How many polys in a 75 gallon?

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dani_starr

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Apr 24, 2012
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Cali
So I am looking just for a general idea that out of these species:
~P. Retropinnis
~P. Palmas palmas
~P. Palmas polli
~P. Palmas Buettikoferi
~P. Senagelus
~P. Senagelus Albino
~P. Delhezi

How many could I have in my standard 75 gallon (48"x18") with a wet/dry sump filter (and it's completely covered, so no fishy suicide), if I go with all bichirs, and no other fish?

And what if I wanted to add 2 ropefish (I'm aware they are in the same family as the bichirs), how many then? (Do you think ropefish would do okay in a 75 gallon, or is it too small?)

Thanks!
 
honestly with good water changes you could have all of those and the ropes in a 75
 
The ropes should be fine. As for a number, obviously the inch per gallon rule is hard to apply with fish shaped like ropes. So I would start with just a couple and get a sense of the bio load they create, and add more as you're comfortable with it. Having a sump will definitely help.
 
i think you can have em all if they are all besides the ropes under 10 inches. of course you will have to get a bigger tank or down size stock as they get bigger.
 
Okay, I should of rephrased this. How many can I have of those species that can live in a 75 gallon for LIFE and be HAPPY? :)

For sure there will be one sen and one albino sen, then I'm not sure about the other ones, I asked my LFS and those are the ones I wrote down, they are going to call the whole saler and find out which they have/prices.

I don't want to have to worry about having to upgrade the tank, or selling some of the stock as they get bigger. I want to keep everyone in there for life, and for them to be healthy and happy.
 
i stand by my original comment. with 50% weekly water changes i see no reason for all 7 of those pollis not to be able to live in a 75 for life
 
There is a big difference between "Can" and "Should".

Bichirs are not social fish. They are not like guppies, mollies, and gold-fish. They like having their own territories. They like having their own hide spaces. They like having room to swim without hitting another fish every two seconds. Just because the water is clean doesn't mean the fish are happy. So to the OP, I'd stick with no more than 4 of any one of those species so long as they don't exceed more than a foot or more(at least two of them don't). If you plant the tank well, and have plenty of hiding spaces you'd have very happy active bichirs.
 
NCStateFisher said:
i stand by my original comment. with 50% weekly water changes i see no reason for all 7 of those pollis not to be able to live in a 75 for life
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I highly disagree. You would do this if you wanted stressed, aggresive, sickly fish.

Water quality is not the only element affecting a fish, the water might be fine but not the environment. Some fish require a peaceful atmosphere. Others require their own space.

As Sang said, and I more than agree.
Bichirs are not social fish. They are not like guppies, mollies, and gold-fish. They like having their own territories.
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Stress is anything that changes the behavior of a fish from normal. An overcrowded tank surely creates stress.
 
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