis and hornwort bunches help absorb many waste products and keep their water healthier.  Provide other cover and a flat rock for the egg-laying site.

Plants?   In general, forget live plants.  Your Dempseys will uproot them and/or shred them.  Use plastic plants instead.  Weight them with lead strips.  Or smear tank sealer on their bases and roll them in dry gravel the same color as your tank gravel.  After they dry, toss them in and let the Dempseys re-arrange their furniture however they prefer.  (And they will re-arrange it.  Dempseys like to pile all their gravel at the front of their tank.)

Dither Fish.  Many breeders recommend adding a “dither fish” to encourage the parents to bond together against a common enemy.  A slightly smaller convict cichlid makes a good dither fish.  You want one they can’t kill too quickly.

Condition Them.  You can successfully condition Jack Dempseys on a variety of flake foods.  You increase your chances when you add higher octane foods to their menu.  But first, get off the one feeding per day habit.  Feed them small amounts often.  After you feed them flakes or pellets, give them small amounts of live or frozen foods to really plump them up and color them up.

No Plecos Allowed.  We get calls all the time about fish eggs “disappearing.”  They don’t see the parents eating the eggs.  They’re just gone the next morning thanks to their local algae-eating (and egg-eating plecostomus).  You won’t see him eat the eggs.  The parents are fierce protectors during the day.  He, however, works the night shift.  The parents never even know what happened.  

Artificial Rearing.  You can remove the eggs and use a slow airstone as a surrogate mother.  The eggs need a slow flow of water near them for the best hatching rate.  Most people consider it much more enjoyable (though less predictable) to watch the parents tend the eggs and herd the fry around.

LA Pic
Here's another dwarf blue Dempsey to prove we can afford two (just barely).

LA Pic
And here's a real Jack Dempsey to show you why people love Dempseys.

Fry Food.  Most baby Dempseys will eat finely crushed flake foods.  You get a better survival rate and faster growth with microworms and/or newly hatched brine shrimp.  It’s always fun to watch their bellies turn orange.  LA.

© 1996, © 2004, © 2007  LA Productions

Jaguar Spawning II
Jewel Fish
Keo's Flowerhorns
Keo's Flowerhorns II
Kribensis
Odd Couple Spawn
Oscars 1
Oscars 2
Oscars 3
Oscars 4
Oscars 5
More Oscar
More Oscar II
More Oscars III
More Oscars 2007
More Oscars 2007.5
Oscar Spawn
Peacock Bass
Red Devils
More Red Devil
Red Parrots
Red Parrots Spawn
Red Parrot Spawn II
Pikes
Pink Tilapia
Rams
Red Bay Snooks
Red Bay Snook Spawn
Roger Stephen's Cichlids
Severums
More Severums
Severums III
Tanganyikans
Texas Cichlid
Texas Spawning
Texas Spawn II
Uarus
Misc Cichlids I
Misc Cichlids II
Misc Cichlids III
Misc Cichlids IV
Misc Cichlids V
Misc Cichlids VI
Misc Cichlids VII
Misc Cichlids VIII
Misc Cichlids IX

Livebearer  
Guppies
Half-Beak
Mollies
Moons/Platys
Swordtails

Minnows/Tetra 
Barbs
Barbs, Black
Barbs, Gold
Barbs, Rosy
Barbs, Tiger
Barbs, Tinfoil
Danios
Danio Egg Saver
Distochodus
Fathead Minnows
Headstanders
Killies, Econ.
Killies, Golden
Killies, Peat
Killies, Plant
Misc Mini-Fish
Pacús 
Piranha, Black
Piranha, Red
Rainbowfish

Rainbowfish, Dwarf Neon
Rainbowfish, Irian
Silver Dollar
Tetras, Larger
Tetras, Smaller
Tetras, Spawn
Tetra, Vampire
White Clouds

Pond Fish
Carp
Channel Cat
Gold. Comets
Gold. Fantails
More Fantails
Gold. Oriental  
Gold Oriental II 
Gold. Spawn
Kloubec Koi Farm
Koi
Koi II

Koi III
Oranda Spawn
Plecostomus
Shubunkins

Oddballs  
Af. Butterfly
Af. Lungfish
Af. Mudskippr
American Eel
Archer Fish
Arowana
Bichirs
Borneo Suckers
Brackish I
Brackish II
Brackish III
Brackish IV
Brackish V
Michael Troung's Pix
Butterfly/Wasp
Chameleon Fish
Chromides
Chin Alg Eater
Crazy Fish
Crocodile Fish
Datnioides
Dojo
Dwarf Puffers
Electric Cat
Electric Eels
Elephant Nose
Exodon paradoxus
Flounder
Gars  
Glassfish
Goby Bumble
Goby Butterfly
Goby Dragon
Goby Misc.
Half-Beak
Knife African
Knife Clown
Knife Ghost
Loach Botias
Loach Clown
Loach Kuhli
Loach Weather

Longear Sunfish
Moray Eel  
Peacock Gudgeons
Polypterids
Puffers
Ropefish
Scats
Siam Algae Eater 
Spiny Eels 
Snakehead
Stingray
Stonefish
Wasp Fish
Wolffish
Wrest Half-Beak
Misc Mini-Fishes
Misc Odd
Misc Odd II
Misc Odd III
Misc Odd  IV

Misc Odd V
Misc Odd VI

Sharks  
Bala
Black
Bull
Chinese Hi-Fin Banded
Iridescent
Red-Tail
Siam Algae Eater

Pond Info 
Blank Park Zoo
Bob Humphrey's Ponds
Cattails
Maffett Reservoir
DMACC's Pond
D.M. Botanical Center
D.M. Water Works
Dr. Ervanian's Garden
Duckweed
Dwarf Lily
Ewing Park "Pond"
Jan & Chris's Water Garden
John McDonald's Pond
Hall's Four Acres
Klines' Water Garden
Landscaper Effects
Mini-Pond Pics
Pioneer Corn's Pond
Pond Fish Predators
Pond on 38th Street 
Pond Pics
Pond Plants
More Pond Plants
Pond Plants III
Reiman Ponds
River Scenes
Riverview Island
Selin's Water Gardens
Selin's Japanese Garden
Tom's Used Cars Pond
Urbandale Duck Pond
Water Hyacinth
Water Lettuce
Wild Ponds