I currently have 4 polys growing out. 2, 3" endlis, a 4" delhezi, and a 3" ornate. They are in a lightly planted 20 gal tank with around 7 amazon swords, some hair grass, and a moderate amount of christmas moss. I have a top filter with foam and bioballs as the filter media and a pump with 600L/h turnover rate. Ive had them for about 2 months and havent seen much growth. I do 50% WC weekly and try to get as much poop and food out. But I find it hard to clean because of the wood and plants (especially the moss) and substrate. I am going to upgrade to a 35 gal soon and am thinking if I should keep the wood and the plants in or should just go bare tank. If I go bare I would just add pvc pipes to act as caves. Here are what I think the pros and cons would be:
Planted:
Pros +
+Plants would keep the nitrites down and act as hiding spots (They love going inbetween the swords).
+The huge piece of wood serves as a great hiding spot.
+The tank looks great and the polys love it
+Looks more natural
Cons -
-Harder to maintain and clean because of the substrate plants and wood
-I cant see if they eat all the food
-They easily uproot plants and make the water cloudy
-I cant monitor how much each is eating
-Harder to feed (Easier to over feed)
Bare:
Pros +
+Easier to clean
+can observe much more of their feeding
+more space for them to swim in
+can easily suck out any poop
Cons-
- It would look dull and boring with just 3 small logs and a delhezi
- No plants to lessen nitrites
- Less hiding spots
- They would probably get more finickey
Another idea would be to go bare in much of the tank and plant some plants on one side. Or maybe even keep the wood and just remove the sand. But that would still remove my sight of the fish. What do you guys do when you grow out polys and do you have other suggestions? Im more worried about the water quality among other things. I feed heavily everynight (Ive tried feeding them small portions throughout the day but just wont eat if there is light except if the food fall right infront of them) feeding them a variety of food like chopped fish fillets, carnivore pellets, bloodworms, sliced and peeled shrimp, and sometimes sliced anchovies. I really dont know whats wrong. Everyone says I'd see growth spurts atleast every month.
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Planted:
Pros +
+Plants would keep the nitrites down and act as hiding spots (They love going inbetween the swords).
+The huge piece of wood serves as a great hiding spot.
+The tank looks great and the polys love it
+Looks more natural
Cons -
-Harder to maintain and clean because of the substrate plants and wood
-I cant see if they eat all the food
-They easily uproot plants and make the water cloudy
-I cant monitor how much each is eating
-Harder to feed (Easier to over feed)
Bare:
Pros +
+Easier to clean
+can observe much more of their feeding
+more space for them to swim in
+can easily suck out any poop
Cons-
- It would look dull and boring with just 3 small logs and a delhezi
- No plants to lessen nitrites
- Less hiding spots
- They would probably get more finickey
Another idea would be to go bare in much of the tank and plant some plants on one side. Or maybe even keep the wood and just remove the sand. But that would still remove my sight of the fish. What do you guys do when you grow out polys and do you have other suggestions? Im more worried about the water quality among other things. I feed heavily everynight (Ive tried feeding them small portions throughout the day but just wont eat if there is light except if the food fall right infront of them) feeding them a variety of food like chopped fish fillets, carnivore pellets, bloodworms, sliced and peeled shrimp, and sometimes sliced anchovies. I really dont know whats wrong. Everyone says I'd see growth spurts atleast every month.
Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
Gonna get more info from him