I plan on selling my 3 gouramis in my tank and I was thinking of an oddball fish in place of my 3 gouramis either a rope fish or bichir. (tank/stock in sig).
Which one would you rather prefer?
Which one would you rather prefer?
Which would be better, bichir or rope fish?
- Thread starter Kyle_91
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rope is a distant relative to the bichirs, but personally ill go with bichirs and their are many kids available.
Any specific species you would recommend? I was thinking a delhezi or an ornate bichir specifically...
depends on your tank size as some can get huge, budget as some rare types can be expensive, and finally availability.
Dels if your tank is small (max 12"), ornati if you have a big tank for starters (max 20").
then for the rare spectrum, i recommend teugelsi, bichir bichir or congicus.
good luck.
go Senegal since this is your first time keeping them.
They are the most common and cheap and can be considered "starter" bichirs for begineers.
Observe their behaviors and temperament, learn their feeding habits and how large they can actually grow.
After you get the hang of it, maybe you can try other species like delhezi, ornate, palmas and endli.
And once you are hooked onto it, go for those expensive species like ansorgii, teugelsi, bichir bichir or congicus.
They are the most common and cheap and can be considered "starter" bichirs for begineers.
Observe their behaviors and temperament, learn their feeding habits and how large they can actually grow.
After you get the hang of it, maybe you can try other species like delhezi, ornate, palmas and endli.
And once you are hooked onto it, go for those expensive species like ansorgii, teugelsi, bichir bichir or congicus.
I only have experience keeping three species: Delhezi, Endli and Ornate...So, I am not an expert.. I'm just asking ..
I am wondering, how is keeping a Del or an Endli any different than keeping a Senegal? (Other than the fact that Senegals are cheap and if you "screw up", you won't lose a lot of money...)
Also, given OP's tank size (55Gal), I think the "dwarf" among the Bichirs might be a good option, i.e. Delhezi.. It also helps that they are really really really slow growers.
Just curious what you experts have to say..
Thank you,
Well, I appreciate all the input guys. Senegal bichirs seem to be pretty common around where I live which is a plus and there half-way cheap
My friend had a bichir and it was a pretty cool fish to walk into the room to..
My friend had a bichir and it was a pretty cool fish to walk into the room to..
A senegal is typically much more active than other species and can be easy to persuade to do surface feeding. You also see more swimming activity in senegals. They are also less aggressive than other bichirs such as ornate. Size and growth rate are also different. Other than that, there is not much difference in husbandry.
Do note that the above is used only for typical senegal bichir. As we all know fish have individual personality and are not subjected to those general rules. So you might get a senegal which could be aggressive and/or inactive.
I'm speaking in an economist point of view. No sense in getting an expensive fish like a delhezi or an ornate and not knowing their requirements. At least for senegals, if you screw up, it doesn't cost as much as those (not belittling a Senegal's life here, just saying). And you should get one if you have not.
My dels have been the fastest growing of any of the bichirs I have kept. Over 1" every month since I got them.
Personally, I'd go for a sen for the first one, mainly due to behaviour. They are very active and curious fish. The one problem you have is that you only have a 55 and it is already stocked with fish that will outgrow it. Do you have a larger setup ready to move these guys into in the very near future?