Poly compatability?

[screaminleeman]

I have read in the stickies and in threads here that it is not a good idea to home lower jaw Polys with upper jaw polys. This I have followed I think.

I am having a bit of a situation with a combination of two ornates in a 135G with a del. I got all my polys at the same time and with the exception of the albino sens all roughly the same size.

In one tank I have three dels with a palmas and no problem. The albino sens are in a different tank together with no problem. I have the end with no other polys in with two hornet tilapia and 3 baby FL. gar.

I am not seeing any aggression or even any interaction between the del and the two ornates in the 135, but I rarely see the del in the tank at all and usually it hides until lights out. The size difference between the two ornates and the del in their tank is staggering after only only two months! Even more disturbing is that the 3 dels in a much smaller tank (55G) are (although not as big as the ornates in the 135) still WAY the heck bigger then the del in the 135 that started off the same size.

Have I terrorized the unholy heck out of the poor little fellow? Should I try to rehome it in another of my tanks with Polys? It's ultra slow growth rate has put it far closer to the size of the albino sens then any of the other Bichirs that were previously the same size. What do you think is my best option?​

 

[smpage]

probably not getting as much food as the other dels because of the ornates. I'd say move him for now and try to bulk him up.

 

[GarNiac]

there are chances that the big one eating the small one when food are not enough. However if you look into the media lounge, there are lots of examples of mixing between lower n upper jaws species in the same tank. The chances are they were introduce in the tank at the same time when they were small n they were also well fed.

 

[vaine111]

I'd take away the hiding spots and see if he feeds better. Hiding spots are not a necessity for polypterus.
There is no reason to keep them all seperate. They go great together but if there is a substantial size difference then ofcourse seperate cause they will eat each other. I had 14" endlicheris with 6" delhezi, albino senegalus, and palmas polli.
I'd just put them all in the same tank. I had 16 poly's at one time and they all got along fine, especially my albino senegalus, ornates, and delhezis.

 

[screaminleeman]

there are chances that the big one eating the small one when food are not enough. However if you look into the media lounge, there are lots of examples of mixing between lower n upper jaws species in the same tank. The chances are they were introduce in the tank at the same time when they were small n they were also well fed.

I was kinda leaning toward leving them together since they were all introduced together, at least until I detect overt aggression from the Ornates toward the now much smaller Del. My two Ornates are growing at a phenominal rate and getting seriously robust, and I am a little worried that the first hint of aggression that I see could be the tail of the Del sticking out of one of the Ornates mouths, or an Ornates "worlds strongest Bichir tug of war contest with the Del as the rope!

 

[moonchild1970]

Up to you. But if you wait, if may be too late...

 

[CaveDweller]

It's probably a mixture of being nervous of the bigger ornates and not having settled properly. I think you should move him in with the sens if you can. They're probably the least aggressive feeders so even if they are bigger than him you will probably be able to bulk him up.

 

[spwd]

Id put the small del with the other small ones and grow him up a bit but it may not catch up enough to go in with the ornates,but i wouldnt risk leaving it in there any longer,as like you say you may be too late if it happens.

Steve