Polypterus mix OK?

[pepetj]

Hi, I have one endli. It's really hard to get bichirs locally. I managed to place an order through a LFS. The vendors in Singapure and Thailand only have ornates available as well as an albino [I figure a senegal]. So I ordered five ornates (unsexed if small, two males and three females if big enough to sex).

The endli I have is growing in a 80gal tank (48" x 18" footprint). I got him a bit under 7 inches and he is already going into 11".

My question is this one: Is it OK to mix different Polypterus species in the same tank? I am working in a DIY 200+gal tank (72" x 24" footprint). Is there any risk involved in mixing different species?

Pepetj
Santo Domingo

 

[OH10fiero]

I have two Endli and two Ornates in a 200 gallon tank and I have no issues at all, they all get along and pile up on each other all the time. Feeding can get a bit competative even tho there is enough food for everyone but that can be expected in predator fish like bichirs.

 

[Delhezi222]

It is fine to mix polys of a similar size, but there shouldn't be too big of a size difference because they will eat each other. Also, it may be a bit late for this, but it's not usually advised to keep ornates with other ornates as they can be aggressive to each other. They should be fine with other polys though. In a 200g tank, I'd recommend larger polys, such as endlis and lapradei, and maybe some of the larger upperjaw species, like an ornate. Read the polypterus primer at the top of this forum, it'll give you max sizes for all species of polys and you can go from there.