Is a Bichir for me?

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Laticauda

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 16, 2010
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Central Oklahoma
As some of you may know if you cruise the other sections of the forum, I am in search of a new fish for my planted 56 gallon, tall tank. The measurements are 36"L-18"W-22"T

I've ruled out pictus cats, and now am interested in learning if a Bichir would be a suitable resident.

Right now, I have an angelfish, 4 yoyo loaches, 4 peacock gudgeons and some BN plecos. I plan on moving the plecos back to my 90 gallon "harem."

Here are the questions I have:
Will a Bichir eat the gudgeons and/or yoyo loaches?
(I ask so I know whether or not I would need to move these guys to a different tank.)

What type of Bichir would do best in this size tank?

I don't keep the tank covered, are they really prone to jumping if they are kept happy/fat?

Anything else you think I should know about these guys? I've been reading a lot on the GOOGLE machine, and also the stickies, but there's just no substitute for personal experiences/advice.

Thanks in advance!
 
Laticauda;4790464; said:
Bichir would be a suitable resident. For that footprint it would be fine

Right now, I have an angelfish, 4 yoyo loaches, 4 peacock gudgeons and some BN plecos. I plan on moving the plecos back to my 90 gallon "harem."

Definitely moving plecos, thats good, if the loaches and gudgeons will reach 3"-4"+ should be safe, bichirs only tend to eat what can fit in their mouth

Here are the questions I have:
Will a Bichir eat the gudgeons and/or yoyo loaches?
(I ask so I know whether or not I would need to move these guys to a different tank.) See answer above

What type of Bichir would do best in this size tank?

Senegalus would be your best bet as far as activity and also to reduce the risk of your other fish getting eaten (stay 8-10" typically in aquariums, rare cases can hit 12")
I don't keep the tank covered, are they really prone to jumping if they are kept happy/fat?

They tend to rush up at the top i've noticed, I keep my tanks covered just in case but I also keep the water down about 3-4" from the top to be safe, yes these guys will jump happy or not as they breath normal air and are often shooting up towards the top of the water

Anything else you think I should know about these guys? I've been reading a lot on the GOOGLE machine, and also the stickies, but there's just no substitute for personal experiences/advice.

In my humble opinion, bichirs are some of the most interesting fish that can be kept in aquariums that don't always turn into monsters. They're by far my favorites, and I plan to get some different species soon. Bichir keeping becomes an addiction within it's own, and I hope you end up making the necessary changes to keep one

Thanks in advance!
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Answers in Red, Good luck bichirs are awesome
 
The gudgeons will become a snack to any bichir eventually.
I lost my male senegal on his 3rd trip out of the tank. Even covered he managed to sneak out through gaps for filters. No other has ever bothered though. I tend to keep bichir tanks covered. Sevegals are difinately the best choice. Ropefish would work well too. I have 3 in my 50 planted. They should be fine with the gudgeons too.
 
i say delhizi better looking, but get a little bigger and mine has more personalitythen senegals he hangs out with but that isnt normal. my opinion is they are almost perfect fish to keep easy to care for and always interesting.you advised me on breeding bn's in past. and they will eat anything that fits in mouth but have small mouths and when well fed they are very friendly with others
 
i agree that dels look better but they'd also get big enough to make her yoyos snacks probably
 
NCStateFisher;4790945; said:
i agree that dels look better but they'd also get big enough to make her yoyos snacks probably
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So will senegals!

I say Delhezi.
They look much more interesting, and have much more of a predator look to them.
 
rope fish are great interesting fish to keep they are not the same as most bichir but they are they are more like eels very fun to watch do a googlge search on them
 
If i was u i would get 1 sen,1 del,1rope:grinno: as i am addictted to getting polys, They are the best fish i have ever kept and im planning to keep them till i die. Please ensure that you have lid on this tank before you get a poly as i have noticed that with me that the first few days after introducing a new poly,they tend to look for ways to escape and then they settel down. I have lost two polys to my stupidity of leaving the lid opend after feeding. I am still heart sore abt this:cry:

All the best on keep polys if you do decide to.
 
I would also suggest an Albino Senegal. They seem to grow smaller than the normal variant, but even then, I don't think those Gudgeons would be safe since they seem like a pretty small species.
 
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