Will this work in my 55 gallon?

Tazman

Any JD with a Cutteri is asking for a dead Cutteri once the JD gets to its size and bigger.

JD are one of the most aggressive cichlids we can keep in the aquarium and a 55g 4ft tank is not suitable for a predatory fish which attains 10" in length. The tank does not give enough room for the fish to setup a large enough territory, in a 55g tank this would be the whole tank potentially.

There is also an issue, if you get a JD similar in size than a cutteri, young a JD looks very similar to a Cutteri and this is asking for trouble.

JD's ideally should be a 75g aquarium which provides the space needed for this fish to claim a large area for it territory.
Forget getting a BN pleco with a JD, it will kill it. I made that mistake when I had my JD a few years ago, my JD was extremely tame by JD standards but still did not hesitate to kill my BN pleco the first day it was introduced into the tank. I witnessed it so I know it was the JD that killed it.

With the cutteri, provided there is only one in the tank, they will get along with literally anything except other cichlids, cichlids by nature are aggressive and territorial. I have a friend who is very experienced with Cutteri and has 1 in a community tank with tetra, tiger barbs and a group of Giant Danio.

Giant Danio, 100% I know will work with this fish but not if there is more than 1 Cutteri in the tank. Cutteri will fight each other if there is more than one and they can very nasty as well when in breeding mode.

I would really recommend you stay away from the JD particularly if it is small.

allaboutfish

What? I know a lot of people that have jds with convicts.
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3ndler3nvy

I'm sorry but I'm going to have to disagree with you. JD's are not one of the most aggressive Cichlids kept. In fact, they are rather mild. Especially Electric Blue JD's. If you keep a truly aggressive Cichlid, you can see the difference. Also, a 55 is a perfectly fine home for a Dempsey. It is widely excepted with Cichlid keepers that a 55 gallon is fine for a lifetime home.

I have a 125 gallon Cichlid community that has a large JD. I've also got a Jewel Cichlid, the Dempsey could care less that there is a smaller Cichlid in the tank. Perhaps I'm reading this wrong but it sounds like your making JD's out to be cold blooded killers. They are not.

Byron

The info in our profile--which is the synopsis of data from highly-experienced professional ichthyologists--does not support this. Please have a read of the profile, click the shaded name Jack Dempsey.

Now, it is perfectly true that an individual fish can behave contrary to the norm for the species. But this should not be relied upon as guaranteed. There are many factors that may effect this, from inappropriate water parameters or aquascaping, tankmates, etc, all of which can weaken a fish so that it behaves contrary to the norm for the species. And regardless of that, a 55g tank is not sufficient room for any second cichlid with a JD. Nor for asnything else, for that matter, as the profile makes clear.

Byron.