Is a Bichir right for me?

[PassengerTN]

Hello all, I'm seeking some insight on possibly purchasing a Senegal bichir.

My question is can I SAFELY house a polypterus in my 55g tank that currently holds a juvie Jack Dempsey, juvie Green Terror and two Pictus catfish? I am not concerned about anyone stressing or injuring the bichir, as both the cichlids have always been extremely tolerant. What I am wondering, is will the bichir go for my 2.5-3" Green Terror or Pictus cats? The cats wouldn't be a big loss, but I am extremely partial to my little GT.

 

[Dr.B]

With that size tank I would really only recommend sens, dels, and mokes. Even then IMO the 12" depth (assuming your 55g is the standard 55g) isn't adequate to house the fish in for life. If you get any of those around 3"-4" then they shouldn't go after the GT (provided you keep up on feeding at all times). Mokes in general seem pretty difficult to obtain for some people, so for you I would really just focus on senegals and dels, but mainly senegals. I would only get one for now until you have a wider footprint. If you are content with the tank size and don't see an upgrade in the future I would really just stick with a single senegal.

 

[PassengerTN]

One Senegal is actually all I want. I do plan for a larger tank (8x2x2) as soon as we purchase a house. Are they picky eaters? I had a tiger shovelnose in the past and it was awful trying to get him pellet trained

 

[Dr.B]

Most times they are relatively easy to feed. Sometimes you'll run into a poly that may be a bit stubborn, but for the most part (especially for senegals) they will eat almost anything.

 

[PassengerTN]

Cool deal, thanks Dr. B! I feed a varied diet to my cichlids so I was hoping they weren't too picky and would find something to eat other than live.

 

[Dr.B]

Np. You shouldn't have any problems with senegals on live, but if you do they shouldn't be hard to get back onto pellets as most times senegals have been on pellets at some point.

 

[PassengerTN]

After searching a few of the LFS, I brought home a 3" Senegal this morning. Pretty stoked about it. Growing him out a little more in a 29g because I'm afraid my JD with think he's a worm! Haha

 

[Dr.B]

I would feed some bloodworms, shrimp pellets, and anything small pellet wise so it'll bulk up a little bit. Shouldn't take more than a couple weeks to get some decent girth on him. Good luck

 

[PassengerTN]

Been feeding frozen blood worms, freeze dried krill and a few different pellets/wafers. So far so good.

I do have a question though, is it normal for a small bichir (3") to have its tail float some times when laying on the substrate? S/he swims just fine, but when the tail end seems to float up as its resting, but is not a constant thing.

 

[PassengerTN]

Just read the health issues and answers sticky, it suggests gas and the bichir needs to fart or poop. Weird!