Hahaha tried that with my "special" pearsei. He adapted. Would wait for the sinking food. Eat that then head to the surface...greedy
Upgrade planning - help me stock
- Thread starter magpie
- Start date
Hahaha tried that with my "special" pearsei. He adapted. Would wait for the sinking food. Eat that then head to the surface...greedy
I tried this as well, with limited success. My senegal just didn't eat fast enough to get enough food without me way overfeeding the other fish. It can be a tough situation to manage, and my solution eventually was just to move the bichir out of the tank. I recently put myself back in that situation and feed a combo of floating and sinking foods and then throw some sinking in after lights out to hopefully compensate.
I probably wouldnt be able to keep the mix of fish i have if the cichlids ate the chopped up tilapia.
Pellets i feed after lights out
Pellets i feed after lights out
Maybe certain cichlids should be ruled out when keeping with such fish like polys.
Maybe species that are not greedy and are a bit picky like various satanoperca.
Satanoperca I have kept like to take small morsels from the substrate and are not fast gluttonous feeders.
I know these are not on the op's list,but if a mix of polypterus and cichlids are desired then maybe something has to give.
Maybe species that are not greedy and are a bit picky like various satanoperca.
Satanoperca I have kept like to take small morsels from the substrate and are not fast gluttonous feeders.
I know these are not on the op's list,but if a mix of polypterus and cichlids are desired then maybe something has to give.
Still curious about the polleni's compatibility, he continues to get overlooked. I have a group in my 125 and am curious as to experiences with these guys...
A sp
I imagine you would encounter the same problems with feeding.
A species I have yet to keep and know little about,sorry.
I imagine you would encounter the same problems with feeding.
I have three and one resided with a 10' ornate for some time with no real issues other than the above mentioned feeding problems. The bichir did take a pretty large chunk out of the pollinis tail which never grew back correctly. The other 2 pollini are in a 125 grow out with silver dollars and festivum without issue except a little aggression between the pollini. They would be my choice of tankmate except for the feeding issue.
Thx man. This is the main reason i suggested op start a thread. More opinions and suggestions
+1
Super excellent info! Do you know the sexes of any of the polleni's? Thank you
Thank you all so much for the input! I am reading and soaking it all in. I LOVE this forum. It has been invaluable to me as a fishkeeper.
My bottom is busy and with the butterflies my top is, but the middle area is not. I'd love to have some sort of cichlids with bichirs - would be my dream.
The plants are also something I'd like, but I know that makes it harder. I also know I'll likely have to play with individual fish. I'm wondering if in time my 65 can be the growout to pick individuals more suited to a community? I was thinking of getting a batch of hets now since they grow so slowly and seem to be a good poly match.
I am familiar with your Porkchop!
Yours live with your bichirs, right? (Like your faranah lap that I want.) Or are they separated? It's hard for me to remember if I've seen Porkchop with them, or just pics of her in the poly forum.
Right now I have a Ctenopoma who is a huge hog and will literally gorge himself. I have to feed him first with tongs, get him full or at least to the point where he takes a break to try and digest a bit, then I throw the food for the polys/ropes on the bottom. He'll then go and pick some more up but he's slowed way down by then. He also won't eat massivore/carnivore pellets for some reason. Will eat almost anything else though, like other cichlid pellets.
robham777
- what did you do for the feeding part when you had one with the ornate? (And this is why I keep hesitating over an ornate. I read about them being aggro more than any other bichir.)
I am with you on the tall tanks, I kind of like them too - my current is the 65 which is taller than a 75, but the problem is that means it is shorter, which is my main limiting factor. I would love a tall and long tank. Right now my problem is that I love the bichirs.magpie , tank choice is a matter of preference and I love tall show tanks. When I was looking for my first "big" tank, my choice was the taller 210g over the 180g. Even with my new tank I went with the taller 300g over the 240g. But for me it all about fish and no live plants. The shallow tank would be better for plants.
As to cichlids it can be frustrating keeping different varieties together in a community setting.
My bottom is busy and with the butterflies my top is, but the middle area is not. I'd love to have some sort of cichlids with bichirs - would be my dream. The plants are also something I'd like, but I know that makes it harder. I also know I'll likely have to play with individual fish. I'm wondering if in time my 65 can be the growout to pick individuals more suited to a community? I was thinking of getting a batch of hets now since they grow so slowly and seem to be a good poly match.
I am familiar with your Porkchop!
Yours live with your bichirs, right? (Like your faranah lap that I want.) Or are they separated? It's hard for me to remember if I've seen Porkchop with them, or just pics of her in the poly forum.Which cichlids did you use then, and what do you have now, and how is it going?
Right now I have a Ctenopoma who is a huge hog and will literally gorge himself. I have to feed him first with tongs, get him full or at least to the point where he takes a break to try and digest a bit, then I throw the food for the polys/ropes on the bottom. He'll then go and pick some more up but he's slowed way down by then. He also won't eat massivore/carnivore pellets for some reason. Will eat almost anything else though, like other cichlid pellets.
I am really not set, and am VERY open to suggestions. D/t my tank size, my experience with cichlids have been only with dwarves (Rams, apistos, Latacara araguaie) so I only know about the bigger guys from reading a ton here and other online sources. (I like to soak up info before I dive into something.) I just like the species I listed. And I know I love polys.
I have read quite a lot about the polleni, mostly on here really. They started on my list because I love how they look and they don't bother plants. And many people keep them with other fish - I think best when singly and when other fish aren't black. I've read of people keeping them with bichirs, but not about how the feeding part went.
robham777
- what did you do for the feeding part when you had one with the ornate? (And this is why I keep hesitating over an ornate. I read about them being aggro more than any other bichir.)