What is the least aggressive Bichir?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Really? An Ornate? Don't they reach up to 25"? The tank dimension is 72 x 20 x24.

That's actually what I originally wanted but aren't they more aggressive than a Delhezi? Someone here once told me that they have a taste for killing shiny fish so I'm a little worried about my 5 SDs getting eaten or hassled at night.

Thanks for the plant suggestions! I'll check my LFS if they have any water sprites. :)
 
Yeah they do reach around 2 foot. Though mine is so shy, you hardly see him at all(that's their nature though). Are your SD's those tall silver things? I just cannot imagine an Ornate fitting one in it's mouth even full grown. I think a lot of people forget that generally (and there are exceptions) bichirs don't bother what can't fit in their mouths. If one decides to go psycho that often means that there is something wrong in the tank. Something is stressing them and causing them to go rouge. Nine times out of ten I think someone is overstocking their tank, and it's causing stress. Often times I see these videos on Youtube where people have a "Bichir" tank and it's just the animals. No substrate. No plants. No hide holes. Nothing to help them feel safe. So it's a given eventually those fish turn on each other. ;/

Also if you make a habit of feeding your bichirs on live foods you aggravate higher aggression levels. It's that way with snakes too. Feed them pre-killed and they tend to be less aggressive in general.
 
Yeah, those silver things are the SDs. The biggest one is around 6" and the 2 others are 3". I have 2 more SDs that are about 1" that's in a grow out tank until I'm sure it's big enough not to get eaten by my Oscar. The final stocking on that tank will be 1 Oscar, 1 BGK, 5 SDs and hopefully 1 Poly. Does that sound overstocked to you? Never head problems with ammonia and nitrites. It's just really the nitrates that I can't seem to bring below 40-60ppm since my tap has at least 20ppm. The only decor on the tank are some Malaysian Driftwoods and hopefully more live plants. Will that suffice?

No worries about feeding live foods. The only live food I feed my fish are mealworms. My staple diet rotate among several pellets, freeze dried krill and market shrimp. Never fed feeders or any other small fish.
 
That doesn't sound overstocked at all. What you have sounds good but...make sure you add a second hide spot for the bichir. If you go with a gray it needs to be at least a foot long. That will accommodate what size most senegalus get in captivity. Try to make it not too tall so the SD cannot get into it.

I do highly recommend for bichirs giving them a live treat every once in a while. If you can find a good source of Red Wrigglers, or baby Nightcrawlers they make excellent snacks for the older and bigger bichirs. It could be as little as a once a week thing.
 
I forgot to mention that I also have a Featherfin catfish there. Though I wouldn't mind moving him to another tank, if needed. Not sure what other hideouts I can make that would be at least a foot long. Should I just get more driftwoods?

Will mealworms suffice as a treat once in awhile? I'm not sure I have the stomach for nightcrawlers lol. Especially the big ones >_<
 
If you can find good pieces that you can stack to create a fully closed tunnel with an opening on both ends or a cave that would work. :3 Kudos if you tie some nice plants down to those peices so you create a planted area for the bichir to hide in later on as the plants establish. Considering what is your in your tank either Java Fern andr Anubias Frezeri would work for that.

I've never tried mine with meal-worms and I don't know if other people had success with them. Red Wrigglers are a fun smaller worm, and the night-crawlers don't have to be big. Where I go to get mine they are sold as bait but they come from Canada. There are two sizes the adults, and the smaller ones they call "babies". If they have em in stock I get the babies. Earth worms work too. I prefer the Red Wrigglers that I get from a LFS. They come in a round container, and can live in water for half a day before finally kicking the bucket. Though once I found one that has been in there for over a day. It has crawled into some plant roots and evaded being lunch XD
 
Thanks a lot! I'll try getting more driftwood and plants. I always wanted a natural looking tank anyways. Too bad the tank I bought came with that blue/white textured background and sand lol. I was originally planning painting the background black then getting a natural looking substrate. I've never seen red wrigglers or small nightcrawlers sold in my LFS but I'll try others to see if I can get some on other LFS.

My Featherfin likes hiding underneath my Oscar lol.
 
Yeah, I know what you mean lol. I call my silver dollars "lawnmowers". I used to have a little more plants in my tank. After a few days, all that survived was the swords. But ah well, at least I know they're eating. During feeding time, the two small ones just follows the big one while he's eating. Don't know why but they barely eat as far as I know. I heard Java fern actually might work against SDs. I thinking of giving it a try and adding more swords since they seem to withstand the abuse. Or I may just give in and do that plant sump I've been planning.


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