Bichir in guppy colony?

[lix.ma14]

Wow, thanks for all of the replies everybody.

in response: yes they would all be quarantined and well raised. I already have all of the adults. Now i'm just waiting for more babies before i put the bichir in.

also, it would only be going in there for 4-6 weeks at most

you are going to be sorry. bichirs eat non stop and will eat as much food he/she can as long as it's available. I had a 4 inch bichir that ate 10 feeders in one day. After that meal, I almost thought, the bichir, stomach was gonna explode.

 

[pookie]

I put a 5in bichir in with some fat ass platy, down to three platy now.. started with nine.

they can catch them if they want to lol

 

[RLHam3]

well after a week 2 females died and i bought 2 more. about 20 babies so far and few clumps of anacharis.

By the way, when i said i was thinkin about a little bichir, i was talking more about the 2-3 inch range. The plan would be that the bichir would be too small to eat the adult guppies for the 4 or so weeks he's in that tank.

 

[JamesF]

You may be suprised what a 2-3 inch bichir can cram down its maw.

 

[WeeNe858]

lol.. everyone is answering the thread as if the question was if RLHam3 could feed his bichir live.


He/She is setting up a breeding colony of guppies and would like to have a small bichir in the tank with them.

Whether or not the bichir eats them is not the topic.

To answer you question, RLHam3, Yes you could keep the bichir in your tank but under a few conditions.

-expect to lose fish to the bichir
-the guppies reproduction rate is slower than the bichir
-so much available food will cause the bichir to grow faster than expected.
-DENSELY plant the tank with more anicharis, java moss, and java fern to ensure more babies survive(and parents alike.) Tangles of driftwood will help also.
-the ecosystem you are envisioning is difficult to establish but definitely possible

 

[lix.ma14]

lol.. everyone is answering the thread as if the question was if RLHam3 could feed his bichir live.


He/She is setting up a breeding colony of guppies and would like to have a small bichir in the tank with them.

Whether or not the bichir eats them is not the topic.

To answer you question, RLHam3, Yes you could keep the bichir in your tank but under a few conditions.

-expect to lose fish to the bichir
-the guppies reproduction rate is slower than the bichir
-so much available food will cause the bichir to grow faster than expected.
-DENSELY plant the tank with more anicharis, java moss, and java fern to ensure more babies survive(and parents alike.) Tangles of driftwood will help also.
-the ecosystem you are envisioning is difficult to establish but definitely possible

ya and also expect the bichir to bulge up unnaturally. Like JamesF said, never underestimate a bichirs stomach. I had a 3 inch bichir that swallows a 1.5 inch minnow!

 

[lix.ma14]

I guess no body listens to the experienced people! LOL