compatible bichirs

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pwmin

pwmin

Giant Snakehead
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Nov 26, 2007
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I am wanting to add some more bichirs to my tank and I'm trying to decide on which ones to look for. Assuming they will be fully grown, what is the smallest poly I can keep w/ my ornate so that it should be large enough to not get swallowed? What is the largest that it won't eat my ornate or other fish? I may have a jardini in there, but it all depends if it's peaceful or not. I will be upgrading to at least a 180 wide, 210 tall or long or 240 long (6-8' x 24" wide, maybe even up to 30" wide) in the future.
 
From a size standpoint since ornates reach 18-24 inches a couple of choices would be
P.b.lapradei 18-24 inches
P.weeksii 20 inches
go with a ''long'' or ''wide'' tank as opposed to ''tall''-Anne
 
beblondie;1448991; said:
From a size standpoint since ornates reach 18-24 inches a couple of choices would be
P.b.lapradei 18-24 inches
P.weeksii 20 inches
go with a ''long'' or ''wide'' tank as opposed to ''tall''-Anne
Click to expand...

ok, thanks. i'm looking on craigslist, so i can't be too picky. the 210 "tall" is just a regular 180 but 6 in. taller. i know tall tanks aren't the best for bichirs, but i wouldn't think 30" tall would be too much for an 18-24" bichir. now, polypterus.info says laps get 30", which made me worry, but if they only get 18-24, that would be better. although, i'm sure a black lancer cat that only gets about 10" would be bad news with a lower jaw (lap) for both of them (i'm contemplating getting one). so, you're saying a bichir that only gets 12" would be a bad combo for an ornate, correct? ahhh! too many questions...sorry.
 
I have an adult ornate with a senegal, he's about half the size of the ornate and I have no problems. Actually, the ornate is kept with a small loach (a quarter of the size) and a rope fish. He has never tried to swallow them. I follow the rule that as long as the fish is bigger than the other's head then the bigger one can't eat the other.
Just keep the ornate well fed and make sure he has space. Most bichirs get along well together.
 
at about 8 or 9 inches (s)he ate a 3-4 inch senegal.
 
dont be so certain that f its bigger than the head it wont get eaten...
my lap at 9 inches ate a 3 inch ornate...
laps only get to 24 inches in captivity.
and grow slower than any other poly.
you could have endlis or some of the other lower jaws.
as well as weeksii wich gets to 20 inches.
although i have small bichirs with bigger ones,
im taking a risk.
 
yeah lapradei only gets to 18"-24" in aquariums. i've seen pics of large wild laps imported, but they're all under 24". have yet to see a lap thats 30" or close to that. they can probably only get that big in the wild (or perhaps in VERY big ponds or tanks), and even then it may take an individual with very good genes and very long time. in fact, growing a lap to 18"-20" in aquariums is considered BIG in my book, and would have taken a pretty long time since they grow slow.

weeksii is a somewhat slow grower as well. max size recorded is about 21", but probably stay a little smaller in aquariums, say somewhere around 18".
 
so bichir spp., endli, weeksii

no palmas, retro, teug, mokel, ansorgii, del
congicus too small?
sen ok?

is that about right?

great, now i get to spend $100 on a lap, lol. is $100 okay for a 10" lap? mike's killer fish has some. what about $50 for an 8" albino sen? i'm pretty new to bichirs that aren't sens and have never seen anything in stores other than what mike has or ornates and sens. i have already been on a lookout for weeksii, though.
 
can anyone verify my list or give me some insight on those prices?
 
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