oh ok so those are probably malawi cichlids so they should grow larger than tanganyikans. i think those will be fine with a senegal. just watch out for aggressions since they can be territorial.
senegal bichir
- Thread starter Yaboysilk
- Start date
Yaboysilk, I think you will do fine for a long time with what you have. Don't worry about the tank width or most other dimensions. The advice given so far is sound for many fish that grow large such as gar or pike. They are stiff fish and need plenty of room to turn. Bichirs are very flexible and limber; they can turn on a dime. They often turn within their own body length even though they have room to spare. Any 12" Bichir can easily and comfortably turn in any 55g tank.
i bought some of those stuff when i was keeping african cichlids but never ended up using them. fish lived fine with declorinated water from the tap and no other adjustments. i used crushed corals and aragonite as my substrate which helped buffer the water. and in general, if you're new to fish keeping, messing with your water chemistry could potentially be dangerous. most fish, especially ones that are farm bred or tank bred, will be hardier and be able to adjust to the water that you have.
ite hears what im gonna do im gonna get the senegal at about 4 inches yo and im gonna get crushed coral or something to increase the hardness of the water and cant i use some seashells too?somebody told me i can use the same deco id use for a reef or something is that true yo?im gonna get the 55 gallon in 2 weeks not september cuz i got a sudden cash flow so im gonna try starting an african cichlid tank with the senegal and the butterfly fish and hopefully everyone will be cool if they grow up together.
i know its hard to try to teach a fish since they are all about instincts but cant i train the bichir to stay away from fish by feeding it crickets and bugs instead of feeders yo?
also if the bichir tries to mess with the africans won they defend themselves man?
i know its hard to try to teach a fish since they are all about instincts but cant i train the bichir to stay away from fish by feeding it crickets and bugs instead of feeders yo?
also if the bichir tries to mess with the africans won they defend themselves man?
yeah you don't have to feed your bichirs live feeder fish. it's actually prefarable you don't feed them live feeder fish cause they've been known to carry a lot of diseases. you can just feed it carnivore pellets, market shrimp, crickets, smelt, silversides, and worms. if you're getting a senegal bichir then you won't have problems feeding it since they like to eat almost anything you throw in the tank. for your substrate you'd want it to be fairly smooth so your bichirs don't scratch themselves on it since they lay on the floor most of the time.
