So The Adventure Begins Properly

[N0body Of The Goat]

by a Juwel Rio 240 and flat-packed cabinet in black!

In the flesh, it looks like a long, tall yet slim aquarium... but then it is 120x41x51cm

I'm trying desperately to not re-evaluate my Zaire/Congo biotope theme, but now seeing the tank at home in its box is already giving me guilt trips about my stocking ideas
1 x African Butterfly Fish (Pantodon buchholzi)
2 x Golden Wonder Killifish (Aplocheilus Lineatus) or an alternative top dwelling killi that can hold its ground, ideally an African... But I'm struggling to find a better option (even though Goldens are not African)
6 x Congo Tetra (Phenacogrammus interruptus) in the mix for their love sheen of colours, they are now pretty much a "dead cert" now that the Bosemani and Katubu rainbows idea has been scrapped
1 x Leopard Bushfish (Ctenopoma acutirostre) most concerned about the potential 20cm size more than their huge mouth, Ornates are in stock locally but they have an awful "die during transportation" reputation
3 x Upside Down Catfish (Synodontis nigriventris) little concerned about potential 15cm size and the fact there's three of them, but at same time I want an upside down swimmer that will be "happy"
2 x Lionhead Cichlid (Steatocranus sasuarius) really love the behavior and look of these, especially the royal blue variety. If these happen, not so sure about another cichlid pair down the bottom. Going to need lots of caves.
2 x Kribensis (Pelvicachromis pulcher) these fit the biotope theme, but read warnings about them harassing the Congos too much during breeding. Agassiziis would be a great alternative

Inverts
Orange/Yellow Rabbit Snail (these guys are so cool!)
African Fan Shrimp, or Bamboo or a Sulawesi shrimp mini colony?

The average size of the above adult fish is ~11cm. Most of them are described as strata dwellers, helping to give them less claustrophobia, but I'm starting to question myself and my conscience. I have a feeling something has to go, as much as I love the idea of that mix and I think it is at least the Ctenopoma...

 

[simonas]

the tank idea sounds great

I had a bush fish for ages and it was a great fish with bags of personality, I have seen larger ones about 15cm but to be honest mine grew really slowly so I would not discount one of these,

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

How big a tank did you have it in, simonas?
What sort of fish did you mix it with?
Any problems with the bush fish attacking smaller tank mates, or the bush getting stressed by more aggressive yet perhaps smaller neighhbours? I've read a little about these Ctenopomas being a little like Paradise Fish, in that they want to be "top dog" in the tank but get very unhappy if bullied by more aggressive species, in my case potentially the Kribs or the Lionheads.

 

[simonas]

just trying to think back as it was about 12 years ago

I bought it as a tiny one and had it for about 2 years and it eat well. great to watch the huuuge mouth extend to catch lancefish etc

It was in with a real hotch potch of fish if memory serves me right. Big angels, senegal bichir, clown loach, plecs etc in a 4ft tank

but I always remember it with fondness as a cool fish to keeop

my lfs recently had a large pair of them about 15cm each and quite bulky. they were the for ages at a bargain price of £7 each but I didn;t have the spare tanks or set ups to get them

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

I could not help myself this morning... I went to Aquajardin (again) at 1020 and got back home at 1400!

Staff were really helpful again, listening to my plan of a tank layout, plants and stocking ideas
He suggested that 2 or 3 Butterflys may give them more security in numbers.
No better ideas then my idea of Golden Panchax pair, he could only think of timid African killis or ones that were not top dwellers.
He reckoned I could have upto 12 mid dwellers, choosing between Congo Tetras, Yellowtail Congo Tetras or Alestes (2 schools of 6, or one school of 12 absolute max)
No concerns about the Ctenopoma with the fish I have in mind. He suggests a single one might be safer bet than two, just in case they both turn out to be males or just don't play nicely together.
Synodontis nigriventris seems to be the only Sydontis that heavily relies on a group of 3, while the others often do better alone. He suggested the Decorus might be more active during daylight. Love the giraffe-like makings they have!
He gave vibes without saying as much, but he seemed a little hesitant at the idea of Lionhead Cichlids. Perhaps sourcing them, especially in blue? Suggested Kribs or the more unusual Tranvestite Cichlid, both in stock.

I came away with three interesting pieces of bogwood and a tub of DeponitMix to put under the Congo sand, preparing for introducing plants in ~2 weeks.

As a Brucey bonus, got back to find my better half had kindly used her flatpack expertise in building the cabinet, so I may well start aquascaping this afternoon!

Will try and sort out pics to add to this thread as I go along...