Is it better to house a group or single poly

[dpk2313]

This is mainly aimed towards larger species. I have seen many tanks with multiple polys, is this more for your enjoyment or theirs? If it is better to have a group is it alright to mix species of similar size and what is a good number to have group?

 

[GarNiac]

its all depending on your tank size, a poly can do well on their own or even in a group. Once you keep a species of poly, then along the way you'll find that there are so many types of polys you would wanna keep in your tank. Most of us who keep that many polys in the same tank would choose to do so instead of having other tankmates which may not work well with the polys.

 

[PetZoneSanDiego]

I've personally kept ornates, delhezis and cuviers together with no problem at all. Just make sure the tank mates are big enough to where the bichir doesn't sneak up and consume them as that does happen, especially with smaller sized African cichlids.

 

[Darth Scohin]

I'm sure King-EL will comment once he sees this (I swear a thread has already been made) But just like with Barbs and Aggro Tetra's if you want more than one poly per tank be sure it's a few because they'll spread aggression out....

 

[dpk2313]

its all depending on your tank size, a poly can do well on their own or even in a group. Once you keep a species of poly, then along the way you'll find that there are so many types of polys you would wanna keep in your tank. Most of us who keep that many polys in the same tank would choose to do so instead of having other tankmates which may not work well with the polys.

I have had a few polys in the past and currently have a 6" endli whom I love soon I will have the chance to buy a del, ornate, and possibly other polys of similar size for a decent price. I currently have him in a 75 (up grading soon thats why Im looking for more) with a few other fish that seem not to notice let alone bother him. They seem to treat him like they do "furniture".

I've personally kept ornates, delhezis and cuviers together with no problem at all. Just make sure the tank mates are big enough to where the bichir doesn't sneak up and consume them as that does happen, especially with smaller sized African cichlids.

The tank mate are 11-6" so Im not worried about them as much as Im worried about my current poly and his happiness/well being

I'm sure King-EL will comment once he sees this (I swear a thread has already been made) But just like with Barbs and Aggro Tetra's if you want more than one poly per tank be sure it's a few because they'll spread aggression out....

Is it common to see aggression in a group of polys? If so what is a good number of polys to spread aggression?

 

[Darth Scohin]

Is it common to see aggression in a group of polys? If so what is a good number of polys to spread aggression?

No it is not when you have a sizable group of polys you more than likely will see them pile. But about the number of Polys IDK again I'd see if EL or Hao jump in here OKay I looked through the threads and found the one I was talking about http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=301443 Just don't resurect it

 

[dpk2313]

couldnt agree with you more. IMO, bichirs pile up together to have a sense of security, and from what i notice, if its below 10 bichirs, they will tend to fight among themselves. For my case, i keep about 20 bichirs in a tank, i have a total of 3 tanks. One for giant, one for mid sized like dels and retro, and the last one is a grow up tank for the juveniles.

IMHO, i think fights among bichirs are common as they are carnivorous(aggressive) animals. Torn fins are fine with me.

BUT what's most important is you must know what size&type of bichirs to comm with what. I once lost 2 palmas palmas due to comm-ing them together with my endlicheris. Although size may be around the same, however, given the palmas slender body, it wasn't able to fight against those big sized endlicheris and therefore lost their lives. I was quite disheartened back then but it had made me learnt a very important lesson.



PS: I digressed abit to let thread starter know more about bichirs. Thanks.

according to that thread its 10 polys + to keep them from being aggressive if this is true then Im happy with one. I dont have the money or space for 10+ polys of this size, and after all of that there will still be constant biting and aggression. just doesn't seen worth it

 

[Darth Scohin]

Like he said it depends on the polys I have three right now and they're all fine....It just depends

 

[King-eL]

Aggression is not really an issue to bichirs when they are similar size or almost about the same size. They don't really inflict critical damage to each other. Better to let them have it's way than separating it as the next tank mate will become the victim. Reason why when I say better to just leave it alone is that sooner it will get tired when it becomes the dominant bichir and will soon stop.

 

[dpk2313]

Aggression is not really an issue to bichirs when they are similar size or almost about the same size. They don't really inflict critical damage to each other. Better to let them have it's way than separating it as the next tank mate will become the victim. Reason why when I say better to just leave it alone is that sooner it will get tired when it becomes the dominant bichir and will soon stop.

thats the opposite of my problem tho
I have one endli and Im wondering if I should buy more bichirs or leave him alone?