Hello all,

Im new here so please be gentle lol....

Ok so here it is.....

I have a 20 gallon tank. I have 2 filters running on it now. Reason being is that the filter that came with the deluxe tank it...cracked after i had it running by itself for 2 weeks. Dont know why it did but it was a very small crack at the top that started to drip from it. So i went and brought another filter, same one, and fixed the one that was cracked. Figure to have both of them running, Ill explain shortly.

In this tank I have 2 tiger o's, 1 Ob O, 1 Blood Red Parrot, 1 Pacu and 1 pleco. All of these are the MOST at 3" each, more like 2.5"'s, being the pleco longest in length. All but the pleco have been in tank for 3 weeks and the pleco Ive had maybe a week now. My ammonia has been bout 3.0 for over 2 weeks now being hell for me to even to attempt too lower it.

Note: I have started running the 2nd filter today.

I notice that i have WAY to much gravel and there crap and etc is just sitting there. I have changed the water a few times already. On 1/30/10 Ive notice ick and the next day I started to treat it. Brought that api treatment, 1 pack per 10 gallons, so i used 2 packs. It states to remove the filter cartridge for 48 hrs. If need to, repeat dose for another 48hrs, then 25 water change with new cartridges. So going by this i have to wait till this Thursday to change the water and the cartridges. Not 1 of them seams to have any but the pleco. So I'm thinking once i change the 25% water ill also get rid of this large amount of gravel i have also.

I do plan on getting a bigger tank, that's just going to have to wait a couple months from now. But i want to hear what you guys think as far as the fishes i have together, the ammonia situation and etc. I would like to get a bottom feeder that is better than a pleco cause i haven't yet seen this guy on the ground.

I learned how to feed them better by not giving them to much. I feed them flakes twice a day, morning and evening. When i feed them i make sure that almost none gets to the bottom. If some started to sink to the bottom, the blood red parrot gets it. Im pretty much feeding them 1 flak at a time and making sure all have the same amount and gets to eat.

Please give me your thoughts on anything related to this.

welcome on board.....

okey, i will be gentle with you. first..20 gal tank is good for small
fish specie like guppies or puffers but not for oscar. one oscar alone
requires at least 55 gal tank....

having 6 fishes in a 20 gal tank is worse than a prison cell. if you can not
upgrade your tank, i suggest you re-home your fishes and get a non-growing
fish....no matter what filtration you apply, you will end up losing all
of them if the tank is not upgraded.....

x2

Welcome...and I agree with the above post. You must either upgrade to a large tank now or rehome the fish...sorry I'm sure this isn't what you wanted to hear but it is what must be done if you don't want them all to die.

Like said a 55 gallon tank is the minimum size for ONE oscar and nothing else. And the Pacu can grow larger than 24" so just the Pacu would require a HUGE tank!

If you cannot upgrade your best bet would be to rehome the fish in there now and get a smaller species such as Paul suggested.

The only 2 options you have is to:

A) rehome all the fish you currently have. As none of them will survive in that tank.
or
B)Find a cycled 300 gallon tank TODAY!!! The Pacu will weigh 60 lbs, and be over 24 inches long. The Oscars will QUICKLY be in excess of 10 inches. These fish are DIRTY and require massive filter systems.

I hate to say it but unless you can come up with a 300 NOW, you need to return/rehome ALL of your fish.

Welcome to the site.
Please take the advice given.
We do not want to see your fish dying.

btw, Pacu:

Welcome, and good luck!

I looked at your tank size and fish stock and thought what do I say........

the only thing I can say is welcome to the forum. anything else won't be gentle
If you would like my true verdict it would be WHY? WHY? WHY? do so many people put large fish in such a small tank.

unfortunetly i cannot be both gentle and truthfull in responce to your post. so all i will say is hi and welcome to the site.

Welcome to the forum.


gentle?? not a chance. get a bigger tank, or give those fish to somebody that can properly care for them.

Edited by admin

It is not necessary to verbally abuse members.

Win wrote:


i dont often quote myself... but... since verbal abuse is out... how about a little visual...

Please read the rules of the forum

Ok we all make mistakes, its what you do once you have made a mistake that matters. Its not just your mistake, the shop you got the fish from should of asked what size tank you have

As you already have been told 20g is not big enough for 1 oscar let alone all the fish you have. Pacu get too big so that has to go. The next thing you need to decide is how big a tank you want to get. If i were you i would go for a 100g at least and then you can keep 2 oscar and the parrot. If you get a 55g then you can keep only one oscar. The rest need to be taken back to the shop. Oscars get massive, see if you can find a full size one to look at and you will see why they need big tanks. You need to order this tank ASAP as oscars grow quick. You will also need lots of filtration and will need to do at least a 25% water change every week. If you cant or dont want this sort of work/expense then rehome all your fish and get something a little more manageable.

If you are going to upgrade feel free to ask us question on the equipment needed etc

The main reason I started posting on this website was because of the lack of abuse and the understanding of people who have made mistakes (unlike a website with as very similar name) so please everyone can we keep it that way. I doubt oscurida put all these fish in the tank in full knowledge of what they need to live