Will they kill themselves?

[GothBabyDoll]

I have two young bichir that are about 3 inches long. Yesterday I bought 7 ghost shrimp and put them in the tank with Levi and Malachi. Well, I THOUGHT my bichir couldnt catch the shrimp, so I figured until I killed the shrimp they would be ok in there. Well after coming home from a movie, i found only 4 shrimp left. I thought I was just not looking hard enough until I saw Malachi strike at one of the shrimp and rip its legs off. Then I looked closer and saw that both my eels had lumps in their bellys. My question is is it ok to leave the shrimp in there for them to eat whenever they want or do I need to take them out so they dont over eat? I mean, I read on here that they are eating machines when they are younger, but is it safe for them to eat THAT much?

 

[CDM]

Yes, they eat much, but, no, they don't deserve "eating machine". I never experienced bichirs eat too much to kill themselves even I offer lots feeders.

 

[beblondie]

I added a dozen guppies toone tank once it seems a female dropped fry my lil senegal did in all 12 guppies and however many fry dropped except one.In my book thats an eating machine lol.-Anne

GBD: they are not eels honest

 

[moonchild1970]

Lol...I have to say

 

[ArowBichir]

lol I left 10 ghost shrimp in my tank and my Ornate just ate them when it was hungry the shrimps were helpful to eat leftover food

 

[Bichirs4life]

Well Uwe had his Senegal eat until it literally burst and died so they can do themselves in. It's rare though.

 

[rba718]

You just gotta watch how much you feed them. If you see a few lumps in their gut, that's probably enough.

I tend to fast my Bichirs every other day now, especially since they're getting bigger.