Ornate Bichir care

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ColeFishing

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jan 5, 2012
1,820
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Ohio
hello all,
i've just bought a Ornate Bichir for $22 at a fish auction. i knew the basics about them but i want to hear personal experiences and tips. mine is about 7" long in a 75 gallon tank with a JD, Red Parrot cichlid, Lima Shovelnose, Florida Gar, and a sun catfish. thanks.
Sincerely,
Cole O
 
a) Get it feeding onto a pellet food, I recommend NLS Thera+A spectrum, B) It will outgrow a 75, as they commonly get 18" long. C) if the cichlids are juvie they may be looked at as food, and D) If they are full grown, they may harrass the poly into hiding and ornates hide often anyways. Also Im pretty sure even if everything in the 75 is juvie, it's still overstocked, so look towards upgrading soon.
 
What are you feeding your fish now?

If juvie not overstocked but as probassfisher said think to the future. Nls that he sugg is good but you have to be careful how you feed. I love nls and use it for my large community tank with other variety. Polys do well with high protien i suppliment with carnivore sinking pellets.But enough wont make it to the bichir. I also have a sun cat, 3 bichir (2 ornate 1 endlicheri) and several large cichlids. Sun cats can be hogs as all catfish and cichlids love to eat. The poly is slow and not as aggressive of an eater they really cant see well like these other fish and rely on smell/tase of food in the water. They remind me of a dog cause you will see them sniffing around trying to find food in the gravel even if it is right in front of them thet may not get it before another fish takes the food. ( they are not really sniffing just pulling water in to taste whats nearby) i personally throw food in whem my cichlids are sleeping after the lights have been off for a couple of hours in the pitch black dark when im about to go to bed, this is when they are in there element. Still i spread it around the tank cause the cat is a beast @12" and will go crazy trying to eat all the food. I used a flashlight several times to monitor feeding after the pellets already sunk. The poly' are 8" to 10". This is my sugg, when the fish were smaller it wasnt that bad but big cats + big cichlids = hungy bichir.

He is a fat hog
uploadfromtaptalk1333323355386.jpg
But there still buddies
uploadfromtaptalk1333323305135.jpg
Sent from my GT-P7510 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App to
 
I have one that is 18". I've had him for about 3 years. He was 5 or so inches when I got him. He's fat and silly now. The big deal with keeping polys with other fish, in my experience, is keeping them so well fed they leave everyone else along. My ornate likes to go take a taste of the silver dollars every so often. He grabs them, gives them a good shake, and lets go. If he were not so well fed, though, I think the outcome would be much different.
They like good hiding places, and they love plants. Real or fake, it doesn't matter. They just are really happy there.
 
Thanks for all the tips y'all. I really appreciate it. The biggest fish in my tank is my gar at 13". My Lima is 7". And everything else is around 3". My ornate is 7". I always feed my fish individually so I make sure they get enough food. Also I'm aware it's overstocked so I am getting a bigger tank in the future but the biggest I can do is a 125 which should suffice for the gar, lima, and bichir. I always put in extra bloodworms and krill which he seems to enjoy. The only fish that bothers him is my JD but it's only when tho ornate ventures into the JD territories. I will attempt to get him to eat pellets. Right now I only have Hikari carnivore but I will try to get the kind you suggest.


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tomcat.415 said:
I would think that all birchirs have the same amount of care level to all of them.
Click to expand...
Maybe the same amount of care, which would go for all fish, but they're not all high maintenance. In my experience, Senegals are low maintenance, Endlies are very high maintenance, and Ornates are somewhere in the middle.
Things like size and potential size, aggression level, and tank mates will play a huge role in how to care for your poly. It will help determine what level of involvement you will need to have a happy tank.
 
00rollins said:
What are you feeding your fish now?

If juvie not overstocked but as probassfisher said think to the future. Nls that he sugg is good but you have to be careful how you feed. I love nls and use it for my large community tank with other variety. Polys do well with high protien i suppliment with carnivore sinking pellets.But enough wont make it to the bichir. I also have a sun cat, 3 bichir (2 ornate 1 endlicheri) and several large cichlids. Sun cats can be hogs as all catfish and cichlids love to eat. The poly is slow and not as aggressive of an eater they really cant see well like these other fish and rely on smell/tase of food in the water. They remind me of a dog cause you will see them sniffing around trying to find food in the gravel even if it is right in front of them thet may not get it before another fish takes the food. ( they are not really sniffing just pulling water in to taste whats nearby) i personally throw food in whem my cichlids are sleeping after the lights have been off for a couple of hours in the pitch black dark when im about to go to bed, this is when they are in there element. Still i spread it around the tank cause the cat is a beast @12" and will go crazy trying to eat all the food. I used a flashlight several times to monitor feeding after the pellets already sunk. The poly' are 8" to 10". This is my sugg, when the fish were smaller it wasnt that bad but big cats + big cichlids = hungy bichir.

He is a fat hog
View attachment 765109
But there still buddies
View attachment 765107
Sent from my GT-P7510 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App to
Click to expand...
How long did it take for your sun catfish to get that big?




Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 
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