Stocking Ideas for 70 gallon tank

[Spiritofthesoul]

Hi, im new to this forum and i have always been fascinated by bichirs due to their prehistoric looks. After research on bichirs, i went to get the largest tank which I could afford and would fit nicely in my room.

The tank was a 70 gallon. Dimensons are 39 x 17 x 24. Im currently running a Atman CF-1200 external canister filter with Atman surface skimmer and a 100w Atman heater (Yes my LFS seem to be a huge fan of Atman).

I was hoping to get some advice on how many bichirs could i fit in that tank without overstocking it, as I overstock my 20 gallon in the past and lost my bichirs (I was ignorant back then).

Bichirs I hope to get
- Ornate (definately but wasn't sure as they are known to grow BIG)
- Endlicheri
- Delhezi

 

[Kanta]

2 or 3 bichirs would do fine in there. Ornates are awesome. Delhezis are fantastic too. I currently own a sen and I love the guy.

 

[Loves severums]

Endlicheri no get way to big for a 70gal

 

[Spiritofthesoul]

I guess Endlicheri is out of the question. Is there other smaller species I could keep?

 

[Kanta]

The person to ask about polys in hao, that little dude is a friggin encyclopedia.

 

[GarNiac]

those 3 bichirs that you mentioned above is OK in a 70g, but 1 each and no more, since most bichirs you'd get are Captive Breed and don't really get that big in a home tank.

 

[blksubykid]

The Endli is a definite no and you should be OK with the ornate in there, but the Delhezi and Senegal stay alot smaller than the other 2

 

[peewee]

most upper jaws will do.

 

[Spiritofthesoul]

Thanks for the advices, after consideration, I decided to get an Ornate, Delhezi and replace the end with a Senegal but according to AqAdvisor, my tank would be overstock once they are fully grown. Should I get a smaller species or can I get away with it with more frequent water changes?

Also, in which order should I get the bichirs? I do not want to introduce them all at the same time and result in my biological filtration being unable to keep up with the sudden increase in bio-load

 

[blksubykid]

I wanted my first bichir to be a Delhezi but they are hard to find in Socal, so I opted for an Ornate. Personally Id get the Del first since it is probably the slowest grower of the 3 and put in the Ornate last. As far as being over stocked the only problem I could possibly see is with the Ornate, which can reach lengths of about 20in in captivity and and your tank is only 39in long. Most fish prefer more lateral swiming space than vertical. However, the Ornate is probably the least active of the group too but if worse comes to worse you can either

1.) Sell the Ornate before it gets too big
2.) Get a BIGGER tank

I think it would be safe to say that alot of us keep fish tanks at maximum capacity or even abit "overstocked". It just requires more work on you part to maintain the tank (ie more frequent water changes and stable parameters) to keep your fish happy and thriving.