Senegal Bichir Tankmates (this is the thread that never ends)

[overdrive]

A while back I lost my beloved goldfish in an accident while I was out of town and was so upset that broke down all my tanks except for the one 55 gallon goldfish tank, since I didn't have the heart to let it go yet. It's been running virtually empty since then, except for an army of snails and a single fat bristlenose pleco. A year-ish later and I scoop up a teeny, tiny 1.5" Sengal bichir... and I guess we'll see if giving the hobby one more go was a mistake.

I have a bunch of Platies in there to breed feeders (and the bristlenose that's the relic of a bygone era) but I even the adults won't last long once the guy gets some growth on him. For the future I'd like some suggestions on tankmates that meet the following criteria:

• Fit in a 55-75 gallon tank without much difficulty (not can fit, but can fit comfortably)
• Obviously, big enough not to be a snack
• not overly aggressive, but with enough spunk to hold their own if the bichir gets peckish
• Able to be placed in the tank currently, so they grow up together

I realize there are a lot of threads discussing this very subject, but a lot of suggestions I've seen are either too aggressive in their own right or too large for my purposes. I'm not looking for the Oscars and Green Terrors of the fish world.

If these criteria are impossible or ill advised, that information is useful too! I'm here to learn after all. Thanks for your time.

 

[jaws7777]

I would add an aequidens. Rapps @ www.tangledupincichlids.com has a few.

And a bunch of giant danios. Cheap fish and will provide some upper level movement. If you decide your gonna stick to the hobby then swap out the danios with some pretty type of schooling fish like rainbows. Concern would be to keep fish large enough for an adult sen not to eat.

 

[Vancouver_98683]

If just keeping the senegal bichir and it hits 4-5" in size. You can pretty much put anything in there that's 3" or above, i.e. Congo Tetras, Angelfish, cichlids, & many others. Can even place with all the smaller upper jaw species (polli, retro, beutikofferi, moke, other senegals, ropefish). Perhaps if and when the senegal reaches -10-12 inches. It takes a long time for this growth, but maybe increase the tankmate threshold to 4-5".

 

[Hendre]

African knifefish maybe, if the setup is suited for them they'll definitely be a fun addition

Giant danios would be cool too, or maybe congo tetras. If grown out they'll be stunning and too big for the poly to eat

 

[overdrive]

I would add an aequidens. Rapps @ www.tangledupincichlids.com has a few.

And a bunch of giant danios. Cheap fish and will provide some upper level movement. If you decide your gonna stick to the hobby then swap out the danios with some pretty type of schooling fish like rainbows. Concern would be to keep fish large enough for an adult sen not to eat.

If just keeping the senegal bichir and it hits 4-5" in size. You can pretty much put anything in there that's 3" or above, i.e. Congo Tetras, Angelfish, cichlids, & many others. Can even place with all the smaller upper jaw species (polli, retro, beutikofferi, moke, other senegals, ropefish). Perhaps if and when the senegal reaches -10-12 inches. It takes a long time for this growth, but maybe increase the tankmate threshold to 4-5".

My issue is that I've had a bichir before that quickly reached 6" very quickly, and ended up having to rehome him because he started chomping down on my bosemani rainbows (which I was under the impression were too big). They weren't dying but had big chunks out of them that scarred. It wasn't an easy choice but I felt it was appropriate to save for the greater number of fish in the tank.

Post-great purge, I didn't have any "favorites" left and figured I could go ahead and get a fish I had greatly enjoyed and always regretted rehoming.

African knifefish maybe, if the setup is suited for them they'll definitely be a fun addition

Giant danios would be cool too, or maybe congo tetras. If grown out they'll be stunning and too big for the poly to eat

Knifefish don't hold much appeal to me and I'm a little worried about it being injured by the bichir. I'm pretty sure the tetras and danios would end up as food, if bosemani were on the menu.

 

[Hendre]

Knifefish don't hold much appeal to me and I'm a little worried about it being injured by the bichir. I'm pretty sure the tetras and danios would end up as food, if bosemani were on the menu.

Mine do fine as rain with my sens

Another option is a ctenopoma, they look cool and get big and fat enough to not get eaten

 

[clm08k]

there have been some great options listed above!

I have both giant danios and congo tetras in my tank with 2 mokes, 1 del, 1 polli, and an albino sen. Polys are 9 inch long and tetras/danios are about 3 inch long. Danios are maybe 3/4 inch thick and congos 1-1.5 inch thick. Tried 6 green tiger barbs(they were only 1 inch), but they got eaten by my predatory moke. I also think she ate a giant danio, but for the most part they have been cohabitating peacfully for a year.

As long as they are fast and/or bigger than the bichirs head(too big to fit in its mouth...you should be good). Although it does depend on the individual fish in regards to aggression. Senegals for the most part are considered peaceful. However, If you are wanting to adding 1 or 2 other polys in the future, would do it soon so the senegal does not think s/he's the only poly in the tank.