Identity and search names
- Common name
- Jack Dempsey cichlid
- Scientific name
- Rocio octofasciata
- Other names
- Cichlasoma octofasciatum, Jack Dempsey
- Category
- Freshwater fish
- Group
- Large cichlids
- Origin
- Atlantic-slope drainages from southern Mexico through Belize and Guatemala to Honduras
- Review outcome
- PASSED
Environment and housing
- Environment
- Freshwater
- Care level
- Advanced
- Adult size
- Up to about 25 cm standard length, with total length approaching 30 cm
- Expected lifespan
- About 10–15 years
- Minimum housing
- At least 300 L for one adult; about 450 L or more for a proven compatible pair
- Temperature
- 23–28 °C
- pH
- 6.5–8.0
- Hardness or minerals
- Moderately soft to hard
- Salinity
- Freshwater
- Lighting
- Moderate with robust shaded territories
- Social structure
- Keep singly or as a proven compatible pair with a divider and permanent separation capacity
- Placement or swimming zone
- All levels, especially lower and middle water
- Temperament
- Large territorial cichlid with highly variable but potentially severe aggression
- Compatibility
- Do not rely on a community plan; any tankmate must be large, robust and removable immediately
- Habitat structure
- Large robust aquarium with powerful filtration, open substrate, heavy wood or rock boundaries and protected equipment
Feeding and nutrition
- Diet
- Aquatic invertebrates, fish, plant matter and quality omnivore-cichlid foods
- Feeding frequency
- Feed measured varied portions once or twice daily and avoid feeder fish and obesity
Breeding and reproduction
- Breeding or reproduction
- A pair cleans rock or another open surface, lays eggs and jointly guards eggs, wrigglers and free-swimming fry
- Parental care
- Strong biparental egg and fry care
System demands
- Filtration
- Use mature biological filtration sized for the full adult group and feeding load, with intake protection where juveniles, long fins or small fish are present. Provide steady turnover without preventing normal swimming or resting.
- Aeration
- Maintain strong surface gas exchange and stable dissolved oxygen. Increase aeration during warm weather, medication, transport recovery, breeding crowding or any ammonia or nitrite event.
- Maintenance
- Test ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, remove waste from feeding and shelter zones, and perform regular temperature- and chemistry-matched water changes before nitrate or dissolved organics accumulate.
Detailed husbandry
- Identity scope
- This profile applies to Rocio octofasciata. Electric-blue domestic strains remain the same species unless documented otherwise, and regional convict-like cichlids must not be confused with it.
- Adult size and space
- Up to about 25 cm standard length, with total length approaching 30 cm. At least 300 L for one adult; about 450 L or more for a proven compatible pair. Plan around adult dimensions, activity, social structure, aggression and waste production rather than sale size.
- Social structure
- Keep singly or as a proven compatible pair with a divider and permanent separation capacity
- Placement or swimming zone
- Primary zone: All levels, especially lower and middle water. Keep that zone usable for movement, feeding and refuge.
- Feeding ecology
- Aquatic invertebrates, fish, plant matter and quality omnivore-cichlid foods
- Feeding plan
- Feed measured varied portions once or twice daily and avoid feeder fish and obesity
- Water stability
- Maintain 23–28 °C; pH 6.5–8.0; hardness/minerals: Moderately soft to hard. Stable oxygenation and nitrogen-cycle control matter more than chasing one exact number.
- Adult projected load
- Plan capacity for Keep singly or as a proven compatible pair with a divider and permanent separation capacity at the documented adult size (Up to about 25 cm standard length, with total length approaching 30 cm) in At least 300 L for one adult; about 450 L or more for a proven compatible pair. Include feeding intensity, territorial behaviour and breeding growth rather than counting sale-size juveniles.
- Filtration
- Use mature biological filtration sized for the full adult group and feeding load, with intake protection where juveniles, long fins or small fish are present. Provide steady turnover without preventing normal swimming or resting.
- Aeration
- Maintain strong surface gas exchange and stable dissolved oxygen. Increase aeration during warm weather, medication, transport recovery, breeding crowding or any ammonia or nitrite event.
- Maintenance
- Test ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, remove waste from feeding and shelter zones, and perform regular temperature- and chemistry-matched water changes before nitrate or dissolved organics accumulate.
- Habitat structure
- Large robust aquarium with powerful filtration, open substrate, heavy wood or rock boundaries and protected equipment
- Compatibility plan
- Do not rely on a community plan; any tankmate must be large, robust and removable immediately
- Breeding plan
- A pair cleans rock or another open surface, lays eggs and jointly guards eggs, wrigglers and free-swimming fry Parental care: Strong biparental egg and fry care.
- Quarantine
- Quarantine new fish in a separate cycled aquarium with dedicated equipment. Match temperature and mineral chemistry gradually, confirm feeding and normal respiration, and never add transport water to the established aquarium.
- Welfare checks
- Maintain the stated adult space and social structure, verify feeding and intervene early when injury, exclusion, weight loss, abnormal respiration or altered behaviour appears. The previous “little or no parental care” wording was wrong. Breeding pairs defend fry aggressively, and aquarium release has produced introduced populations.
- Biosecurity and release
- Never release fish, fry, eggs, aquarium water, sediment, plants or live foods into drains, dams or natural waterways. Confirm current Australian import conditions and South Australian possession, trade and movement rules before acquisition or transfer.
- Main risk
- The previous “little or no parental care” wording was wrong. Breeding pairs defend fry aggressively, and aquarium release has produced introduced populations.
- Overridable warnings
- The previous “little or no parental care” wording was wrong. Breeding pairs defend fry aggressively, and aquarium release has produced introduced populations. Any override must still preserve adult space, social welfare, stable chemistry, oxygen and filter capacity.
Welfare and risk
- Welfare checks
- Maintain the stated adult space and social structure, verify feeding and intervene early when injury, exclusion, weight loss, abnormal respiration or altered behaviour appears. The previous “little or no parental care” wording was wrong. Breeding pairs defend fry aggressively, and aquarium release has produced introduced populations.
- Main warning
- The previous “little or no parental care” wording was wrong. Breeding pairs defend fry aggressively, and aquarium release has produced introduced populations.
- Biosecurity
- Never release fish, fry, eggs, aquarium water, sediment, plants or live foods into drains, dams or natural waterways. Confirm current Australian import conditions and South Australian possession, trade and movement rules before acquisition or transfer.
Sources
Source note
Current identity or scope, husbandry, system-demand, welfare and Australian biosecurity evidence checked; active retired-source links removed; all AquaNexus wording is original.
- Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes — Rocio octofasciata — Current accepted-name, synonym, family and habitat check
- Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes — Rocio octofasciata — Accepted-name, synonym and taxonomic-placement cross-check
- Fishes of Australia — Rocio octofasciata — Adult scale, Australian introduced records and release-risk cross-check
- IUCN Red List search — Rocio octofasciata — Conservation-status and wild-provenance cross-check
- PIRSA — South Australian noxious fish list — Current South Australian possession and trade restriction cross-check
- DAFF — importing live ornamental fish to Australia — Current Australian live-fish import pathway and permitted-species warning