What to do with my large fish

Question
Hi, I bought a couple of fish that are yellow with black tiger stripes - not barbs. They were the same size as all the other fish and now they are 4 to 5 times the size of the others and one just ate one of the smaller fish. It seems like they scare all the other fish and eat all the food. They also like to burrow for food in the gravel on the bottom. I want to know what I should do with them. I have a 20 gallon freshwater tank.

Answer
Hey Curt,

It sounds like you picked up a cichlid. Cichlids typically dont mix too well with smaller fish, and they will continue to eat smaller fish! Now, you could either adjust your setup to keep cichlids, which if you like these guys, Nicole Putnam (another fish expert on this site) would be the one to talk to. I beleive she's listed in the "fish" category. She's by far more knoledgable then I when it comes to cichlids. If you wish to keep your smaller tropicals, most non-chain pet stores will actually buy fish back (or trade for store credit). Just bring a water sample, with a description and they'll give you a price. Selling the cichlids will probably bring you about 12$ a pair which you can turn around and use to replace the fish it ate! However, cichlids are beautiful, playful, and smart fish that make good pets! If you decide, and have the ability to, you could keep them in a 30 gallon tank (they typically need more space) and will even be trainable to jump for food, and swim up to your hands and nibble finger tips.

Whichever you decide, good luck and best wishes! Hopefully they'll stop eating your other fish long enough to let you make a choice!