Bichirs and rope fish, advice from experienced keepers please!

[teddrummered]

Hello,

I have a 4ft tank around 90gals (mainly floorspace, not height as this set up was once home to 5x 1 foot long axolotls that also require large floor area.) and I am toying with the idea of a few polypterus as this set up includes many large dark cavernous areas, tough hardy plants tied to rock/wood(should handle abuse from larger fish), floating plant cover to subdue the light and fine soft sand. I have been told that this axolotl set up would be ideal for bichirs! (i will need a heater tho!)

My question is about, what species, numbers and stocking?

I would like rope fish and bichirs, however i have been told that rope fish are extremely social and should be kept as a group of 3 minimum.
Assuming I did get 3 ropefish would that be the limit of this tank or could I also get a bichir or 2?
I have heard bichirs can be aggressive so should I only consider 1? is 3 ropefish too much anyway?

Ideas are...

1 rope 2x bichirs
3 x rope 1 x bichir (only because ive been reading 3 is a minimum for a group of ropes)
3 bichirs
3 rope fish
2 x rope 1 x bichir
Suggestions welcome!

What combinations of animals would you suggest? Should i stick to 1 species? Will just rope fish be a happier community? can bichirs be just as sociable? what species of bichir should i be considering (smallest and most layed back would be best)? am I pushing it at all with these fish and the size of my tank? please bear in mind that this is only a 4ft tank and really dont want to push it to any kind of stocking limits as i know these fish have potential to be monsters, I just want my fish to be happy healthy and comfortable!

Advice and suggestions of suitable species of bichir would be much appreciated! Food for predatory fish wont be a prob as still have the axolotls wormery going a breeding bin of crickets (if they'll eat crickets) as well as a huge breeding population of cherry shrimp and home bred white clouds so theres a nice selection of live food as well as frozen bloodworm, mussles and prawns!

I am also considering a black ghost knife fish to make use of all the swimming space (i know these will eventually out grow a 4ft tank but it will be rehomed when the time comes!) it will only be around 4inches when i buy it. If anyone has any serious OMG issues with this stocking let me know, i dont want to be walking into a disaster!


I could be purchasing fish as soon as this weekend (Got a nice big bonus from work!) so quick replys will be very much appreciated!


Thanks


Ed

 

[JustinDavis]

I've had quite a few ropes over the years and I can tell you there is no "needed" number for them. You can keep one or two, but when you have two they're MUCH more active.(IMO)
Now I'm not gonna give any advice on Bichirs since you ask for experience keepers.
Once you figure everything I would love to see some pics!

Justin

 

[Spiritofthesoul]

3 ropes and 3 smaller sized bichirs like senegal, palmas, delhezi

 

[teddrummered]

Haha, casual comments are just as good! Just wanted people with experience to comment maybe on aggression or potential sizes that the casual fish keeper may not know about, just wanna know what im getting myself into haha!

Really 3 ropes and 3 bichirs? thats great news, may only go for 2 bichirs as I'd rather have my tank as understocked as possible and know these ropes can get very long, but its good to know I can do it! unless bichirs like to be in groups of 3 or so? Are senegal, palmas, delhezi of similar size and temperment? am i better off with say 2 senegals or 2 delhezi's? or are they indifferent socially, say one of each? Someone suggested delhezis to me the other day and after checking em out i must say, they are stunning fish!


Now that stocking is cleared up i think I might go for.....,
3 x ropes and 2 x delhezi or senagal bichirs unless anyone has any objections or better suggestions?!?!

Thanks so much guys!

Ed

 

[Spiritofthesoul]

I would start with senegals! They are the easiest species to keep and the most active and fun to watch!

 

[teddrummered]

Thanks for the advice Ryan your being lots of help!

Soo, my shopping list is now....

3x rope fish
2 x senegal bichirs
1 x black ghost knife

I was also considering a small group of 4 or 5 of the larger tetras (only ones big enough not to be eaten, not giant things) to fill the gaps as black ghosts are apparantly very selcusive and the polys are bottom dwellers so this is mainly for asthetic reasons just to balance things a bit visually. Would this be a good idea or will it mix things up too much should I just stick to the prehistoric looking beasties to give my tank a nice prehistoric look and forget about em?

Im getting there!

Thanks for the input!

P.s Justin.. Of course there'll be pics, just try and stop me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Spiritofthesoul]

You can try some giant congo tetras. IMO, anything about 3" or more, they would be safe from juvenile bichirs.
Thou there are some cases of bichirs taking down prey much larger than them (i saw a 3" endli chow on a 4.5" tinfoil at my LFS).
But senegals are fairly peaceful and rarely attack. They can be considered the "friendliest" of species*.

Sorry I tried taking a video to show you the difference in activeness between my senegals and my other bichirs.
Mum came and knock at the door, ruining the video. I'll try to cut out that part.


* - Depend on the bichir's individual personality. There is a chance you might end up with a nasty senegal
PS - If you wanna know, i bagged that endli with a BA attitude

 

[JamesF]

For a 90 you could even increase the amount of ropes. I have 3 in my 50 gallon, with 3 bichirs, several catfish and many cichlids.
I'm considering adding a few more ropes in the future. The more you have, the more time they spend twining through each other.
Sens are definately great as Ryan has pointed out. Very active for a bichir.
If you have a lid you could also add an african butterflyfish as well. Give you a prehistoric top dweller.

 

[teddrummered]

Ah, a butterfly fish, saw one in my local the other day very strange fish, good idea tho will definately consider! Are they best kept in groups or a single fish? A butterfly should love floating about all the water hyacinth! Ive got a good lid so alls good! (wouldnt be considering bichirs if i diddnt!)

Decided against a Black knife ghost, but have now thought of an elephant nose, this is to keep the tank themed as all would be african fish (so is the butterfly !)

Im pretty sure that the rope fish, bichirs, elephant fish, congo tetras and butterflys can all be found in the same bodys of water in nature so I think this could work!

I know this is the wrong section for this next question but if I did go for the elephant nose would they be okay with bichirs? anyone have any idea of stocking level? probably would like 3 of them, Ive heard contrasting info bout stocking everywhere saying either a single fish or a group of 3 or more.

This is getting to be quite a pricey fish list haha, (again wrong section but...) does anyone have any experience with an african knifefish? What would work best with the bottom dwellers? It may sound odd but im worried a bichir might bite an elephants nose off if they mistake it for a worm haha!

Probably will start with 3 ropes but if i feel there is adequate space and stocking isnt high I may up the number to 5 of the buggers!

Oh also, these elephant nose's would they be classed as "ancient fish"? For this "ancient/prehistoric" african set up would an african knife fish make more sense?


Thanks again everyone, much appreciated!


Will start stocking this weekend, unfortuantly my local sold its last senagal bichir today but they'll get some in for me, they have ropes, butterflys, congo tetras and elephant noses tho! it all depends on what theyve got and if theyre healthy! (and how much money I can spare!)

Cheers

Ed
This tank is gonna rock!

 

[Spiritofthesoul]

Cool! Do start a thread when you get those little monsters and update us with pictures in the media lounge.

No idea about compatibility of butterfly fish or elephant nose since my tank is a bichir-only tank. But judging by the looks on elephant nose, it should work since they are not really predatory fishes like armatus or arowanas. However I heard you should at least 3+ in your tank since they can be quite aggressive to their own kind. This is to spread out aggression. With more fishes, less chance of aggression.

As long as the ENF can't feed into the bichir's mouth, it should work. As for how ancient the ENF is, its based on individual perspectives. If you think it looks ancient enough for you, thats all that matter. IMO, they look pretty ancient with that long nose.

Senegals should be pretty much available and cheap since they are the No. #1 commercially bred bichirs, so you won't have to wait too long for them to arrive. Good luck, just don't feed them any worms like earthworms or mealworms. Your bichirs might get used to thinking long wormy things are food and actually bite off the ENF nose!