Tank Mates

[SOLObucky]

Hello all. This forum is a great source of info! I know this topic is covered in some of the other general threads but was just curious in some current opinions.

I kept fish in college and am getting back into it with my daughter. Stumbled upon Bichirs and really thought they were cool. Was lucky enough to find two on the Marketplace forum. They're currently in my 55 gallon while I get my 150 up and running in a couple weeks. The two Bichirs are about 10," a Senagal and a Endi.

I know you can put a bunch of stuff with the Bichirs, but was just asking for some opinions. The one thing we are staying away from for sure are Plecos.

Thanks for any opinions!

 

[kno4te]

Tankmates are easy as long as they don't fit in their mouths and are twice the girth I say.

Excepts are plecos, flagtails etc....it's a hit or miss with them and related to not feeding enough.

Ur endli will get much bigger and grow faster than ur sengalus.

What tankmates did u have in mind?

Other members will be chiming in soon.

Catfish, large tetras (SD, odoe pike, tag), more bichirs? Ur Senegalus maybe an issue with these fish but ur endli should be ok.

 

[SOLObucky]

I kinda want to add a Lima Shovelnose to the mix, but we're pretty wide open. The 9 year old daughter has final say, seeing as the tank is in her room.

Since the Bichirs will pretty much just chill at the bottom of the tank, we want some movement in the water above.

She kinda digs flowerhorns, but from what I've read they can get pretty aggressive and might limit other tank mates.

 

[lizardboy]

I'd stay away from limas. They get way too big for a 150

 

[SOLObucky]

get way too big for a 150

I've read some conflicting stuff on those guys. Some say they rarely get larger than 12" in captivity, others say they get much bigger. Maybe it's just a different sub species.

I was kinda planning on getting one big enough not to be eaten by the Bichirs, and watching him grow. If he happened to out grow the tank, I'd find him a new home.

It won't matter if the daughter vetoes the idea entirely.

 

[Champagne Papi]

You could try a flowerhorn if becomes too much of a problem. Just sell it or get a tank for it. I used to have my bichirs with a couple of cichlids, then switched to a few fronsotas (bigger cichlids), they worked nice I just got the poly itch and got rid of them

 

[kno4te]

Lima will get bigger than 12inches and may eat ur Senegalus like a noodle.

 

[SOLObucky]

Lima will get bigger than 12inches and may eat ur Senegalus like a noodle.

Well, I guess we'll just cross that one off our list.

I've already screwed up once. The 55 gallon has some small koi in it that we plan on moving to our pond in the spring. When we put the Bichirs in with them I told my daughter not to worry, thinking the koi were too big for the Bichirs to eat.

The next morning one of them was gone and there was a huge bump in the belly of the senegalus.

A divider went up that morning.

 

[kno4te]

Well, I guess we'll just cross that one off our list.

I've already screwed up once. The 55 gallon has some small koi in it that we plan on moving to our pond in the spring. When we put the Bichirs in with them I told my daughter not to worry, thinking the koi were too big for the Bichirs to eat.

The next morning one of them was gone and there was a huge bump in the belly of the senegalus.

A divider went up that morning.

I'd suspect the endli buti these things happen.

 

[jaws7777]

I wouldnt put a flowerhorn in with bichirs. FH Get pretty aggressive. Cichlids would be ok but you'll want something on the milder side. Acaras and chocolate cichlids come to mind. Mine is with a pearsei.