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Anonymous
Hey /an/

First post here. I has a 20 gallon freshwater aquarium with a kissing gourami and a paradise fish. The last survivors of a "tank of death". I don't expect these guys to live very long, as I've tried pretty much everything to get my tank healthy again. I've accepted it and now I'm looking to the future. I really want to get a single Jack Dempsey, Oscar, or another cichlid, and devote all of my time to it. Anybody have any tips? Do they require any special care at all?

TL;DR: I want to get a cichlid and I don't know how to care for it.
>> Anonymous
they all need more than 20 gallons (so does that kissing gourami)
>> Anonymous
>>173138
I've had the gourami in this tank for four years and he's been thriving.
>> Anonymous
Putting a large carnivorous cichlid in a small tank like that is cruel.
>> AnonymouS
>>173179
No. It's not.
>> Anonymous
>>173179
Porque?
>> Anonymous
Rules of /an/
1. No matter how big your tank is, it's always too small for your fish and you are practicing animal cruelty.
>> Anonymous
coool
>> Anonymous
lol the only thing you could put in a 20 gallon is maybe a pair of Rams. Oscars grow roughly an inch a month until they hit 13", so a 20 gallon is quite obviously out of the question. Not to mention they're extremely dirty fish. Keeping a JD in a 20g is also cruel as they grow to 8" and would die before they hit full size if kept in a 20. Invest in a 55g minimum and you could keep ONE JD and maybe an armoured catfish or you could keep ONE oscar and nothing else, provided both have excellent filtration.

OR, in the 55 you could have a community of cichlids that aren't South American...you can easily have African cichlids or a Lake Malawi setup in a 55g.
>> Anonymous
Or if you wanted both a JD and an Oscar, you could invest in at LEAST an 80 or preferably 90g and keep them both in there, provided you get excellent filtration.

However, paradise fish are extremely hardy and if you managed to kill one I doubt your abilities to keep cichlids. =\

Anyway, for an oscar, read:

http://www.oscarfishlover.com/content/view/18/37/
>> Anonymous
I support the African cichlid suggestion. If you want a single fish, African cichlids can be extremely interesting and just don't get as large as South Americans. Some really enjoy digging in sand and gravel, and will rearrange their tanks regularly. They like meat and vegetable matter.. I think watching a cichlid nibble away at a big lettuce leaf is really cute. Butts, etc.
>> Anonymous
Yeah, an Oscar or Jack Dempsey will quickly outgrow that tank.