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Hello, my name is Edwina. I bought my husband a 55 g tank for xmas. We went and got two Oscar's, two jack Dempsey's, and a Dinosaur eel. The Oscars are about 2 - 3 in., the jacks are 3-4 in. and the Dino is about 3 in. The people at the store said oh thats plenty of room, and ok tank mates. I start researching them and now I am not so sure. Any thoughts would be great, I want to do everything right for my fish. Thanks for any help.

the fish you have now are going to be fine in that tank. but when they get bigger they're definetly gonna outgrow it. because jack dempseys usually get about 7 or 8 inches in a good size tank and oscars can get up to around 12 inches. so after a couple months i would just get a bigger tank probley a 100 gallon atleast for 5 fish that get pretty big.

One Oscar needs about 75 gallons, 55 gallon minimum. They grow to be 12 inches each.

yes get a large tank, a 100 or larger if you can manage it.  And it needs good filtration, exspecially for the O's

Yeah, you are going to be overstocked in a few months.  It is sad that most people at the store either have no idea what they are talking about OR are told to sell whatever becuase it makes the store more money. 

I don't know what the eel needs or much about it at all.  I can tell you, just two Oscars in a 55 are a ton of work, plus, a tendancy of territorial aggression.  Add two other Cichlids (Jack Dempsey) and now you will have a major territory issue and an impossible to maintain tank.

The Oscars can grow between 1-2" a month in pristine water and with quality food with 12" being standard length (body length), 16" total length (including tail fin) average when adult.  I believe JDs usually grow at slower rates and adult size is a few inches smaller in length ...  They are both wide fish. 

What could possibly happen, is the Oscars will grow so big so fast, and being confined might turn a tankmate into a meal.  If you start to see aggression and get worried, buy a tank divider to keep them from being gobbled up and get a second tank a.s.a.p.  If your fish are growing slow, check your nitrates with a liquid test kit.  They should be below 20 ppm.  Stunting can occur from -either/all- too small of a tank, overstocking, poor water conditions.  Stunting is bad for the fish, and what they really mean when they say the fish grow to the tank size.

I have watched tanks on YouTube with JDs and Os, so they can get along, but, to keep all those fish together their whole life ...  I would recommend at least a 210, and that would still leave you with a couple water changes a week, since Cichlids are messy eaters, get quite large, and produce a lot of ammonia ...  and that would be about the bare minimum on gallon per fish. 

I would say around the 300 gallon amount would be best for them AND for you (less water changes) if you could afford it, otherwise, two tanks or giving up part of the fish family would be the only other options.

You may get away with the two JDs in the 55 with a couple water changes a week, and get a 125-150 for your two Os and the eel (again, someone who knows the eel requirements needs to chime in on that).

Keep reading and asking questions and there are a ton of people here that will help you and your fish both be happy and healthy.

I do recommend getting a freshwater master test kit and getting used to testing your water parameters.  It creates an active relationship between you and the quality of water your fish are living in.  ammonia and nitrite should always be 0 ppm, nitrate below 20 ppm (the lower you can maintain it the better), pH and temp need to be stable more than anything as long as it is in their comfort range.  With Oscars, if you don't keep the nitrates down, they are more likely to get the HITH problem, which is not pretty.

I hope that wasn't too much info at once.  I tend to ramble.  If you ever need any more info from anyone, don't be afraid to ask this forum, they are some of the nicest fish forum people out there!