Bowfin with tank mates

Charney

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Anyone have any experience with bowfin and tank mates? I have one that I have been growing out for a while now. He is pushing 12 inches. Just worked out he has been alone for the last 3 months before he was with a black umbee who he pushed around a little in a 75. I want to put him in my 300 with 2ft leichardti, 1 ft vulture cat, 1ft Australian eel cat, large indo dat, large fire pike, Oscars lots of polys a probably some other fish I am forgetting. Thoughts?
 

krichardson

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Biggest I have had was a twelve incher.It ate floating pellets and did not cause any problems.Could you post a pic of that lei?
 
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Charney

The Fish Doctor
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Nov 15, 2005
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Biggest I have had was a twelve incher.It ate floating pellets and did not cause any problems.Could you post a pic of that lei?
Thank you. This guy eats everything. Have to be careful feeding. He normally hits his head on the lid.
Will do my best to get a picture of the lei
 

Duckman77

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I have two bowfin, with the larger of the two about 11-12". They are in with pumpkinseed sunfish, northern sunfish, and a warmouth. There is no aggression at all in this tank.

I wouldn't be worried about the bowfin being the aggressor, but I would watch aggression directed at the bowfin.
 
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Mikefallen13

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Bowfin are not aggressive to tankmates unless they are prey size IME. i had mine housed in my 125 gal sunfish tank, no aggression whatsoever but it was hard to get food to him without the sunnies eating it all, so now he's in a growout tank with a Florida gar until he gets bigger (currently he's about 7", I bought him at about 3" last summer). I'd be hesitant to house a bowfin with any large, aggressive fish, dither fish (such as sunfish) or other slow moving ambush predators are good tankmates.
 
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