Upgrade planning - fun stock options?

[Hendre]

Knives! Knives! Knives!

 

[kewpiefishypewpie]

Thanks guys!

kewpiefishypewpie - a Polleni and a couple of more bichirs still gives space, right? Do you agree that the Polleni would eat butterflies and congos?

It's very possible, they're like Oscars in that they'll eat anything that can fit in their mouths. I did have my other Polleni, one that passed away, with Bichirs at one point and he could not have cared less about them. And he was pretty aggressive.

Polleni aren't aggressive overall as some central american cichlids are, you have your anomalies as you do with literally every other species of cichlid.

I just think like a 180 with a Polleni and a bunch of UJ's would be perfect for you. The Polleni would be happy as can be with all the swimming room up top and your bichirs can chill at the bottom. Your mind will rest easy seeing a tank that is prudently stocked.

 

[TheMoneyTank(TMT)]

Thanks guys!

kewpiefishypewpie - a Polleni and a couple of more bichirs still gives space, right? Do you agree that the Polleni would eat butterflies and congos?

Will look more closely at the long list you posted, TheMoneyTank(TMT) .
I don't need to keep the congos and butterflies (or they can stay in the 65.)

What size tank did you have your Polleni in where the male killed the female? With what other fish?

Bertie - why would you scrap the Polleni?

It was only a 135 but polleni have high aggression with there own species and the best way to pair them would grow out a group of 6-8 juveniles, they do grow fast though 1-1.5inches a month up to about 9inches and slow down from there, I would suggest just keeping a Lone male with other fish instead of a pair as the bichirs will no doubt eat any fry IF you manage to produce them and once that happensthe male will most likely beat the female as their bonds can be broken very easily, with other fish which can stand their own they are fine

 

[TheMoneyTank(TMT)]

Thanks guys!

kewpiefishypewpie - a Polleni and a couple of more bichirs still gives space, right? Do you agree that the Polleni would eat butterflies and congos?

Will look more closely at the long list you posted, TheMoneyTank(TMT) .
I don't need to keep the congos and butterflies (or they can stay in the 65.)

What size tank did you have your Polleni in where the male killed the female? With what other fish?

Bertie - why would you scrap the Polleni?

It was only a 135 but polleni have high aggression with there own species and the best way to pair them would grow out a group of 6-8 juveniles, they do grow fast though 1-1.5inches a month up to about 9inches and slow down from there, I would suggest just keeping a Lone male with other fish instead of a pair as the bichirs will no doubt eat any fry IF you manage to produce them and once that happensthe male will most likely beat the female as their bonds can be broken very easily, with other fish which can stand their own they are fine

Thanks guys!

kewpiefishypewpie - a Polleni and a couple of more bichirs still gives space, right? Do you agree that the Polleni would eat butterflies and congos?

Will look more closely at the long list you posted, TheMoneyTank(TMT) .
I don't need to keep the congos and butterflies (or they can stay in the 65.)

What size tank did you have your Polleni in where the male killed the female? With what other fish?

Bertie - why would you scrap the Polleni?

Also if you wanted some nice shoaling fish which would.make a Lone polleni stand out look at slender hemiodus I brought 2 they get to about 16cm

Thanks guys!

kewpiefishypewpie - a Polleni and a couple of more bichirs still gives space, right? Do you agree that the Polleni would eat butterflies and congos?

Will look more closely at the long list you posted, TheMoneyTank(TMT) .
I don't need to keep the congos and butterflies (or they can stay in the 65.)

What size tank did you have your Polleni in where the male killed the female? With what other fish?

Bertie - why would you scrap the Polleni?

 

[magpie]

I think that they can be aggresive as individuals, you may have to try to find out. You might get lucky and get a fairly peaceful one, in the end it's about trial and error, what works for you may not work for others. It would limit your options if you went for the Congo tetras and the butterfly fish, you would need a fish that can stand up for itself

Thanks for the input. I was hoping to get some juvies and grow them out, which might help me choose one that is less of a jerk. I've read of most of them not being too high on the aggression scale (relative to cichlids) as long as you choose tankmates correctly and go for a single fish, but of course there are others that you read about that are aggressive.

I don't need to keep the congos/butterflies in this tank, they can stay in the 65.

For cichlids, I recommend Geophagus and green terror. Green terrors are beautiful and color up nicely as they mature. However, because Polleni cichlids can be aggressive, these may not work. How is your Pollenis temperment?
For knifefish, a BGK could work for a while. They are slow growers and should do well in a 6' 150-220 gallons.
For a cool oddball fish you such consider an African Odoe Pike, they are stunning fish!

I don't yet have Polleni, this is a future plan. I do love the looks of the GTs, and I've never really looked into geos. I wondered if they'd bother (not aggression but annoy) the bottom-dwelling polys. ?

Do BGKs hide most of the time? I am trying to avoid hiders as the Polys aren't exactly the most active fish, excepting the Polli.

I do like pikes, had never considered the Odoe because at a quick image search glance they look bland but actually looking at them I see that they are iridescent and have some spotting at the rear end. I'll have to research more!

 

[magpie]

I do like some of the geos as I have two, good tempered "larger" "show" fish. I'm unsure of the polleni but most cichlids will tear up your plants the geos wont. I agree with the ctenopoma but know the story of the one you had. If you go lj the only ujs i'd put in the big tank that you have now would be the dels and teug. At that point you could get ornate and weeksi and polleni but I think everything else would be off the table. The mascara barbs are like my filamented barbs just a little smaller still around 5" average, they will eat your plants. I am having thoughts as to what to put in the tank as a dither fish that wont eat the plants like the barbs did. LFS had a tank full of von rio tetras all schooled in the center of the tank that looked super impressive just to small for either of our tanks, my ctenopoma would love me for about a day and a half. Thinking congos for me good size, pretty, shouldn't get eaten.

Which Geos do you have? Do they annoy the polys with their sand sifting?

Polleni aren't supposed to bother plants too much like other guys. I am going to have more hardy plants for the next scape, tied onto wood, fewer rooted plants. I want it to look more like the edge of a river/lake.

I might try Ctenos again, I liked mine a lot. He might just have been an aggressive individual. He might also just have done better in a tank with a larger footprint than 3 ft.

I wasn't sure about the UJ/LJ thing. Do I just put all of them in the large tank and focus on UJs or keep the Polli and Moke in the 65 and get LJs. The good thing is that I got the UJs first so I can start them out larger, but the Polli is CB I'm pretty sure, so will likely max out at around 12", though she's more chunky she's not overall thick like the Del. She is 8" now. The Moke will also probably max out at 12". He's been a slow grower, my slowest, 8" now.

Knives! Knives! Knives!

African? What do you know about the tiger/zebra ones? I need to research more.

It's very possible, they're like Oscars in that they'll eat anything that can fit in their mouths. I did have my other Polleni, one that passed away, with Bichirs at one point and he could not have cared less about them. And he was pretty aggressive.

Polleni aren't aggressive overall as some central american cichlids are, you have your anomalies as you do with literally every other species of cichlid.

I just think like a 180 with a Polleni and a bunch of UJ's would be perfect for you. The Polleni would be happy as can be with all the swimming room up top and your bichirs can chill at the bottom. Your mind will rest easy seeing a tank that is prudently stocked.

From what I've read, few cichlids will bother the Polys unless breeding.

If I stick to upper jaw polys, maybe I wouldn't get any more, so I could get something else. I don't know....

I feel like I'd want a little more stock / activity in the 180. But the Polleni is interactive and would be in my face all of the time, so there's that.

It was only a 135 but polleni have high aggression with there own species and the best way to pair them would grow out a group of 6-8 juveniles, they do grow fast though 1-1.5inches a month up to about 9inches and slow down from there, I would suggest just keeping a Lone male with other fish instead of a pair as the bichirs will no doubt eat any fry IF you manage to produce them and once that happensthe male will most likely beat the female as their bonds can be broken very easily, with other fish which can stand their own they are fine

Also if you wanted some nice shoaling fish which would.make a Lone polleni stand out look at slender hemiodus I brought 2 they get to about 16cm

I've read that, so I had planned on keeping a solo fish, but then I recently wondered if a pair with polys might work. That being said, I would hate it if they were OK for a while, then spawned, and then caused havoc.

Thanks for all of the species suggestions, I haven't had a good chance to thoroughly look at them (need more time) but I will!

 

[Hendre]

African will be more friendly than gymnotus species. Mine never bother other fish

 

[AquaAlex1993]

Thanks for the input. I was hoping to get some juvies and grow them out, which might help me choose one that is less of a jerk. I've read of most of them not being too high on the aggression scale (relative to cichlids) as long as you choose tankmates correctly and go for a single fish, but of course there are others that you read about that are aggressive.

I don't need to keep the congos/butterflies in this tank, they can stay in the 65.



I don't yet have Polleni, this is a future plan. I do love the looks of the GTs, and I've never really looked into geos. I wondered if they'd bother (not aggression but annoy) the bottom-dwelling polys. ?

Do BGKs hide most of the time? I am trying to avoid hiders as the Polys aren't exactly the most active fish, excepting the Polli.

I do like pikes, had never considered the Odoe because at a quick image search glance they look bland but actually looking at them I see that they are iridescent and have some spotting at the rear end. I'll have to research more!

I just can't see the geophagus bothering your polys. Sure, the geos are eartheaters meaning they will be sifting through the bottom of your tank looking for food, but they usually are very calm mellow and relaxed. I reccomend the abalios, winemilleri, red head tapajos, and Santaperca Leocustica (spelling) these all have great coloration.
Yes, BGK hide a lot. So probably not the best idea. The Zebra and Tiger knifes are NICE, but I heard that they can be mean.
I love the Odoe pikes, I def want one!
Alex

 

[magpie]

Thanks again! I haven't done one lick of research on Geos because of that. (I research a lot of fish LOL)
I will look into them for sure now. I do plan on having stand substrate anyway. I also think they're fairly active which is nice when you have a tank full of Polys. I have UJs so they're not total logs but they're not the most active fish either.

I have read that Pollini are most likely to get along with cichlids that have different head shapes and of course that are not black or dark. Geos fit that perfectly .

 

[AquaAlex1993]

Thanks again! I haven't done one lick of research on Geos because of that. (I research a lot of fish LOL)
I will look into them for sure now. I do plan on having stand substrate anyway. I also think they're fairly active which is nice when you have a tank full of Polys. I have UJs so they're not total logs but they're not the most active fish either.

I have read that Pollini are most likely to get along with cichlids that have different head shapes and of course that are not black or dark. Geos fit that perfectly .

Perfect, that's awesome.