Looking for some stocking input - Polleni's

[GoldfishForPresident]

Hello!

I've been starting to brainstorm some long-term stocking ideas, and I'm just looking to bounce some ideas around, especially with folks that have kept some of these species before.

Most of what I keep is CA/SA cichlids, and I typically maintain single-specimen tanks with those guys, so I feel like my "community chops" are rusty, so to speak. However, I've been growing out two young small-spot polleni siblings, which are currently about 2.5-3" and I suspect are both females. (We had a larger, chunkier sibling that I thought was a male, but he died after some new substrate caused a pH spike.) They are being kept individually right now, each in their own 40 breeder.

I've seen some terrific threads on here with polleni in a community environment, but those mostly involved a fair few polleni, rather than a pair. One poster mentioned that the other fish in the community played an important role in allowing multiple polleni to live together.

Ok, so I have an empty 180, and my hope is to keep both polleni in there together, with some other fish TBD. I want to avoid any moderate aggression/harrassing in the tank; I hate watching this and want to minimize stressors for my fish. My main questions:
1. Is it likely that two (potentially female) polleni can share a 180? How big of a wrench would it be if one turns out to be male?
2. Tankmates - I'm not sure if I want biotope-ish, maximum variety, or a tank of more-or-less monsters that will leave each other alone. Suggestions?
3. What about a fire eel in polleni?

Your thoughts are much appreciated!

 

[duanes]

I've kept Paratilapia with Central American, and other Malagasy cichlids, of course, to me a geographically correct tank is always best.
A 180may be Ok if one turns out male, but I have found its always best to have multiple females to one male.
Other Madagascans cichlids, like those of the genus Paretroplus worked best, the Paratilapia seemed to ignore them

Paretroplus maculatus above


Seems Paratilapia don't like other blue spangled cichlids in the same tank, so one of the reasons most centrals can be problematic. Two male Paratilapia is usually a disaster in the making. I tried to keep two males in a 400 gal pool and the less dominant ended up dead once they hit full maturity, but also unreceptive females work treat harshly.


even in the 400 gal, as you can see, the dominant male would search out the subdominant one, and give no quarter, at around 10" to 12"

 

[GoldfishForPresident]

Hey, perfect! I was actually looking at these pics in the older thread I saw related to this sort of setup! Your polleni are incredible.

Are the paretroplus less aggressive, more of a colony-type cichlid? I've only ever seen one in the flesh, but I see one seller for them on aquabid. What about paretroplus nourissati, would they also be a contender for a polleni tankmate?

As nice as a big specimen male would be, my fingers are crossed that both mine are actually females, and easier to house long-term.

EDIT: Wow, I looked around a bit and I really am starting to like Paretroplus menarambo. Is that too "blue spangled" to hang with polleni?

 

[duanes]

Most Paretroplus do well a a shoaling species (4 or more to a shoal), except for me, P nourisatdi didn't once they reached maturity. They always needed up killing each other in my 6ft tans.
Since they are rheophiillic the current from my pumps may not have been strong enough to keep them occupied.
The one thing I found important was to get a number of Paretroplines and put them together at the same time, and once a hierarchy was set not to change it. When I tried to change things up, that's when aggression became lethal.
Paretroplus menerambo

P dambabe, and kieneri

P nourisatti
i

P kieneri

 

[GoldfishForPresident]

Well, I've got a bid out there on some P. menarambo, so fingers crossed! Thanks again for the information on these guys.