Jack Dempsey Cichlid (Archocentrus Octofasciatus)

Scientific Name: Archocentrus Octofasciatus

Common Name: Jack Dempsey

Family: Cichlidae

Species Type: Central American Cichlids

Maximum Size: 6-8in Females 10-12in Males

Life Span: If kept healthy 15 years.

Originates from: Central America around the Yucatan peninsula, Guatemala and Honduras
Jack Dempsey’s are often found in the slow moving rivers and canals of Central America.

Min Tank size: 55 gallons for a single fish and 100 gallons for a pair.

Water region: All over.

Temperature Range: 70°F - 80°F but in one rare case a single specimen survived a cold Maine winter.

PH Range: 6.5 - 7.8 and a hardness: 15° - 25° is tolerated

Diet: Omnivorous. The Jack Dempsey does well with pellet or flake food, live worms, krill and brine shrimp.

Temperament: Aggressive to Very aggressive

Tank Mates: This fish is prejudiced towards other species but there has been success with Firemouths, Convicts, Green terrors and armored catfish. I keep mine with 2 Oscars, 2 convicts, 1 Green terror and a redhead cichlid.

Description: Jack Dempsey’s are fairly aggressive to other fish, but can also be very skittish and easily spooked by sudden movements. Jack Dempsey’s are a gorgeous fish with colorful specks of blue, green, black and a strip of red on the tips of its fins.

Sexing: Sexing the Jack Dempsey is rather straight forward. The males will be larger and have longer more pointed fins with very little blue on the gill cover if any and will be in dots if it’s present whereas the female will have blots of blue on her gill cover and have less color throughout the body. The male in a lot of cases will be much larger when full grown.

Breeding: The Jack Dempsey’s breed like most other Central American cichlids do. They will find a flat piece of slate or a clay pot and begin to clean the area where they will lay there eggs. Once the area is clean the Dempsey’s will lay there eggs and guard them until the fry hatch. The eggs will develop over a period of 4 days. Once the eggs have hatched the fry will become wrigglers and after several days the fry become free swimming. For feeding the fry use newly hatched brine shrimp, Hikari “My first bites” or crushed tropical fish flakes. Feeding live food is also a good way to condition for breeding

Tank setup: Jack Dempsey’s should be kept in a large tank with a lot of caves and hiding places. They have a preference for a thick layer of gravel on the bottom which allows them to dig. Do not use plants in the aquarium since they will be dug up and ruined. Good filtration is also a must.