Can anyone tell me about Vieja heterospilus?

[FINWIN]

Unfortunately no one can tell you what you can and can't add if your tank can support the bio load the worst think If your keep an eye on them is you have to get rid of a fish. But I have a big assortment of fish and some of them if you read online They are aggressive and can't be housed with fish I have in the tank with them and the fish I have is one of the calmest fish I have on the other have I an Oscar for about 10 years now that kills everything that you put in the tank with him, Including the fish that were bought with him as a juvenile and were introduced at the same time. He killed 2 plecos. A pleco what? He killed Jack Dempsey, parrots, venustus, and other oscars just to name a few. What I am trying to say is every fish is different If you watch him closely and It's not way bigger than the other fish You can pull the fish out if it gets agitated. Also I've had timeout to work for fish I've had it not work for fish There a couple things to do if you have in aggressive fish they don't always work but they do sometimes. If you want the fish and ill make you enjoy your tank more I say get it

Its interesting you mention your Oscar's aggression. I posted in the SA/CA thread about my Brick's 'hit list.' One was an unfortunate circumstance and the other was an ongoing war that the oscar ended once and for all.

He's what I would call tolerant of tankmates. Doesn't bother fish under 6". As long as nobody challenges him he's fine. He and the blood parrot Boss run the tank together (they grew up together as well). The chocolate Bobo is the third wheel. But if Brick gets pissed at a fish he's relentless and good at chasing, intimidating and stressing. Right now I've got a nice and interesting combo of CA, SA, and AF.

I kind of calculate in my head potential ultimate size of each fish and territory space needed. So when I stock I'm always thinking that way, like total inches of fish per tank. The Oscar and Parrot 'own' about 45% but as of late they will share. The challenge is scaping for open areas, sight breaks and privacy all at the same time. Its been a tricky work in progress but I've got a good balance for the time being. When its time to settle in for the night everyone has their favorite spots and hidey holes. The main tank will look empty!

So figuring on potential size helps keep me from going insane with additions. A pink male convict/keyhole cichlid OR red rainbow are on my punchlist.

14" Oscar (16"+)
10" Chocolate (12")
7+" BP (8"-10")
2 synos, 7" and 8" approx (8"-10"+)
5" rainbow (6")
4" acaras (2) (6"-8")
3" HRP (5")
5" golden severum (8"-10")

 

[Tj203]

Its interesting you mention your Oscar's aggression. I posted in the SA/CA thread about my Brick's 'hit list.' One was an unfortunate circumstance and the other was an ongoing war that the oscar ended once and for all.

He's what I would call tolerant of tankmates. Doesn't bother fish under 6". As long as nobody challenges him he's fine. He and the blood parrot Boss run the tank together (they grew up together as well). The chocolate Bobo is the third wheel. But if Brick gets pissed at a fish he's relentless and good at chasing, intimidating and stressing. Right now I've got a nice and interesting combo of CA, SA, and AF.

I kind of calculate in my head potential ultimate size of each fish and territory space needed. So when I stock I'm always thinking that way, like total inches of fish per tank. The Oscar and Parrot 'own' about 45% but as of late they will share. The challenge is scaping for open areas, sight breaks and privacy all at the same time. Its been a tricky work in progress but I've got a good balance for the time being. When its time to settle in for the night everyone has their favorite spots and hidey holes. The main tank will look empty!

So figuring on potential size helps keep me from going insane with additions. A pink male convict/keyhole cichlid OR red rainbow are on my punchlist.

14" Oscar (16"+)
10" Chocolate (12")
7+" BP (8"-10")
2 synos, 7" and 8" approx (8"-10"+)
5" rainbow (6")
4" acaras (2) (6"-8")
3" HRP (5")
5" golden severum (8"-10")

I know I love oscars had them all my life maybe kept 20 25 of them and they were all fine in a tank with other similar fish or even got beat up because they were just big and slow. I like it over stocked I live all the action

 

[FINWIN]

5 I wish My well water comes out at that lol 5 is dam good do you have a drip system or you just do water changes?

Water changes, large ones. I'm also a fan of pothos but I have to get more (the fish eat and strip it eventually). My fish tend to grow good. Temps range from 79-81. My chocolate grows in bursts, he's super chunky and heavy as rock. The BP grows more steady (in 3D, lol). My oscar is a tank. His body recently caught up to the width of his head and he has new fin growth showing. He does loop de loops after water changes. His bulk is slowing his speed from last year but he can still burst when he wants to.

Since the pandemic I just leave the python hoses out on the rec room floor. 50 minutes to drain (80%) and 1hr + 20-35 minutes to fill.

 

[Tj203]

Water changes, large ones. I'm also a fan of pothos but I have to get more (the fish eat and strip it eventually). My fish tend to grow good. Temps range from 79-81. My chocolate grows in bursts, he's super chunky and heavy as rock. The BP grows more steady (in 3D, lol). My oscar is a tank. His body recently caught up to the width of his head and he has new fin growth showing. He does loop de loops after water changes. His bulk is slowing his speed from last year but he can still burst when he wants to.

Since the pandemic I just leave the python hoses out on the rec room floor. 50 minutes to drain (80%) and 1hr + 20-35 minutes to fill.

Well because of your comment about the pathos I bought an algae turf scrubber today. My fish are all young so my bio load will grow substantially and if the pathos works that good for you I'm down to try this.

 

[FINWIN]

Well because of your comment about the pathos I bought an algae turf scrubber today. My fish are all young so my bio load will grow substantially and if the pathos works that good for you I'm down to try this.

I had a thread on submerged pothos here:

Pothos in your tank, easy peasy | MonsterFishKeepers.com

 

[duanes]

There are a number of tropical terrestrial plants that work well with their feet wet.
I used Pothos for years, but these days I'm using diaefenbacia and others that grow faster, so use more nitrate and more quickly.
There size can get overwhelming in a small space though. The Deifenbachia below are about 5 ft tall, and stems are quite thick.

But there are many other plants that are also useable.

And one that grows a little slower, but can send roots into the substrate are mangrove trees.
I have about a dozen mangrove saplings in both the tank and sump of my 300 gal system.

Mangrove roots busting out of a bamboo stem, (once filled with sand) below, I started the pods in.

With the above plants, I am able to maintain non-detectable nitrate in my fairly well stocked tank, just like the nitrate levels found in nature.