I have a 29gal growout tank that only has a 4" sen in it at the moment. My 4.5" (and rapidly growing) oscar was sharing the tank with him until last night when I moved the O to my 240gal. This was always the plan as I never intended to keep the O in the 29 long-term. It is the first bichir I have ever owned (actually the bichir is my 3yo daughter's and the O is my 6yo son's). I did not appreciate how slowly the bichir grows in relation to the O, and I didn't want the sen to get eaten. I also recently got my first dat (2.5") and put it in the 240. It is also a slow grower. So, could I put the dat in the 29 with the sen? Are their growth rates pretty evenly matched? They seem to be. Will having just those two fish in that 29 slow their growth even more? I know it is not the ideal growout tank. I don't want the dat to get eaten y the O as it gets larger either. I have options available to me if I need to get rid of one or the other (but not the O or sen- they're my kids'). Which scenario would work best for all fish involved?
Tank mate for a 4" senegal?
- Thread starter lujor
- Start date
As long as it's something big enough to stay out of the Sens mouth, you're good to go. I have 3 Senegal Bichirs. They grow at a decent rate, but I feed mine twice a day...
yeah my little sen is growing like a weed, but he also eats like a total hog. I feed him 3x a day along with my pike.
Cool. I'm worried about the sen eating its takmate AND the possibility of the sen being eaten by whatever is with it. That's why I moved the oscar- it was getting so big and it wasn't shy.
Sens are pretty peaceful to fish it cannot swallow, it can end up a meal for a larger fish though, good move.
I would suggest that the sen and dat go into the 240 and the O to go in ur 29.. otherwise u would still face the problem of the O outgrowing the two of them.. ( note that its al ready bigger ) Best if they sen and dat had space to grow.. and a good diet to kick them up in size.. beefheart and tilapia would be the great and almost best of choices..
Ray'Oconner;4412118; said:I would suggest that the sen and dat go into the 240 and the O to go in ur 29.. otherwise u would still face the problem of the O outgrowing the two of them.. ( note that its al ready bigger ) Best if they sen and dat had space to grow.. and a good diet to kick them up in size.. beefheart and tilapia would be the great and almost best of choices..
The sen and dat seem sorta evenly matched as far as growth rate goes, and they are both only somewhat aggressive at feeding time. I thought maybe the ~4" sen and the ~2.5" dat could live in the 29 gal bowfront for a while and then go from there. The problem with the 240 is that it houses other fish that, while not flat out aggressive, are more aggressive than either the dat or sen. Ultimately, it would be nice if they could all get along in the240. It's just getting them in there at compatible sizes that's the problem. They are all happy and healthy at the moment, and I want it to stay that way (of course- duh). Thanks for the advice. Continue to chime in if you want.
And KF21, is that avatar pic real? Seems like someone that ripped would have the same problems as a morbidly obese person: wiping their butt, finding their junk, sexing, walking, exercising, dressing, etc. His arms look like Quagmire's left after he discovered internet porn.
Dats grow pretty slowly, what species do have? When young their growth rate can be quick but it slows down very significantly after juvenile growth...
BlackShark11k;4414276; said:
D. microlepis. Thought he hadn't grown at all in the month or so I have had him, but a trip to LFS proved otherwise. It was same place that sold him to me, and the 2 others that the owner got with him (bros&sis's?) were quite a bit smaller than mine is now (originally all 3 were same size). He is def still a juvy, and if this is his "fast" growth stage, he may not reach 6" before I die of old age.
lujor;4417035; said:
My microlepis are the slowest growing fish I've ever kept. I don't think I've seen a 1/4'' difference in the month or so I've had them.