How bad is Bichir fighting?

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screaminleeman

screaminleeman

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Nov 27, 2009
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Westminster, MD
I have never witnessed any biting in any of the Bichirs that I have raised until very recently.

I always heard that the were pretty social creatures, but I am having challenges.

Three juvenile bichirs in a 115 gallon high (All 12" - 14" range). Weeksi is always trying to bite the front or back flippers of the Ornate. The Ornate I have never seen fight back, and squirms to avoid the Weeksi. Weeksi & Lap get along fine, but the Ornate occasionally picks on the lap (and even the facial area). They have been all raised together from the 3 - 4 inch size range.

My two baby Truegs fight like the dickens. They are never ever get along. I have had them for a month from 2.5" and they have nearly doubled in size to 5". They both go after each others head and neck, and when they get a hold, go into a gator roll.

Is this normal, or at least not potentially lethal? Thanks!
 
what are the dimensions of the 115 and what size tank/are the dimensions of the tank the teugs are in? Also what is your feeding schedule? Like how many times a week and what do you feed and how much? Those answers could help towards solving your problem.
 
I have one koloton that was a bully when it got to be about 15". My other poly's steered clear. Then I added 3 that were 5-8" larger. The koloton started biting them and they ignored it. After about 3 days he gave up and stopped biting anyone.
 
Some bichirs are just bullies. My 17" congicus always bites my 16" koloton, 16" endli and 14" lap but they just swim away. It doesn't bug them at all and I haven't seen any damage done either.


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Yeah you'll get a mean one once in a while. My one Teugelsi is for sure a mean one also, he does the same thing to the other equal sized teug w/o the death roll though. Let it happen as long as the other teug isn't looking to be in rough shape, they'll figure out a pecking order

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Dr.B said:
what are the dimensions of the 115 and what size tank/are the dimensions of the tank the teugs are in? Also what is your feeding schedule? Like how many times a week and what do you feed and how much? Those answers could help towards solving your problem.
Click to expand...

The 115 is 48x18x31(h). Feeding schedule is daily NLS 6 MM pellets. I feed an additional aquatic meat meal every other day in addition to the pellet staple diet. Tilapia chunk is the most common, but given the tanksmates I need to switch out with shrimp, scallop, clam, squid, mussel or other species fillet.

Tankmates include one 12+" Bleekeri Tilapia, two 13+" Indo. Datnoids, one 8" bowfin and one LMB that I am growing out from 1" (now 6"+)


The truegs were miniscule, so I put them in a growout 20L with five golden shiner minnows, and three Bolivian rams. I removed the rams and rehomed them in a Austrailian Rainbow tank when they picked on the two truegs. This 20L growout is still on 0.8MM NLS growth formula twice a day, + same every other day aquatic meat addition to the pellet staple.

All 30 of my tanks have zero ammonia and nitrites during tests. My area has high Nitrates right out of the well! Finksburg down the street is 15 (Mine fluctuates with the season between 7 and 10).

I have had readings on over 40 in API tests just prior to weekly water changes regularly, but extremely rare over 60. Due to extremely high Nitrates to start with, I do minimum 60 - 75% W/C's.

Filtration: Six V5 sponge filters in the 115 tall. One V3 sponge filter and one two stack pancake sponge in the 20L.
 
They could probably just be asserting dominance in the tank. Those size bichirs in those dimensions may be a little tight in a little bit and aggression might start getting a little worse when they all get larger. As for the teugs was the death rolling on each other or are they doing it with food? If they are just doing it then they could again be assertion the pecking order
 
I once had an or at that was carnivorous as hell. No matter how much I fed him he was always looking to eat one of his tank mates. Eventually he tried to eat a big clown loach and it got stuck in his throat and killed him... Have had several others since then and none of em seem all that interested in eating anything other than what I feed em. So yeah I agree personality factors in big time.


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