Bichirs and (cs/sa)Cichlids?

[VRWC]

Close...but stocking a 220 is a lot different than stocking a 65. Thanks.

No...its not different at all. A tank is a tank, cichlids are cichlids and bichirs are bichirs.

The pics below were in my 265 gallon. Nothing different than that and a 65 but gallons of water. Cichlids hunt out weaker/slower/smaller fish for food...and definitely make more of a game of the hunt in a bigger tank.

Bichirs are mostly slow, non aggressive and rarely defend themselves against cichlids or protect their territories, unless they are way bigger. They are merely opportunistic feeders whos eyes are bigger than their stomachs.

The scenario may work with some non-aggressive cichlid species, but I wouldnt say its a given. JDs & GTs can go either way, so its a crapshoot at best. If the bichirs are smaller, theyll look like the one in the pictures below.

 

[Moloch]

The options for a 225 are much more numerous than for a 65. Yeah, there might be some advice that can be followed in that other thread, but the first set of suggestions was about jag's, I'm not even about to try and put a jag in a 65 gallon tank.

I agree with you, that there are combinations you might keep in a 225 that work fine in a 65, but trying to stock a 65 is not the same as trying to stock a 225.

 

[big_tank_boy]

I wouldnt get just 1 other cichlid if u do go that route cuz im my experince and they will do is fight and fight and fight.... i say go with some giant danios and pictus cats if u want.... probly 5 to 8 danios and 3 cats would do good..... just got to make sure ur bichirs are to slow for them.... I had a really smart delhezi bichir that was in a 55 gallon tank with some floating plants that the danios would swim through and the delhezi decied that he would hang in the floating plants and wait for the giant danios he ended up eating all 12 in 3 days...... but my sen didnt touch them even if the danios would bump in to them i watch my sen sit in the floating plant and get chased it out.... as long as there will fed and dont have to work to hard to get there food most of the time they will leave them alone but if u leave and they dont get fed very offten they might be seen as a food source.

 

[Moloch]

I wouldnt get just 1 other cichlid if u do go that route cuz im my experince and they will do is fight and fight and fight.... i say go with some giant danios and pictus cats if u want.... probly 5 to 8 danios and 3 cats would do good..... just got to make sure ur bichirs are to slow for them.... I had a really smart delhezi bichir that was in a 55 gallon tank with some floating plants that the danios would swim through and the delhezi decied that he would hang in the floating plants and wait for the giant danios he ended up eating all 12 in 3 days...... but my sen didnt touch them even if the danios would bump in to them i watch my sen sit in the floating plant and get chased it out.... as long as there will fed and dont have to work to hard to get there food most of the time they will leave them alone but if u leave and they dont get fed very offten they might be seen as a food source.

Well the idea is to keep that fighting and fighting amongst themselves and leave my more peacful fish alone. I'm really leaning towards the JD & 2 sen's, one green terror and 3 or so pictus cats. I think at that point I wouldn't want to add much else and I think it would probably get along well.

Aside from that, I think if I pick up the fish from my real LFS and not petsmart I could probably tell them what I'm doing and they'd take the fish back at any point if it doesn't work out...they seem like that type of store.

 

[VRWC]

The options for a 225 are much more numerous than for a 65. Yeah, there might be some advice that can be followed in that other thread, but the first set of suggestions was about jag's, I'm not even about to try and put a jag in a 65 gallon tank.

I agree with you, that there are combinations you might keep in a 225 that work fine in a 65, but trying to stock a 65 is not the same as trying to stock a 225.

The options are the same when mixing different species, no matter the size. Its more the compatibility of fish that Im getting at. A jag and a bichir dont work in a 65, the same way they dont in a 265 or a 700. The bichir is dinner no matter the size of the tank, unless hes a massive bichir. Even then, id put my $$ on the cichlid half the size. Same goes for most aggressive large growing cichlids. They have huge space, they hunt it all for food 24/7...and kill for the territory.

Thats all they have to do...pretty limited with extracurricular activities in a glass box, ya know?

It could go either way with GTs & JDs. 99% of them dont hold true to the reputation they carry in the old books and internet folklore, so it might work.

 

[Moloch]

The options are the same when mixing different species, no matter the size.Its more the compatibility of fish that Im getting at. A jag and a bichir dont work in a 65, the same way they dont in a 265 or a 700. The bichir is dinner no matter the size of the tank, unless hes a massive bichir. Even then, id put my $$ on the cichlid. Same goes for most aggressive large growing cichlids. They have huge space, they hunt it all for food 24/7. Thats all they have to do...pretty limited with extracurricular activities in a glass box, ya know?

It could go either way with GTs & JDs. 99% of them dont hold true to the reputation they carry in the old books and internet folklore, so it might work.

Yeah I'm with you on that, I wouldn't try and house a Jag with poly's. But the difference in stocking a 65 and a 225, is a jag isn't even an option for a 65, so its not even something that will be considered. The JD/GT are perfectly fine in a 65, and I think they'll do OK with my sen's, so its something I'm considering.

I don't need to consider the compatibility of jag's, oscars, red-tailed cats, BGK's, lungfish, snakeheads, pacu's etc etc etc when I can't even house them in the tank I'm trying to stock. Thats why its EXTREMELY different considering stocking options for a 65 to a 225. Not to say I don't appreciate your experience and advice, I'm just saying that your particular situation with the jag/poly tragedy doesn't really apply.

I think for now I'm going to do a bit more research and asking around on this setup:
2x senegal bichir
1x jack dempsey
1x green terror
3x pictus cat
possibly one other CA/SA cichlid to balance out the jd/gt if size/space allows.

 

[olsonwa07]

I would definitely add a 3rd or 4th cichlid in there to spread aggression, especially if either the JD or GT get rather aggressive towards another, and they have no one else to chase around other than the other tankmate. I'd say skip the cats if it were me, you're going to have enough goin on at the bottom anyway, and the cats could stress out your bichirs by being ADD all day. Don't quote me on that, pure speculation. I'm thinking about a GT and possibly a severum or two in my 55 which houses a 7" delhezi and some giant danios. Atm I also have 3 JDs at 4", but they're being sold off tomorrow.

As for experience, my dominant female JD nipped at his fins a little bit (she's a ***** anyway) the first day or two he was in there, but after a little separation for a day or so, they're fine. The GT doesn't bother him except for once when I introduced him, and now the delhezi can swim in the JD males cave and where ever with little to no repercussions. Only time they really bother him is when he has a chunk of krill sitting half in his mouth and the JDs go "wtf? mine!" and nip at him for it, but he just freaks out on them and goes ballistic for a second until they peace out. Overall I am pretty excited to have him, he's grown a bit since I got him already.

 

[Loves severums]

Yeah I'm with you on that, I wouldn't try and house a Jag with poly's. But the difference in stocking a 65 and a 225, is a jag isn't even an option for a 65, so its not even something that will be considered. The JD/GT are perfectly fine in a 65, and I think they'll do OK with my sen's, so its something I'm considering.

I don't need to consider the compatibility of jag's, oscars, red-tailed cats, BGK's, lungfish, snakeheads, pacu's etc etc etc when I can't even house them in the tank I'm trying to stock. Thats why its EXTREMELY different considering stocking options for a 65 to a 225. Not to say I don't appreciate your experience and advice, I'm just saying that your particular situation with the jag/poly tragedy doesn't really apply.

I think for now I'm going to do a bit more research and asking around on this setup:
2x senegal bichir
1x jack dempsey
1x green terror
3x pictus cat
possibly one other CA/SA cichlid to balance out the jd/gt if size/space allows.

how about this
2x senegal bichir
1x jack dempsey
1x green terror
1 convict

 

[Moloch]

how about this
2x senegal bichir
1x jack dempsey
1x green terror
1 convict

I think I'm going to put 2 convicts in my 20gal to breed feeders (not to mention, convicts are pretty cool on their own accord) and something about putting feeder convict fry into a tank with a convict is just a little disturbing to me

What about severums? I would like to have a LITTLE more variety than just cichlids and poly's :\ At the same time I do think staying away from more bottom dwellers is a good idea...I just can't really find much that I'm interested in that aren't bottom dwellers .

Ah well, I'll figure it out eventually. Maybe the green terror, two other cichlids similar to the JD & GT and a striped raphael cat.

I dunno

 

[VRWC]

See if you like any of these more peaceful cichlids...just stay away from breeding pairs.

These stay smaller...and are probably right out of the range of a sen's ability to eat

Cryptoheros sajica
Crypto. spilurus
C. spilurus cutteri
C. sp. Honduran Red Point
C. septemfasciatus

Archocentrus spinosissimus
Herotilapia multispinosa
Neetroplus panamensis
Thorichthys aureus
Thorichthys sp. Mixteco Green
Thorichthys sp. Mixteco Blue
Nicaraguense

and these medium to a little larger cichlids:

Uarus
Angels
Discus
most Geos except G.Braziliensis
festivum
Aequidens Metae
blue acara
MAYBE a Chocolate cichlid