Need Little Help Guys...

[ricky23432]

Hiya guys im new around here I've been into tropical fish for a little while now say 2-3 years. i started with no real knowledge of tropical fish and now i think that's reflecting. I brought a fluval kit from pets at home. Size: 3ft x 1ft 6" x 1ft 6" a week later i went to a local fish store which was recommended by a friend i told them what tank i had etc they said dont bother with small fish go with fish that are big you will have a better experience? i was like ok so i took their advice and recommendations and went with 2x red oscars not knowing these can grow very big anyway i was getting on fine no problems what so ever. i went back to the store just to have a look around and one of the workers recommended me a parrot chichlid which started off orange then originally turned whitish i dont have a clue why i asked them and was told it was a natural thing and not a problem with my setup or tank? after 7-8 months the fish had grown but not hugely so i went back again and brought a pleco to aid cleaning the tank up etc. well 2 years from then the pleco is 32cm in length, the parrot is about 17cm and the oscars are about 15cm. I used to have drift wood, ornaments etc but removed quite a few since these fish were getting so large. The parrot occasionally nips at the Oscars but nothing major. Im guessing their not good tank mates? As i said i was a complete beginner and had no proper advice from the beginning.

now the tank is constantly turning yellowish after 6-7 days after cleaning and requires very regular water changes the fish consume a very large amount of food. im not sure what choices i have now either sell some of the fish or all of the fish and start again perhaps?

heres a picture most of the items removed because i thought the fish were getting large. left a few fake plants in the tank:

you guys got any ideas?

 

[fatheadminnow]

to TFF!!!!

First off, those fish should not be in a tank that size. That tank is WAY too small for those fish. The fish you have should either be re-housed to a larger tank, 75+ gallons, or you should get rid of them and have your hand at some smaller fish. The Oscars are not even close to being done growing, they will easily double their current size.

The Parrot Cichlid was probably dyed orange, and as he grew the dye fading away and his natural color showed through.

So, you need to put some serious thought into what you need to do about your fish, either a bigger tank, or re-home them.

As for water changes, you should be doing weekly water changes of about 10-25%.

Once again,

-FHM

 

[AdamM]

Okay, that tank is horrendously overstocked. You really need to upgrade your tank immediatelly.

 

[ricky23432]

to TFF!!!!

First off, those fish should not be in a tank that size. That tank is WAY too small for those fish. The fish you have should either be re-housed to a larger tank, 75+ gallons, or you should get rid of them and have your hand at some smaller fish. The Oscars are not even close to being done growing, they will easily double their current size.

The Parrot Cichlid was probably dyed orange, and as he grew the dye fading away and his natural color showed through.

So, you need to put some serious thought into what you need to do about your fish, either a bigger tank, or re-home them.

As for water changes, you should be doing weekly water changes of about 10-25%.

Once again,

-FHM

Thanks for the advice i think the best thing i could do then is re-home them and get some smaller fish then like i said i was given the wrong information in the beginning and now the poor fish are facing the consequences. what would be the best way to go about re-homing them and what sort of fish should i move onto.

 

[fatheadminnow]

I wold call your LFS (local fish store) and ask if they can take them from you.

As for the fish you can get next, I would advise you go to your LFS and have a look at smaller fish than you find appealing, and then ask on here if they will be suitable for your size tank!

-FHM

 

[GAB99]

poor oscars, they're probably already stunted.

in a 50 gallon i think the plec and the blood parrot would be ok with each other, but just so you know, plecs make more waste than they clean, so id return it if all you wanted out of it was to be a algae cleaner.

if you get rid of the pleco id get another parrot fish or 2 as IMO they only look good in species tanks.

 

[england]

shame, sorry to see you suffered at the hand's of a novice fish shop worker, there are alot of shops in it purely for profit, but there is also alot of shops which offer correct advice and will refuse selling a fish if they beleive it will be kept wrong<like my friends at my lfs>

However to your problem, yes the tank is too small for any of those fish and all together, i would if i was you either try to sell them but oscars and plecs seem to often come up for free on places of advertisment,we have a area on this site where you can advertise either for sale or free to a good home, then either upgrade the tank or look for stock which will fit your tank, there are alot of fish out there for a tank that size, even some beautiful dwarf or smaller cichlids and plecs if thats what you like,

least you've taken the time and effort to research,maybe late but better late than never, as to your water it sounds like the filters working over time and not enough to cope with all the waste from these messy fish, water changes every other day at 10-15% sound help with this for time being..

where and what country are you located?

 

[ricky23432]

shame, sorry to see you suffered at the hand's of a novice fish shop worker, there are alot of shops in it purely for profit, but there is also alot of shops which offer correct advice and will refuse selling a fish if they beleive it will be kept wrong<like my friends at my lfs>

However to your problem, yes the tank is too small for any of those fish and all together, i would if i was you either try to sell them but oscars and plecs seem to often come up for free on places of advertisment,we have a area on this site where you can advertise either for sale or free to a good home, then either upgrade the tank or look for stock which will fit your tank, there are alot of fish out there for a tank that size, even some beautiful dwarf or smaller cichlids and plecs if thats what you like,

least you've taken the time and effort to research,maybe late but better late than never, as to your water it sounds like the filters working over time and not enough to cope with all the waste from these messy fish, water changes every other day at 10-15% sound help with this for time being..

where and what country are you located?

im just outside central london, ilford. Thanks again great advice i will definitely either sell them of give them away i have a few old friends interested and they have huge tanks so shouldn't be a problem.

 

[fatheadminnow]

Glad to hear that.

Like stated above, there are a lot of fish out there that would look wonderful in a tank that size.

-FHM

 

[england]

oh sorted, then you could look at either a community tank with few fishes like tetra and maybe a bristlenose plec and keyhole cichlid...

or if you like something different you could look into oddballs like dwarf channa aka dwarf snakeheads, i keep dwarfs and there great fish to keep, however this would be all you would keep in the tank calling it a 'Specie's tank'

this is our classifieds section
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/forum/116-livestock/

copy and paste and fill this out...obviously if you want

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/280143-sales-form/

 

[didz04]

When I bought my 4ft tank the guy had 5 Oscars around 10 to 12" and 3 pleco's at 14", 1 Juwel and 1 convict at 4" and lastly 1 severum at 8". The guy had them for a very long time and he just sold his breeding pair of Oscars with a 3ft they were breeding in for £65.
I already know the fish I had in the 4ft were way too big so I put them on aquairst ad and try to get someone to take them away. I got it all sorted out where I bought the tank and fish brought them back home, and the guy was supposed to come on the same day to put in his 9ft tank. However, his wife had to use the car and so he had to come 3 days later which worked out well as the fish seemed really stressed when I put them in. After a few hours they started swimming and all eating pellets. I never kept fish that big before and when I were putting in the pellets they were looking up, and I remembered and seen on youtube where Oscars jumping out of the tank so it and they looked ready to jump up lol, really scared me. Including when I put my fingers in a bit and they were following them and ready to bite.
The guy came and took them all away for £45 in big polythene boxes and I do miss them including when they show them huge eyes near the glass.
Hope they are much more happier in their new home.
It is always best to get advice from forums rather than lfs. I know 2 good lfs shop keepers that do care for the fish and where they go.

 

[ricky23432]

Right made a for sale thread like advised.

Thanks guys.

 

[hensonc4098]

Good job mate

Its really easy to get bad advice from places - I just always check up on the fish on the species index on here before I make any decisions.

 

[ricky23432]

Good job mate

Its really easy to get bad advice from places - I just always check up on the fish on the species index on here before I make any decisions.

yeh never mind will be sad to see them go though

 

[fatheadminnow]

Good job mate

Its really easy to get bad advice from places - I just always check up on the fish on the species index on here before I make any decisions.

yeh never mind will be sad to see them go though

At least you know you are doing the right thing!

-FHM