Poly stocking advice needed

Hendre

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Can't wait to see the retros!

And T thefredpit good luck with your plans :)
 
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magpie

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Yes, please post retro pics!

I’m excited for you. Sorry we’ve sort of commandeered your thread a little. ;)

I'm working on it. I'm sharing tank space with a fish rescue so all those tanks are being donated along with a boat load of equipment once we go through all the equipment we are going to sell/trade anything we don't need and buy/trade for what we need which will include at least one massive tank. Luckily this place has room for 20-30 more tanks
That is so awesome. What a sweet deal.
 
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jaws7777

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See guys we never know what we'll get with these fish.

Op understandably didnt like the laziness of his laps and loves the activity of his retros... who are known for being hiders.

Go figure
 
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magpie

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Especially WC fish. Maybe adding 3 of them at the same time helped? *shrugs*

Z zimmy - I hope you can track down some Pollis or Senegals for activity. I hear you on the albino Sens, they don't appeal to me either but lots of folks here love them.

What are your other plans for tankmates outside of polys? Are you planning on adding any more plants or just letting those vals grow in?

If you're not doing any larger tankmates who could eat a noodle-shaped fish, I'd recommend looking into a group of rope fish, like 5 or more. They are active, and mine would eat out of my fingers after a while.

Also, on the rope fish thought, if we haven't mentioned it already be really careful to seal up ANY gaps in your lid, like around your filter, heater, etc. Many polys have been lost to jumping out of what seem like impossible spots, and ropes even more so because they're so skinny. Many of us use duct tape at the back areas for that purpose. Sorry if that's a repeat/known for you.
 
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magpie

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Another side note, I really like floating plants as everyone here knows. ;) In my experience it helps to make fish feel more comfortable, settle more quickly, and hide less. Especially fish that are more comfortable with dim lighting like the polys.

I do love the looks of your tank - and the way you set op your wood does a version of that, too - perfect. (vs. just having the bulk of the wood on the substrate.)

Are the pothos going to be growing roots down into the water column? I always thought that would look really cool and the fish would love it. That would be another way of providing that surface cover. It'd be like the side of a body of water lined with plants - give some top cover without taking up too much substrate surface.

I also like the idea of lotus plants with upper jaws (ljs would trash them) for the same reason. Not a lot of substrate real estate taken, but would provide some cover in the mid to top of the tank. I have a red one in my small tank and my fish seem to love it.
 
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Gourami Swami

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Are the pothos going to be growing roots down into the water column? I always thought that would look really cool and the fish would love it. That would be another way of providing that surface cover. It'd be like the side of a body of water lined with plants - give some top cover without taking up too much substrate surface.
I agree on the floating plants, and the pothos roots would definitely add a cool effect here.
Here's a pic of my planted tank where I have the pothos roots going down into the water. Would look even better on a more dimly lit, riverine-themed tank in my opinion.
 
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jaws7777

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Floating plants are great. I really liked water lettuce and Brazilian pennywort. Sadly i cant keep them
 
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