What got you into polys

[jaws7777]

Dr.B idea.

So what got you into polys ?

For me it was actually my wife. We kept mostly CA and some plecos/small cats. My 5 yr old son mostly picks out our fish, every now and then i'll sneak one in.

Any way my wife was never really into cichlids she always liked oddballs. One day she comes home and says she saw a fish that looks like a dragon and she wants it. Im thinking it was an aro or something.

She drags me to the store and i knew it was a poly but had no clue what exactly. Had to post pics here... ended up being our del which she named spike (one and only fish not named by my kids lol)

Always liked ornates so when my boy asked for one that was pretty much it and the addiction started.

Looking at pics of dr.b's lower jaws really put the nail in the coffin

 

[kno4te]

I randomly picked up a poly lap at a local store upstate ny. Didn't know what I was getting into at the time.

Thought they were snakelike so I just got it.

The guy at the same shop asked if I wanted some more and the rest was history. Now can't have a tank without them.

 

[MaineiacJay]

I got a senegal at my LFS because it looked like an eel and I have always loved eels ( but most of the freshwater eels just don't have that predator look that I love about saltwater eels). I got one having no idea what i was really getting into. Honestly the idea that there were other types out there never crossed my mind, for whatever reason. I had my senegal for a year and he doubled in size before I found another at a separate FS, labeled as a Palmas palmas. upon researching a palamas palmas, I knew it wasn't it, so I went further and was officially introduced to the wonderful world of polys!

After being unable to narrow it down between a couple polys, I came on here and posted and found out it was an endli. I wanted more!

My LFS was able to order some different types and I have since been able to get my hands on a beautiful ornate and a nice buettikoferi.

Unfortunately, my LFS has stopped ordering from their poly sources and I am left hanging. Thanks to this forum, I have some ideas on where to start and I look forward to getting more!

 

[DMD123]

I was hard core into cichlids and was just wanting something 'not so common' so I ended up ordering a delhezi and sen.... Which the led to me getting an albino sen, gold dust and weeksii.

 

[tlindsey]

TBH only was familiar with the ropefish lol , probably over looked polypterus but a member isde02 had brung me in to the wonderful world of polys thats how I got hooked.

 

[DMD123]

Had to add, I hated bichir when I first saw them.... lol

It took over a year of research before I finally took the plunge and got one. I could actually stand the look of the delhezi and the sen was just inexpensive. So here it isa few years later I had zero issue dropping big bucks on some wild caught lower jaws. look at the progress Ive made!

 

[jaws7777]

I randomly picked up a poly lap at a local store upstate ny. Didn't know what I was getting into at the time.

Thought they were snakelike so I just got it.

The guy at the same shop asked if I wanted some more and the rest was history. Now can't have a tank without them.

Always was curious about your group. How many do you have ?

 

[moe214]

I was maybe 10 and wasnt in the hobby for more than a year, I had a 10g with a rainbow shark. I found my lfs, and saw the oddball section and fell in love with oddballs from there. Then I saw this 10-11" Senegal bichir, at the time I didn't know what it was, but it looked cool, it was a female and she always had her fins displayed which added to the cool look. So I asked my mom if we can get it and she said yes but we have to get a bigger tank. So I had a 29g from keeping a turtle. I used that for about a month then got a 55g just for her. Then I got a couple other oddballs. But she started my interest in oddballs for sure. Rainbow sharks are the start of it all for me.

 

[Champagne Papi]

I saw one get bullied by cichlids in petsmart so i got it and fell in love with them. I love watching them hunt.

 

[DMD123]

Great topic jaws, Im glad it wasn't a 'What got you into endli's?', because with that it almost felt as if I lost a bet or something, lol. Just for the record I got the endli against my will. No regrets, awesome poly!