senegalus Tank Qs

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Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Dec 18, 2005
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Ive got a 65 US gallon tank right now set up with three 5" senegalus bichirs, 2 small lace catfish, a BGK, and a ABF and a load of small fish (feeders)

Well, I want a REAL predator in that tank.
the bichirs are way to lazy to go after the HRP cons and the livebearers and the ghost knife only eats some at night. The butterfly fish isnt too interested in live foods as well.

they all like the shrimp i give them i geuss :/

but I was wondering what I should get in this tank. Im planning on getting rid of the ABF and the BGK to make room for a larger predator.

I will be expanding(to a 180 i believe) sometime this year as soon as the bichirs pick up some more growth, so size isnt much of a problem.
I want something that lives on the surface or close to it. Like a gar, arowana, or Hepsetus odoe.

I want to the bichirs to grow up saftely so that they arent munch by a bottom eater.

Do you guys have any thoughts?
 
if you want a predator fish try arowana or even gar, avoid pleco because they have a nasty habit of sucking up slime of bichirs
 
yeah thats what i was thinking...
but I need exact species names.

my LFS is very limited so I'll most likely need to special order.

im trying to stay away from bottom predators (catfish ect) to prolong the bichirs health, so that they have no competion for the bottom half of the aquarium.
 
just noticed that your aquarium is 65 gals, i think is small if you want to keep an arowana or even a gar, arowana need at least 2 ft in width
 
mcblack said:
just noticed that your aquarium is 65 gals, i think is small if you want to keep an arowana or even a gar, arowana need at least 2 ft in width
Click to expand...

Actually for any true gar species even the smallest true gar you'll need a tank at least 30''
wide but 36'' would be better.However there is a ''fake gar''(Boulengerella maculata) you could do-Anne
 
yeah.
i knew they need a wide tank, but I was interested in buying them young (5") so they and the bichirs would pick up some more growth before I put them in my new 180 or 200 g.
 
For what its worth I wouldn't put a senegal with any true gar the size difference when adult can be to great-Anne
 
okay.
well thankyou.

so no gars


my birchirs are constantly going to the surface to grab food/air.

would an aro munch them if they surfaced or leave them alone?

im trying to get a small silver arowana that dosent have an egg sack but will grow aprox. the same time as all the birchirs. and if an aro wont work. do you guys have any other ideas for surface predators that wont mess with my bichirs

i <3 all my birchirs and I would hate if one of them got ate.
i even believe i have 1 male/2 females [possible breeding?]

and hows senegalus compatbility with other birchirs?

i would love to have an ornate or just a SB or albino senegal. they are just WAY cool!

ps what is the correct pronouciaction for bichir? i say biker but i seem to want to say bi*ch er

lol
 
i don't think the silver aro will work safely in the long term, since it will get much bigger than the senegals. and i don't think it will 'grow at the same time as the bichirs' either. imo the silver aro will grow faster, and its growth spurt will last longer than the senegals. growth of senegal will start to slow at 7"-8".

generally speaking bichirs make very good tankmates with each other as long as size difference isn't too great.

the correct pronounciation is not exactly known, but i say bi-ker
 
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