Thanks for the idea he's in a grow out currently,(55 gal) so he doesn't have the space he will in a couple months when I move him to a bigger tank. I figure then I can add a few more obstacles, tankmates, etc. I'd really like him in a planted tank I just don't know if that would be possible with any of the tankmates I'm interested in. Also what would an ideal setup for this aro be exactly I've seen a lot of different info around?
I've seen a few Jardini in planted tanks, but only solo. If you want a planted community tank I don't think any arowana would be a good choice as all of them are semi-aggressive and would probably eat smaller fish (less than 6in depending on the body shape) given the chance. However if I could get away with it I would do this:
For just bottom dwelling tank mates with substrate
I would probably use #20 pool filter sand and stock some bichir along with him, maybe even a cat. What I would love to have is an AUL (Australian lungfish) with my Jardini but those are difficult and expensive to get (~$1500 USD or so). I would try to get them at a similar size to the Jardini (bigger cats and bichir have been known to eat smaller Jardini or just bully them to death) and after quarantining them let them stay in the same tank for about 1-2 weeks. If no one is getting close to death then the Jardini may let them live with it for it's entire life.
For a planted tank
If I were to do a planted tank with him in it, I would probably use a 300 gallon tank (96"W x 30" D x 24" H) minimum with a low-tech set-up. Obviously a larger tank may let you get away with larger tank mates. I would add 1-2" of #20 pool filter sand again and have a low but long piece of drift wood to use as a base for most of the plants. Then I would stock a few geophagus, probably around 6-8 depending on the species.
For bottom dwelling non-cichlid tank mates I would not use drift wood but instead have rock caves or some sort of cover that could act like a cave and stock with some of the smaller armored catfish species. Again use the structure as the main base for the plants. Use either #20 pool filter sand or fine gravel depending on the species you get. If you want larger bottom dwelling tank mates I would just keep the sand substrate (or add cover initially and slowly remove it as they grow larger) and use bichirs or one of the larger growing catfish (i.e. lima shovelnose, eel-tailed catfish, vulture catfish, etc.).
If bottom dwellers don't appeal to you try some dither fish like silver dollars, tinfoil barbs, etc. as they grow too big to eat and are generally fast enough to escape death. If you go this route I would strongly suggest using rounded stones as cover so that if the Jardini does chase the dither fish they have a place to escape to and the Jardini is less likely to injure itself. Additionally, use gravel instead of sand so that there is no chance sand ends up inside your filter. However, for this route you will probably be unable to use the rounded stones as a base for your plants so expect some plants being ripped out by your fish depending on the species you are getting.
As for plants check out the planted aquarium board, i'm not too big on planted aquariums because i'm in college at the moment so bare bottom 100% of the way haha. But generally you want the tallest growing plants to be at the back and progressively move shorter and shorter as you move to the front of the tank while aquascaping. Just also note that planted aquariums requires CO2 to be pumped into the water so there is some extra maintenance required.
The main thing is to see if the Jardini will allow anything with it around the 1' mark; most Jardini flip their switch around then. If your bottom dwellers are not attacked then most bottom dwelling species are safe, the same thing goes with small fish species like dwarf cichlids.
If you think I missed anything or have any questions just reply again.
