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i cannot take them back, there from wal-mart. ill do my best for the fish, i dont want nothing to hapeen to them but its the best i can do.

In my area, LFS such as PetSmart will take fish you don't want, no matter where they are from. Check around...tell them you can't keep them and you are afraid they might die.

*Kristin*

maloneykdiddy,

You mentioned above that you plan on getting a 200g tank and a 55. Are both of these in the plan soon? Can you really get at least the 200 within a reasonable time frame, i.e. the next month?

If you honestly can and plans are in the works for this large tank and large amounts of filtration, then stick it out with that large amount of fish in the ten. You'll need to provide them with exceptional care in the mean time: multiple water changes per week, try 3 at 25-50% per change. Add as much filtration as you can. Everything you have in there - except for the cory - will grow large and produce more poop and waste than you'll believe. Ever see a large Oscar eat pellet food? They'll suck it into their mouth and mash it around, spit it out, back in again, releasing a cloud of food that fouls the water immensely. Nevermind three of them.

The more I think about this even in the 200 gallon that's going to be a lot of waste. Three oscars and two common plecos. Holy cow that's a lot of poop. Common plecos get large man, real large. Sorry to say this so bluntly, but your plans for this future tank don't seem as thourough as they should have been. Prudence and patience are important to have when starting up a tank that will hold such large messy fish. The better course of action would have been to buy the large tank first and supress the instinct to buy fish, releasing it through more and more research. Even if you plan on investing heavily ($$$$$) in filtration for the new tank there are still behavioral problems that can likely prevent all these fish from living peacefully together. Cichlids, especially large ones, fight. Oscars and convicts are both agressive fish.

I dunno man, if I were you I would do this. Think long and hard about whether or not these are the kinds of fish you want. If you have your heart set on the oscars and plecos I would take the rest back. Then make plans for that large tank asap and start saving $$. However, if you come to the conclusion that you just want cichlids or plecos in general, then that's something to work with. Plenty of plecos are available that stay under 5 inches. Same with cichlids, there are all different kinds.

It was imprudent to buy all those fish at once and keep them in a 10g for an unknown amount of time. They're all common fish and would have still been there when the large tank was set-up and ready for them. You can still do right by them, and I'm sure your heart is in the right place with this.

And just as a general disclaimer, I'm in no way trying to dictate what you should do here, they're your fish, your purchase now, so you can do what you want with them and if you think keeping them all and keeping them in that little tank for a long time is OK then go for it, and good luck to you. But most tank problems stem from over stocking: algae, fish health - too much waste in a closed system is a mortal lock to cause big problems, if not fish loss. We're alljust trying to help here

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Back in the saddle!

nowherman6 thanks alot youve been great help. ive been keeping up on the water change and what not(25%-50%) i keep a real close eye on them. i know i wouldnt want to be stuck in a little box. i honestly have the tank in a sort of lay-a-away till my check gets here. its fully hooked up with hoods, lights, and filter system. my 10 now has a undergravel and a top filter. the undergravels got a power head on it and i keep the filters changed weekly instead of monthly. i plan on putting the three oscars together with one of the plecos in the 200 and the convicts in the 55 with the cory and the other pleco, i plan on getting two or more corys (albino) for the 55. i dont plan on putin the plecos together i know theyll get like almost two feet long, but the fish should be alright in this set up. all i can do is learn right? also i know if they wernt sold at walmart they stay in a simial or smaller tank, till they do whatever with them. as far as i feel for the fish i feel i saved them from walmart death. hopefully they dont get kenny death. wish me luck and thanks again for alll the help from everyone.

Well it seems like you've at least got the tank sorted out. What kind of filtration do you have for it? If it's just the oscars and the pleco you may want to think about doing a bare-bottom tank, or maybe a 1/2 inch of gravel, no more than that. A large gravel bed will trap waste and excess food and it will rot under there, causing ammonia spikes and high nitrates. A little bit of gravel is fine as you wont have any live plants and this'll make it easier to get rid of all that crap.

As for the 55, use lots of bogwood and rocks to break up sightlines, and dont get attached to either of the convicts. Someone above mentioned having two in a 55 and they fight, and I'd just as well take their word for it. One might have to go, but at least give them hiding places. And again, filtration filtration filtration! Any ammonia present will give you green water and other algal scourges. Good luck!

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Back in the saddle!