Grow out tank question

[RemainVayne]

were you wanting to add anything else to the tank eventually? any other bichirs, multiple ornates, or other fish in the tank? The reason why I ask because if you just put one fish in, it could become territorial and make it harder to add other fish later on.

A tank with multiple ornates and other lower jaws would be cool. and some swimmers for some movement. Of course, it is up to what you want for the tank. Congratulations on the 170/180g tank!

Beside some dithers for the upper layer of the tank, I for sure am getting a royal pleco and maybe a BGK, but unsure on that as I don't want to get one that always hides.

I also really want some rope fish, but the poly keeping public seems to have mixed reactions on how well bichirs and rope fish commingle before the rope fish become long snacks.

 

[RemainVayne]

were you wanting to add anything else to the tank eventually? any other bichirs, multiple ornates, or other fish in the tank? The reason why I ask because if you just put one fish in, it could become territorial and make it harder to add other fish later on.

A tank with multiple ornates and other lower jaws would be cool. and some swimmers for some movement. Of course, it is up to what you want for the tank. Congratulations on the 170/180g tank!

Another question on the territorial aspect... If I only add this ornate and by the time he grows to a good size I'm ready to add other monsters that still have yet to grow to a size where my ornate wouldn't eat them, how do you introduce new fish kept in smaller grow out tanks to your bigger tanks with the larger fish in them?

 

[thefredpit]

Another stupid question, but where do you guys typically get your worms from?

walmart or academy sports 2.99

Beside some dithers for the upper layer of the tank, I for sure am getting a royal pleco and maybe a BGK, but unsure on that as I don't want to get one that always hides.

I also really want some rope fish, but the poly keeping public seems to have mixed reactions on how well bichirs and rope fish commingle before the rope fish become long snacks.

instead of a BGK you might consider an afer mine is always out way more than my BGK and while I love my L190 and L027a royals they do hide alot

ropefish are usually only a problem with lowerjaws

 

[RemainVayne]

walmart or academy sports 2.99



instead of a BGK you might consider an afer mine is always out way more than my BGK and while I love my L190 and L027a royals they do hide alot

ropefish are usually only a problem with lowerjaws

Awesome, thanks for all the help! How big are your royals? I figured they'd eventually get too big to hide

 

[thefredpit]

my L027a is 6" and my L190 is 5" but they are slow growers

 

[thefredpit]

I do have alot of hides which means several of my plecos I don't see very often. I most often see my L137, L196, L076 and red fin pleco

 

[jaws7777]

Thst tank is fine. Would keep it to a handful of polys tho not more than 6ish or you'll be doing water changes every day.

Will the ornate be the only poly or do you plan on adding more ? If it were me i woukd try and add them all together. If your going to add other species besides polys they'llbe fine as polys rarely ever bother anything outside of there own species

 

[RemainVayne]

Thst tank is fine. Would keep it to a handful of polys tho not more than 6ish or you'll be doing water changes every day.

Will the ornate be the only poly or do you plan on adding more ? If it were me i woukd try and add them all together. If your going to add other species besides polys they'llbe fine as polys rarely ever bother anything outside of there own species

Sadly, my LFS only seems to carry ornates and senegal. The senegals are too small for my liking. They also charge $80 for their ornates, which seems a bit steep but I'm also new to bichirs so I don't know the going rates. I know they're cheaper online, but I've never had good luck with online fish.

I'm thinking:
1 ornate
3 ropes
1 BGK
1 royal pleco
A school of roseline sharks
A school of Odessa barbs

Not sure if those 2 barb schools are at risk of being eaten though...

I also would love a fire eel, but I know they require a huge tank, so I definitely would need to commit to a tank upgrade if I go that route. If I put a 2" fire eel and the 2" ornate together, is there a chance the bichir would eat the eel if he grows faster?

 

[Vancouver_98683]

Roseline sharks and Odessa barbs will eventually be snacks for an ornate. Once it grows 6-8" + because those 2 species rest/sleep on the floor at night, or when all the lights are out. Probably want to stay with fishes that stay up top exclusively. Some examples would be a pink or yellow tail chalceus, african butterfly maybe, or Apollo sharks. I may be bias here but if u can grow out or get some 4"+ geophagus eartheaters if no endli bichirs is in the future. They're pretty cool to watch. Fantastic cleaners of left over pellets, and eradicate snails. Just fun ideas here. That's all....

 

[RemainVayne]

Roseline sharks and Odessa barbs will eventually be snacks for an ornate. Once it grows 6-8" + because those 2 species rest/sleep on the floor at night, or when all the lights are out. Probably want to stay with fishes that stay up top exclusively. Some examples would be a pink or yellow tail chalceus, african butterfly maybe, or Apollo sharks. I may be bias here but if u can grow out or get some 4"+ geophagus eartheaters if no endli bichirs is in the future. They're pretty cool to watch. Fantastic cleaners of left over pellets, and eradicate snails. Just fun ideas here. That's all....

So would some other cichlid types be OK as dithers? I have pretty hard water and a higher PH, so I'd be looking at African Cichlids...