Bichir-right for me?

[Gourami Swami]

Hey guys, Im pretty new here, and I am a SA/CA cichlid guy mostly. I just clicked this section because I was bored, and I gotta say... Bichirs are awesome!

And now I want one =

Anyway, i want to know, what is the smallest one, how big do they get, is there a type that is more active? What do you feed them? Will they need/take live food?

I am setting up either a 90 or 110 gallon tank in a few weeks, and I plan on having a severum, Geo. Steindachneri (moveable), a green terror, and possibly a green texas cichlid. Would I be able to have a bichir in this mix? I like the look of the ornates.

Are they aggro? do they get beaten up by cichlids?

And any other things you think I will need to know If I decide I can have one f these cool animals!

Thank you very much!

 

[davo]

not sure about cichlids with them but, if they cant eat it, a bichir wont be a problem to them.

P. palmas palmas ('palmas' bichir)- 13"
P. delhezi ('armoured' or 'delhez's' bichir)- 14"
P. senegalus senegalus ('Senegal' or 'Cuiver's' bichir)- 12"
some of the smaller bichirs

 

[Gourami Swami]

Ive been looking them up, and I think if I did one, I would have an albino senegal

 

[davo]

nice fish, small and not the fastest growing fish. just make sure they cant get out the tank. they seem to be dropping like flies recently

 

[Gourami Swami]

actually now that I have seen some of the others I am not so sure what I want

I'll go to the LFS with the adult sizes in my head and just pick out the coolest one

Ooh, Now I am getting excited! I love the way they swim and "walk around" on those to little fins


BTW, would an ornate be too big for this tank? I think its just gonna be a 90 with a sev, steiney, and green terror, bossibly a firemouth.

 

[davo]

ornates get to 27" in wild, and apparently a couple over 20" in captivity. does that help?

 

[XRAYZ]

ya, i think the ornate would eventually grow out of a 90 gallon. i have seen pics of 24" ornate. it will take a few years to achieve this so a 90 gallon would be alright for a some time as long as you plan to upgrade to at least a 30" wide tank later.

some of the smaller bichirs maybe better for your situation. senegals are a great starter bichir. they are pretty active,readely available, and least expensive. p. polli is very active also and has more color and pattern than the senegal. delhezi would be my third choice. nice patterns and reasonably active. can be ordered by most lfs.

lots of threads on here about careing for bichir. read them all and you will be a bichir expert before you know it

 

[Gourami Swami]

Okay, thanks guys! youve all been quite helpful!

I wont get an ornate if it wont be happy in my tank, I think Ill stick to a Palmer, Delhezi, or senegal. at the moment I like the delhezi, but I might like a senegal or white senegal for more color.

I'll be reading up on these awesome fishes!