delhezi in a 55 gallon for life?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Wild caught specimens (depending on what size you buy them at) are considerably longer, and more filled out than captive breed specimens. I'd still keep one in a 55g, but that's just me -- I'm willing to do extra work to insure it's health, and also I've been known to upgrade from time to time....



I wouldn't reccomend it though. I say if you buy small, you'll be fine. If you buy large, then... no.
 
peewee;3073575; said:
why not?
Click to expand...


When it comes to the active upper jaw species of polypterus, they hate confined spaces. Which is why from time to time you might see your bichirs swimming against the side of the tank.


In a wide enough tank (at least 18" imo), they will give up after a little bit and swim around the rest of the tank and calm down.

In a tank not very wide, they wont be able to calm down as quickly, and will either freak out until they jump out of the tank (or keep slamming into the tightly secured lid) or continually swim against the glass, which isn't good for them, or eventually stop when they just don't have the energy anymore from swimming so frantically.
 
so are you saying a delh wouldn't be happy in a 55 gallon? which makes me wonder about the senegals since they get to 11" in captivity . would they be happy in a 55 or should i get something bigger? also, i know sens are very active by nature so how do you tell between natural habits and habits thats show discontent or discomfort? in other words, if i get a sen (which im now thinking about more than a delh) how do i tell how happy it is? at least from just watching.

to make a point, i once found a post by someone who had an arowana in a 32' x 8' x 6' tank and said that he realized aro's are very active fish and shouldnt be kept in anything small, in his opinion. comparatively the typical minimum tank size for an aro is.... what.... 8' x 3' x 3' i think. well, see the difference. maybe i CAN keep a delh or a sen in a 55 but will it really be happy. there is the upgrade to consider, i do plan on getting a bigger tank but not for a number of years, so thats not an option thats should be looked at right now.

so do you think a senegal would be happy in a 55 gallon?
 
of course... Dels grow larger than sens... So, if the dels can leave in a 55, so will the sens... :)
 
You can get an idea of their discomfort by observing the ratio of time spent swimming against the glass vs. time spent doing anything else.


You bring up a good point, sometimes you just cant' appreciate how much space they deserve until you've seen them in a larger tank.

Ultimately if you are comfortable with a 10" fish in a 12" wide tank, then it is your choice to do so.
 
A 55 gallon tank will work. However, they aren't the most agile of fish and they do better in a deeper tank like a 75 gallon one.

The extra depth just makes their lives that much better. Most people tend to have fat lazy bichirs as adult fish, and that means they are that much less agile. I am no expetion to that rule.
 
A 55g is good...a 75g would be better. Senegals would be best in a 55g. Delhezi would be fine in there as well. If you're worried about them getting cramped, they are able to be fine in a 55g until you can upgrade to a 75g if that makes you feel better. Both tanks are 4' long and the only difference in the width and hight.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom