Uninformed first timer

Question
I have recently purchased a Albino Oscar fish, and after some looking around online, I have become very alarmed by the growth rate and tank size requirements for this particular fish. I was not informed about this by the company which I bought the fish from. I would like to have several decent sized fish to put in my tank, but not something that's going to outgrow it in a few months. Can you suggest a better breed for my tank, or mix of fish for my tank, that will get nice sized, but live comfortably in my tank? Dimensions are L=30" W=12" and H=18.5" I have been led to believe it is 28-29 gallon tank. I thank you in advance for any help, also what's the best way for me to find a good home for the Beautiful Oscar that I will not be able to house....

Answer
Hi Jae,
 You are right to be alarmed. If you were to take good care of your oscar, it would reach 12-16 inches in length in little over a year. At that point it would need at least a 50 gallon tank, more likely a 70+ gallon tank.  

 Your tank sounds like a 29 gallon tank.  

 As for which fish to put in your current tank, that is a tough question because there are so many choices.  There are over 28,000 species of fishes.  You can't get all of those, but you can easily get several hundred different species for a home aquarium, and many hundreds more with a little effort.   

 The best way to choose fish is to start with a geographic area of the world and stick with fish from that region -- they tend to have similar requirements and get along better than just mixing ones that you like.  

 It also depends on what you are after.  If you want a mix of fish, go with small fish.  If you want cool behavior, go with several individuals of one species.  For example, I keep cichlids (as do many people) and these are often kept with just one or two species in a tank, not with a mix.  I am interested in watching them breed and take care of their kids. For that, you cannot beat the convict cichlid.  They are inexpensive, easy to breed and wonderful to watch.  But don't put a bunch of other little fish in with them -- they are highly protective parents and they will "remove" any unwanted potential predators of their kids.  

 So basically, it depends on what you want to have and see.
Any thoughts?

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>