Jewels and bichirs

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M

Merbeast

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 17, 2007
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Sacramento, CA
www.thinking-man.net
Not sure of where to post this, so I'll start here. I have a 55 with 7 jewel cichlids and 3 bichirs. Are the jewels going to kill the bichirs when/if they breed? They have ignored each other so far, so I am hopeful, but reading everyone else's jewel posts, I am losing hope.

Oh, and I am not really hoping to breed the jewels, but I am understanding that it is mostly inevitable that they will breed. I don't plan on removing any of them if at all possible. If I can't keep them all in the same tank, the jewels are going bye-bye and I will get different fish to keep my bichirs company.

P.S. I AM planning on getting a bigger tank in the near future, and I am overfiltering the crap outta my current tank, so please save the "OMG, YOU NEED A BIGGER TANKZOR! :nilly: ". Thanks!
 
That's a lot of jewels, if you don't want to breed why not just keep one and then add other fish instead? Those jewels are probably going to be rough on each other
 
ruben;1159064; said:
That's a lot of jewels, if you don't want to breed why not just keep one and then add other fish instead? Those jewels are probably going to be rough on each other
Click to expand...

They haven't been hard on each other. Sure, they chase each other around the tank, but I have lots of live plants and driftwood for them to hide in, so they can chill when they need to. And why have 7 jewels instead of other fish? Well, because I like the jewels... and I want 5-8 of them in the tank. They are pretty and fun to watch.

Back to the thrust of my question:
1) Are they going to breed (is it inevitable)?
2) Are they going to kill my bichirs in the process?

Thanks!
 
1) there will probably be a pair in there (maybe more than 1 pair)
2) i'd worry about them killing the umpaired jewels
 
So what you are saying is tbe Bichirs are going to be ok? If so, good. If a jewel starts to get beat on I can move it to another tank, but if a bichir gets beat on and hides, he could die before I see the damage. dead bichirs = no bueno.
 
honestly I'd be a lot more worried about the bichirs eating the jewels! As far as cichlid to bichir aggression - bichirs are armor scaled...but they still have EYES and it would be sad to end up with a winky bichir due to a jewel attack!
 
ruben;1159064; said:
That's a lot of jewels, if you don't want to breed why not just keep one and then add other fish instead? Those jewels are probably going to be rough on each other
Click to expand...
:iagree:
 
Well, almost a month later, the bichirs have been left completely alone by the jewels. The jewels have been pretty easy on each other. I think that there are enough of them to spread out aggression. Two appear to like each other, although the fatter of the two plays well with another of them. I think she's a ho. No torn fins to report, no eyeless bichirs. So, it seems to be all working out.
 
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