Tankmates for my bichir

[paopanlilio]

pick some of these VVV... never had a problem with my ornates bitting off fins... just with swallowing fish whole.

edit... My ornate has ate a 2.5" paraya, and 2.5" pbass, but he won't even consider eating the 1.25" NTT's. He sniffed one like a dog and the datnoid attacked him and he went running for his life. It was really funny. Dats are just too smart to get ate IMO.

same here never had nipping problems just swollowing

 

[King-eL]

pick some of these VVV... never had a problem with my ornates bitting off fins... just with swallowing fish whole.

edit... My ornate has ate a 2.5" paraya, and 2.5" pbass, but he won't even consider eating the 1.25" NTT's. He sniffed one like a dog and the datnoid attacked him and he went running for his life. It was really funny. Dats are just too smart to get ate IMO.

Yep I notice that bichirs like to eat skittish fish from cichlidae family, characidae family and cyprinidae family. They don't even like to eat danoids. I have some 3" datnoid with some of my 21" bichirs and they never get bothered.

 

[vaine111]

must be something about those dats. OP if you get one you won't regret it.

 

[Viper X]

That's exactly what happened to my severum, fins got chunked by his bite. Want to try the angel-bichir combination. Hope it will not lead to disaster.

 

[gigas12]

Hi,yes I think the best choice is some more polys!

 

[Viper X]

i recently got african brown knife and silver dollars, they are all buds haha, the knife and bichir actuallu hide in the same cave laying together

How big are those fishes? A black ghost with a bichir would be a nice combination.
Actually I already have a 1" IT dat, but it's a little scary to put him with my 2'5" ornate. A

 

[Viper X]

would a senegal mix with the ornate? I also have one. Just worried because I actually saw in my lfs two polys fight, ending in one poly one fin short.

 

[xlnzen]

I keep my polypterus (endli, ornate) with dats, hepsetus odoe and some other random fish. They mix well with almost anything that doesnt fit into their mouth. But im having problems with my ornates and my leiarius marmoratus. My ornates seem to love the marmoratus's sprouts and fins.. They are about the same size also. ~40cm

 

[jclyde13]

Any fish larger than five or six inches should be fine. Some smaller fish can live with an ornate bichir as long as they are alert and can swim fast enough to escape it. If the tank is not big enough, that could be the problem. You may need to put the bichir in its own tank by its self.

 

[uting]

Hi everyone! Just like to ask for opinion regarding the behavior of my ornate. Most owners say that bichir wont touch anything that is too big to fit in their mouth. I already had two ornates, and its always the same. When I add them in the tank they take a chunk from some of my other fishes. My two inch bichir even took a chunk of the tail fin of my four inch severum! Are there any ways to quell this behavior?

I suggest you give them pellets instead of live food.