Oh, boy, where to start :/
Well, I was young and very new to the hobby. I walked into a local fishstore and the crazy old guy behind the counter was closing the store soon, so he gave me a package deal. The package included: 1 tiger oscar, 1 red "albino" oscar, 1 jack dempsey, 1 two spot pike cichlid, and 1 pleco. Right now you're probably thinkin: "this guy has got a HUGE aquarium!" or "man this sucker is stupid!" ya, i was stupid. i knew nothing about fish and watching the little 1-2 inch cichlids was awesome. fighting, eating, and fighting! awesome! so i brought them home and put them in my 55 gallon tank. little did i know this was the beggining of my downfall.

that was 2 years ago. After i got them, i think i've read just about every fish, cichlid, and aqarium book out there, and realized "CRAP! these get big! but a fish only grows to fit its tank, right?" so i stuck with that. now (2 years later) here are the measurments: 1 twelve inch tiger oscar, 1 two and a half inch "albino" oscar, 1 four inch jack dempsey, 1 four inch pike cichlid, and 1 four inch pleco. but it isnt as bad as i thought. the most fighting is between the jack dempsey and small oscar. and the ph levels, nitrate, nitrite, and amonia levels arent all that bad.

But whats my problem? the fish are gettin big. i dont know what to do with them. i have no buyers, no bigger tanks, and no friends that want that. my big oscar is starting to get some bad HITH disease. i was considering euthinasia at one point (for all of them) but i love my big oscar like a dog. i have no clue what to do. any suggestions?

Oh boy where do I start..... You are WAY over crowded. I would suggest you either get a MUCH bigger tank ASAP, or rehome all of the fish but one.

The good news is for the most part at 2 years old the fish (other than the Pleco) are about done growing.

The bad news is if you have HITH it is almost always from poor water quality! Do you have a liquid test kit? Could post actual results of the readings please?

But no doubt about it you need to do something to change this NOW!

BTW! WELCOME TO OFL!!!

Im surprised the 12inch Oscar doesn't eat the 1.5 inch albino...
If you are interested in getting a larger tank (100gal+) try your local classifieds newspaper and internet, I've seen some really nice deals.

Nickisue: ya i cant get a bigger tank or rehome, thats the problem. and i'll try and post all the levels tomorrow.


Foxlarocks: ya my big oscar is kidna weird. always been kinda skittish. but ya i looked there. out here (in a secret location i don't post on sites )we dont really have fish stuff. sucks being inland away from all the oceans

I assume you are looking to off load them? or spend a small fortune on equipment? i would offer them back to the shop that sold them to you. if its not to far taking them to the shop is probably best as they are more likely to take them if you have them there. its easier to say NO if you got to go get them and this way they can see what you offer them. don't take any poor looking fish or they will turn the lot down. show them the fish so they see the fish are not sick. if this don't work ???

i always blame the shops. any shop selling fish should give the person the best advice and not just go for a large sale. have you tried to advertise them in the forum for items for sale below giving away is more likely to get results.? you could also try Aquarist Classifieds adds if you are in the UK. if not try to find if you have a simular site in your country.

Why do you say that you cannot rehome them?

im not sure what you mean by you cant rehome them. or for that matter what the distance to the ocean has to do with anything. i know that there are many fishkeepers in nj, we even have a few member from there, so rehoming shouldnt be that big of a deal. and as for your secret website if its that good you could use it to rehome them.

as for the they will only grow to their tank thing thats a load of crap. even though they will not reach their full potential when overcrowded they will grow. you say you have a 2 year old oscar that is only 2 and a half inches long i find that one a little hard to beleive.

as for the hith on the large oscar that is more than likely do to poor water conditions like nicki pointed out. the first thing you should do is water changes on a daily basis until until you rehome all your fish them do the research first and them buy what you can house for life in your 55.

There is no way you got 2 small oscars 2 years ago and one is now 12 inches and the other is 2.5inches

Anyway just take the fish to a LFS, most responsable shops will take fish in if they are being kept badly. You wont get a credit for it though