Wahhh... just realised my previous post damn long
.. Shall continue in snippets instead
3. Livestock
Before we build such tanks, we can already dream of its inhabitants. However, some of them, though beautiful, need certain considerations before actually adding them in.
3.1 Top Dwellers
A tank without top dwellers to me looks incomplete. Popular fishes such as arowana, gars are the first on our minds. These do not pose much of a problem, but these guys are aggressive. Bearing in mind that the tank is so big, catching them isnt going to be easy, should fights break out, separating them is no mean feat. Also, they are voracious eaters, so if you are adding them, bear in mind to feed more and in liberal amounts so the lower levels get their food.
3.2 Mid-Dwellers
Popular choices are peacock basses, pikes, tigers, GATF, VATF... They are deadly and fast, and eat like pigs. That said, the estimation of growth rates is important. Kelberi are beautiful fishes. but their growth rates are actually slower compared to their cousins after 1ft. My batch of kelberi were the biggest peacocks i added in, bar the orino, but right now, my azuls have outgrown them, and the peru mono has caught up. Temperament is also a important consideration. From my experience, for peacock bass of almost the same size, the most gutsy are actually the peru mono, followed by the azuls, kels and then orino. Therefore, should you have a preference of focus on specific species, choose these mid-dwellers well, or the side show might upstage the main act
