Any advice on P. Polleni?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
duanes said:
Polleni don't like similar shaped or colored tankmates, means competition. The spangling on the salvini, will bring on aggression, and in that size tank, there's no place to hide. You'd be fine in the 42gal with tetras or rainbows too small for it to swallow, or cichlids that have a totally different look. You need minimum 150 to provide an escape route.
afchur0463.jpg
Click to expand...

Yeah, I read in multiple threads and sites that they don't like fish of their build or color. There's also people with polleni that have proved that it could be done. Was wondering if there was any other advice towards accomplishing that other than tank size


Sent from my iPod touch using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 
Fat Homer said:
Let me share my experiences with my Polleni... had him now for just over 16 years roughly and in that time i've tried keeping him with tank mates on 3 occasions...

1st time: Polleni was bought with another chiclid at the same time (can't remember which species) they got along okay for a while since they were both small at the time till the other one past away about 6 or 8 years later...

2nd time: I had a friend whos tank leaked and had to temporarily house his fish with my polleni, i thought it was be okay based on his old tank mate, but the polleni was NOT happy and literally tried to tear the other fish to shreds the minute he was put in, so naturally i took it out and placed it at an LFS i know and trust...

3rd time: My dad decided to get the polleni a friend to hang out with (again thinking back to when he had a tank mate), and again the minute the other fish touched the water he went straight for it and was quite literally ready to kill it, so again i took it out and returned it to the store...

But one thing i've noticed with my polleni at least is, they are very aggressive fish... they will even charge at almost anything, including you if your cleaning the tank... i've actually had my polleni draw blood on 2 or 3 occasions when i wasn't focusing on what i was doing while cleaning his tank...

Beautiful fish, but they definitely come with the behavior to boot in my experience...
Click to expand...
Homer, what size tank(s) was your polleni in during the various scenarios? Can you remember any of the other species?
I'm curious bcuz [female] polleni is on my "wanna get" list.
 
mistahoo said:
Yeah, I read in multiple threads and sites that they don't like fish of their build or color. There's also people with polleni that have proved that it could be done. Was wondering if there was any other advice towards accomplishing that other than tank size


Sent from my iPod touch using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
Click to expand...

It's a hit or miss thing with these guys. As your probably aware each fish has his own personality. I will say how ever in my experience the small spot Polleni tend to be less aggressive, but they're fairly hard to find in comparison to the big spot Polleni. Your best bet is to get them small. Aquascapeonline has them from time to time, so buying a small group shouldn't be too difficult. Then just let them grow and try to pick the least aggressive of them. Though it's still a gamble as I've seen them turn nasty for no apparent reason as they grow. Only other suggestion I would make is make sure there are lots of hides so the fish can hopefully choose a definitive territory and break up line of sight as much as possible with tank decorations. I'd also add lots of dithers, my favorite are by far Silver Dollars, but with a limited tank size they're not the way to go. Try something that moves fast and some what schools. The constant movement is a good distraction. Just make sure the dithers are fast and hardy. That's why I like SD's, their virtually indestructible and their movements grab alot of attention. That's pretty much the best advice I can give.
 
I've got 2x P. Sp. Andapa (very similar to Polleni from what I can tell--in fact I usually get my husbandry info from Polleni care sheets), a M and a F, and the M is pretty much only aggressive to the F. He chases her around and nips her fins up pretty good but she still hangs out next to him all the time. I've seen very little aggression from the M to other species, but that's because they were put in the tank at a small size and have always had bigger tankmates. My pike actually chases and occasionally injures them.

They are extremely extremely aggressive feeders. They're always at the top, ready for food, and I can't really drop anything in the tank without getting splashed in/near the face. I make sure that if I'm going to put my hand in the tank, I put my WHOLE hand in so that they see it's not just a little finger-worm. Not sure if they're large enough to draw blood yet (8'' or so--growing like science fiction!) but I'm not trying to find out the hard way.

And I know you know this by now, but you're going to have to upgrade your tank size to even keep 1 paratilapia. Not to mention that RTC. They get big!
 
koltsix said:
It's a hit or miss thing with these guys. As your probably aware each fish has his own personality. I will say how ever in my experience the small spot Polleni tend to be less aggressive, but they're fairly hard to find in comparison to the big spot Polleni. Your best bet is to get them small. Aquascapeonline has them from time to time, so buying a small group shouldn't be too difficult. Then just let them grow and try to pick the least aggressive of them. Though it's still a gamble as I've seen them turn nasty for no apparent reason as they grow. Only other suggestion I would make is make sure there are lots of hides so the fish can hopefully choose a definitive territory and break up line of sight as much as possible with tank decorations. I'd also add lots of dithers, my favorite are by far Silver Dollars, but with a limited tank size they're not the way to go. Try something that moves fast and some what schools. The constant movement is a good distraction. Just make sure the dithers are fast and hardy. That's why I like SD's, their virtually indestructible and their movements grab alot of attention. That's pretty much the best advice I can give.
Click to expand...

Good stuff. I'll try with the schooling fish to distract them. The salvini has been feeding on the tetras and hasn't been bothering other fish. Polleni is still separated until the fish have settled down a bit more.
 
Mount_Prion said:
I've got 2x P. Sp. Andapa (very similar to Polleni from what I can tell--in fact I usually get my husbandry info from Polleni care sheets), a M and a F, and the M is pretty much only aggressive to the F. He chases her around and nips her fins up pretty good but she still hangs out next to him all the time. I've seen very little aggression from the M to other species, but that's because they were put in the tank at a small size and have always had bigger tankmates. My pike actually chases and occasionally injures them.

They are extremely extremely aggressive feeders. They're always at the top, ready for food, and I can't really drop anything in the tank without getting splashed in/near the face. I make sure that if I'm going to put my hand in the tank, I put my WHOLE hand in so that they see it's not just a little finger-worm. Not sure if they're large enough to draw blood yet (8'' or so--growing like science fiction!) but I'm not trying to find out the hard way.

And I know you know this by now, but you're going to have to upgrade your tank size to even keep 1 paratilapia. Not to mention that RTC. They get big!
Click to expand...

Yeah I know about the RTC. For now they'll be in the 42. Just got a pike and a p. bass and they're starting to get along.
 
mistahoo said:
Wow that's a long time! How did his original tankmate die? My polleni hasn't tried to come after me yet and hoping it won't


Sent from my iPod touch using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
Click to expand...

I guess he died of natural causes... One day i woke up and he was belly up with no signs of bullying or obvious parasites...


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 
Petspoiler: my polleni has since a juvie been in a 60G tank...

Aclockworkorange: yes, you read that correctly, i have a 16 yr old polleni...


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom