Oscars Dempseys and Cichlids

Question
Hi Ron, I have a 29 gallon tank, about how many tropical fish (Oscars or Cichlids) should I keep in there?  Can I keep Oscars and Dempseys together?  Oscars and Cichlids?

Thanks
Scott

Answer
Hi Scott,
  Oscars are actually a species of cichlid.  

  Oscars are wonderfully interesting fish but they don't play well with others.  Basically, an oscars role in life is to eat things, and an oscar is very good at what it does.  So, if you put an oscar and some other fish in a 29 gallon tank, eventually (maybe not today or tommorrow) but eventually you will invariably end up with only the oscar in the tank and the other fish will have disappeared.  

  Plus, oscars grow large. An adult oscar is 16 inches long and needs at least a 50 gallon tank, if not a 75 or 100 gallon tank.  They can reach that size, if properly cared for, in little over a year.  

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