Ideal conditions/set up for Bichirs?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
fwlionfish said:
My 75 all four love it lots of hiding spots and lots I open space the best of both. My ornate and retro are always out in the open. The Senegal and del like to hide most of the time so I catered to both. They love to suspend in the plants and on the driftwood
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Thats a real nice set up as well, I prefer the plants that look more grass like, like what you have.

Are they real or fake? If they are real, what are they and where can I find them? Do stores like PetSmart sell them, or do you get yours from a LFS?

Also, how well do all your Polys get along?
 
fwlionfish said:
They all get along well. they team up on the lungfish occasionally. And all are fake super hard water here kills live ones in a heartbeat.
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Wow, I may wire you some money so you can buy me some and ship em over here, lol. The LFS's in my area dont have a very good selection of fake plants, a lot of live ones, but not so many fake ones. And PetSmart (the only chain store I somewhat trust), seems to only carry the horribly fake looking plants, like the purple ones I mentioned.

I'm also trying to find some dimmer lights, I read somewhere a while back that some Polys like dimmer lights. Not sure if thats true or not, but I like dimmer tanks anyway. I've bought several lights that people have claimed to be "more natural" and a "little darker", but they all seem the same, except for the blue light I have. Any tips on good, dim flourescent lights?
 
Well mine dont seem to mind the light If they do they sit under the plants for a while. And for lights I run a 2 bulb t5 zoo med forasun and a zoomed daylight. Gives the tank a super realistic color.


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my setup is open spaced, consisting of sand, stones, one piece of driftwood, and fake plants, it's still a WIP :)capture1.jpg

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y26tan18 said:
Why is sand so important for them ? Its not like they will borrow in it or play with the sand.
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They eat off the bottom, and because they are pretty much blind (at least my Del was), they grab what they can. If you have gravel they may grab a bite of some by accident, then you have a problem on your hands (imagine a piece of gravel traveling through their tiny little system, and imagine what comes next)… i.e. it can lead to major complications with digestion, and your end result could be a dead Poly. Besides that, they spend most of their time on the bottom, and sand is easier on them. And yes, they do like to bury themselves and burrow and such; it’s one of their hunting techniques…
 
y26tan18 said:
Why is sand so important for them ? Its not like they will borrow in it or play with the sand.
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They may swallow substrate as they eat from the bottom. Gravel can block their digestive track. And they actually do borrow their heads into the sand.
 
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