I haven't seen anyone else address it, but your polys should be fine in the soft water. They are highly adaptable to a wide range of water conditions. So long as the water quality is good, the polys should thive. Good luck on your pick-up, and welcome to the bichir addiction 
My biggest piece of advice if you haven't already done it, is to seal up any gap or spot on your tank where the poly could jump out. Given the oppertunity they eventually will.
I'm not sure if you were telling him that or just remarking that people are taking it easy today, but here's my $.02...
While goldfish are terrible feeders due to the fat content, there's nothing wrong with feeding shrimp, guppies, silversides, etc so long as they are properly quarentined and disease free. Its still best to use a well-balanced pellet as a staple (hikari carnivore for example) but variety is great for fishes.
While the pelleted substrate could cause a problem if the poly swallows a piece, I doubt that the bottom of every single river in west africa is a fine sand completey deviod of pepples and gravel. Yet somehow polypterus have lived and thrived for 90+ million years. Substrate is a personal choice.
The catfish is a good point since a lot of cats have sharp fins and other defense mechanisms that could hurt/kill a poly if he tried to eat one.
While a 2 foot tank is too small for an adult poly, its perfect for a 2-inch specimen which is what he has. 10G and 20G long growouts are recommended for juvenile polys since its easier for them to find their food and reach the surface for air. Additionally they don't waste as many calories, therefor growing faster.
My biggest piece of advice if you haven't already done it, is to seal up any gap or spot on your tank where the poly could jump out. Given the oppertunity they eventually will.devder1;3078414; said:
I'm not sure if you were telling him that or just remarking that people are taking it easy today, but here's my $.02...
While goldfish are terrible feeders due to the fat content, there's nothing wrong with feeding shrimp, guppies, silversides, etc so long as they are properly quarentined and disease free. Its still best to use a well-balanced pellet as a staple (hikari carnivore for example) but variety is great for fishes.
While the pelleted substrate could cause a problem if the poly swallows a piece, I doubt that the bottom of every single river in west africa is a fine sand completey deviod of pepples and gravel. Yet somehow polypterus have lived and thrived for 90+ million years. Substrate is a personal choice.
The catfish is a good point since a lot of cats have sharp fins and other defense mechanisms that could hurt/kill a poly if he tried to eat one.
While a 2 foot tank is too small for an adult poly, its perfect for a 2-inch specimen which is what he has. 10G and 20G long growouts are recommended for juvenile polys since its easier for them to find their food and reach the surface for air. Additionally they don't waste as many calories, therefor growing faster.
