Mini monster planted tank journal

[polypterus491]

Hey everybody

I call this my mini monster tank, because it is taking on the challenge of combining my old passion (bottom dwelling predators) and my new passion (aquatic gardening), in a little tank with a big foot print



A quick backstory

As a long time aquarist, I sold all of my tanks last year, because we were moving and I didn't know if I would have room for them.

I'm now settled and I'm going to be setting up several current types of tanks, and have decided to use the forum, and youtube to track each one, with pictures and videos.

This tank is a 40 gallon breeder(36x18x16 tall), it has a polypterus senagalus, a polypterus endlicheri, an african clawed frog, and a leopard bush fish.

More to come

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[polypterus491]

When I got the tank it also had a 16" tire track eel, a butterfly fish and a brown knife fish. I traded the eel, and the knife fish to a lfs. The butterfly fish became a midnight snack for my endi. I have another bush fish in a growout tank.

My bio-load is huge, so I'm trying to use plants in every way possible to keep my water clean. I just ordered some riparium stuff from hydrophite, so I'll be updating as I set that up as well.

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[polypterus491]

Pictures of my fauna

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[polypterus491]

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[Kai808]

Originally Posted by polypterus491

Pictures of my fauna

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Is that a worm in first pic? I thought it was a long nose elephant fish. lol This is a great tank! It must be fun watching them feed.

P.S. They don't look mini to me.

[polypterus491]

Originally Posted by Kai808

Is that a worm in first pic? I thought it was a long nose elephant fish. lol This is a great tank! It must be fun watching them feed.

P.S. They don't look mini to me.

Yeah I feed about 2 dozen night crawlers a week. I'm planning to start a worm farm soon

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[raven_wilde]

Hi welcome to the forum!

We seem to have taken the same path in this hobby - I started out keeping polypteri but have slowly moved to keeping lushly planted tanks with smaller fish and shrimp. I still have one Polypterus senegalus, she's about nine years old and no matter how tempting her tank space is I could never part with her

If it helps at all, I've found that the best plants to pair with polypteri are epiphytic: java fern, anubias, bolbitis, moss works well too. I'm sure you've found that its difficult to keep anything rooted as the monsters tend to thrash about with their tails as they maneuver around.

As far as bioload goes, what kind of filtration do you have setup for this tank?

And about the riparium stuff, aren't you concerned about them getting out? Polypteri are notorious escape artists.

[polypterus491]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m4tv...e_gdata_player


Chow time

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[CatB]

neat, but aren't you worried about these fish growing too big for your tank?

wikipedia tells me that polypterus senegalus will grow to one foot in captivity, and that polypterus endlicheri grows to over 29" and should be kept in at least a 150 gallon tank...

[polypterus491]

I use a marineland hob rated for 60 gallons. I'm planting in the filter and out the top, a well as using floating plants (i.e. Frogbit). To absorb the excess nitrates.

I'm definitely worried about escape attempts. I may not be able to use the planters I have ordered. The one I'm using now is tight against the bottom of my glass top, so its sealed pretty well for now

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[polypterus491]

Like I said this combo presents unique challenges, but thats what makes it fun

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[polypterus491]

I have 3 t8 tube lights with a total of 65w . 14hrs a day

No co2.

I dose flourish, and flourish excel.

Flourite substrate, with root tabs. My hanging planter has a layered dirt/gravel substrate.

Any suggestions to help with algea.

I'm thinking about reducing the time my lights are on.





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[raven_wilde]

Originally Posted by CatB

neat, but aren't you worried about these fish growing too big for your tank?

wikipedia tells me that polypterus senegalus will grow to one foot in captivity, and that polypterus endlicheri grows to over 29" and should be kept in at least a 150 gallon tank...

The senegalus should be fine long term in a 40B, I have mine - a fully grown adult- in a 30 long. Its not ideal of course but it should be okay as long as the filtration is good and the tank is maintained.

The endli I have no idea.

[Hilde]

Would be cheaper to get cidex instead of Excel. There is a thread on it in the fertilizer section called Excel alternative. Just do a search for cidex and it will pop up.

[HybridHerp]

I have both of these in my planted 75
the sen will probably get a foot but mine is an albino and possibly a short body and he maxed out at 7"
the endli I would worry about however
they can get to be 29", but you'd have to be getting a wild caught one to expect those sizes, however, even with captive breed endli I still find that they get to be at least 15" or so, sometimes even more if feeding and space permits
My guy is 15" and I sometimes look at him and wonder why? my 75 is the same width as your tank but its 4 feet long, which I think will make a difference with a fish that gets to be 16" in length. I have also noticed that endli's are no where near as flexible as sens, meaning that the main problem I have with my endli is just making sure he has hide spots that he can get into and out of. And of course, your fish will probably pick the smallest and most obnoxious of little holes to hide itself, because thats what my guy does and then he takes a bit to turn around and get out. Just be warned that the endli may need to go when it becomes bigger

I will say though, I've never seen people keep bichirs and frogs together, only people feeding frogs to bichirs :P

as far as plants go, I find that anything on the driftwood works rather well, and anything that gets nice big roots is equally pleasant. I've seen bichirs with swords and apongetons, and I keep mine with those as well. I also keep some banana plants and red tiger lotus with my bichirs no problem at all. In fact, the only plant I have been having difficulty with keeping planted in this tank are my stem plants, although once they get rooted I'm pretty sure this won't be an issue. My stems are hygrophilia corymbosa, Ludwigia glandulosa, Ludwigia Repens, and Rotala Macaranda, but these getting uprooted I also attribute to the other fish I have in the tank and just the fact that I am not the greatest when it comes to planting stems lol
also, dwarf hairgrass, I'll let you know how that goes for me, but its been a pain in the ass to plant. And I also keep red root floaters and amazon frogbit floating at the top, which I believe makes bichirs more comfortable since they come from areas with dense vegetation.
bichirs and plants can be done, it might take a little longer but once plants get established you should be totally fine
goodluck