Bichir Tankmate Rule Admendment...

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R

rsandelius

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 28, 2005
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For anybody shopping for bichirs, there's a rule out there states that if the fish can't fit in the mouth of the bichir, they'll be fine tankmates.... it's not necessarily true.

In the short time (less than 6 months) that I've had a bichir, I've put alot of fish in there from the "approved list", only to have the bichir not eat them, but just catch them, kill them, and then leave the bodies to float the top. I've gotten black widow tetras (clearly not able to fit in their mouths) among many others now that end up being killed by the bichir.

So.... just letting newbs (not that I'm not a newbie myself) out there know. Just keep this as a consideration when you buy tankmates....
 
Compatibility, the reality
When asked "will they get along ?" Sometimes the answer is as simple as yes or no, The truth is we speak in generalities some fish in theory should be ok together some not.The long broad sweeping statements are flawed as they are generalities I think we all know generalities are just opinions , but because we are dealing with animals each with its own personality its flawed.This question is harder with predatory fish, due to their natural habits ,predation! where they naturaly feed on the smaller , the weaker and the sick, claim territory and defend it . The actual answer is we don't know it's our best guess that they should or shouldn't get along.I know one of my bichirs is highly agressive which is completely different from what i have been told, so he's in his own tank , my others all conspecifics seem fine together which is oppisite from what i have read and been told. Its a case of trial and error to some extent and depends on the individual animal. When introducing a new animal into the territory of an established animal try rearanging the tank it tends to remove reference points for territoriality but most important watch for trouble and stop it before it goes to far.-Anne
 
Personaly I wouldn't keep anything in a 29 gallon tank with a bichir but that me.I've had a bichir that claimed a 75 gallon tank as HIS and he didn't share it.Tnkmates will depend on the size of your tank and the temperment of the bichir-Anne
 
Right... I wasn't trying to be an @$$ or anything... I just wanted to point that out to newbies. I got these extra fish for free, but I was hoping that they might be able to co-exist. It seems like my bichir has been getting more and more aggressive/mental over the last month....

GRRRR! I just saw that the caption under my fish turned from "senegal bichir" to "bluegill"... dang it! lol
 
I know you weren't And I probably should have included the compatability/reality earlier too
it can relly be a guessing game sometimes and it really comes down to the agressivness of the bichir.I had i kept with guppies and the guppies were breeding he'd eat the young fry but not the adults for a long time.Then one night oooooooopppppps -Anne
 
Pickles my old P.lap one night what he didn't eat he just out and out killed because they were in HIS tank-Anne
 
Hmm, didn'ty know they were so mean, thanks for sharing.
 
They're not necessarily mean. They're predatory. It's just that sometimes, they attack something that they can CATCH, but not necessarily eat.
 
black widow tetras are small, and i imagine a 6.5" bichir would probably thing they can take them on easily
 
Generaly they are non agressive however,the level of agression and territoriality really depends on the individual fish.Most of my bichirs have others as tankmates and pickles really was the only one that gave me problems-Anne
 
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