It was a local fish store! Totally mom and pop! That’s why I listened to the guy!
Of course, I did have two much bigger oscars in a ten gallon tank for years when I was a kid, but I’d never do that now. I already love my little guys - they come up to see me when I walk by the tank, but they don’t come see my boyfriend because he’s never fed their greedy little asses. So I guess when they get big I get a bigger tank. They’re smallish now - the smaller one is about as long as my index finger. So hopefully I’ve got some time. I do test the water regularly and the 29 gallon tank has been stable for more than a year.
I used to be really good about water changes and then I fell down on the job for a long time. I’ll be back on the stick again with nice clean tanks now and friendly fish that make fun of my cats. For filtering I just have what came with the tank - it’s an Eclipse 3 hood with one of those long filter cartridges, which I rinse every so often and replace when they look gross, and a biowheel. Do I need more? These guys definitely are messy eaters.