I keep thinking about someday having a bichir. Looking around, thinking about how I want to rearrange tanks and stands I see a spot for an extra 55 or 75 gallon tank. ;D
Has anyone here kept bichirs? I'm interested in the smaller types. I've done my Google search homework so I have some ideas for setting up a tank and tankmates. Now I'm looking for real life experiences with this species.
Those are very interesting fish Pauline. I heard they may go for a walk if you don't have a very tight lid. When you say "small" do you mean the ones that stay around 10 inches or so? LOL ;D
Yes Willie...I'm thinking a Senegal bichir, 10-12 inches. My son has one that's around four years old. Every time I see that fish I want one. :)
I'd like to set up an African biotope tank....bichir, Ctenopoma, possibly an African brown knife fish and a shoal of Congo tetra. I'm still doing my homework on this though.
I'll be doing some rearranging of the fish room. While planning the changes I discovered room for another 55, 75 or 90 gallon tank. Imagine that. ::)
Sounds like a very cool tank Pauline. Every time I see Congo Tetras, I think I gotta have some! ;D ;D ;D
Dennis
Quote from: PaulineMi on May 10, 2014, 03:10:42 PM
Yes Willie...I'm thinking a Senegal bichir, 10-12 inches. My son has one that's around four years old. Every time I see that fish I want one. :)
I'd like to set up an African biotope tank....bichir, Ctenopoma, possibly an African brown knife fish and a shoal of Congo tetra. I'm still doing my homework on this though.
I'll be doing some rearranging of the fish room. While planning the changes I discovered room for another 55, 75 or 90 gallon tank. Imagine that. ::)
Well that's going to end up as a great looking setup. ;D I can't imagine finding room for another tank in this apartment, but as I look around I see there are a lot of dead spaces and I have about 7 or 8 tanks in my garage. LOL ;D ;D ;D
Quote from: wsantia1 on May 10, 2014, 03:31:12 PM
.....as I look around I see there are a lot of dead spaces and I have about 7 or 8 tanks in my garage.
Rack them babies up Willie. You'll be surprised how many you can fit in a tight spot! ;)
Dennis
Quote from: BallAquatics on May 10, 2014, 03:36:21 PM
Quote from: wsantia1 on May 10, 2014, 03:31:12 PM
.....as I look around I see there are a lot of dead spaces and I have about 7 or 8 tanks in my garage.
Rack them babies up Willie. You'll be surprised how many you can fit in a tight spot! ;)
Dennis
Eventually I am going to. I am just waiting until my stock dictates that they are needed. lol ;D ;D ;D
Tanks and more tanks....we can't help it, can we? :)
er....someone say more tanks???......happy, happy, happy ;D
Dog gone something I know a little about. I kept the Senegal and the Nile Bichir for many a year when I was a young man. They are great fish. I kept the Senegal in a 90 gal tank. I had a pair in there. They are a very peaceful fish. They were very messy eaters HOB could not do the job. I feed my beef heart chopped shrimp and fish. They loved the shrimp. Temp 80. Ph 7.0. By the time I sold them the Senegals that only get 12" were 14" My Niles were 24" I used sand and a lot of driftwood. They were just so awesome to watch
Watching them is what is so fascinating. They have an expression that looks like a mix of curiosity and recognition....not at all fish-like if that makes sense.
Did you have any other fish in with your bichir?
Another fish that has my attention is the tiger datnoid. I think they can be kept with a bichir but I haven't confirmed their size and the tank size that would be needed.
QuoteI'd like to set up an African biotope tank....bichir, Ctenopoma, possibly an African brown knife fish and a shoal of Congo tetra. I'm still doing my homework on this though.
I have kept several bichirs (polypterus) over the years as well as some rope fish, a close relative. Rope fish are like a long skinny birchir without pelvis fins.
I fed them either shrimp pellets or small fish I wanted to get rid of. They did fine on shrimp pellets along.
Even a Senegal bichir can get big enough to attack and sometimes eat smaller Congo tetras (which I have also kept).
Knife fish are cool because they are actively electro-sensitive. They can pulse out voltage pulses (like an electric eel but weaker) and can then sense the distortions of the field around them so they can "see" in non-visually clear water or in the dark. They tend toward nocturnal. Their electrosensor cells are modified lateral line sensory hair cells.
I've kept Rope fish too. Very cool, but major escape artists. Be sure you have a tight fitting tank cover with NO holes.
Dennis
I had a pair of rope fish in a tank with a bulkhead to a flood drain and an elbow and screen on the inside. They got the elbow out somehow and went out the bulkhead and down the drain.
Very sad.
The Niles were in a 150 gal tank and that was all I could have in that tank. I put two 8" tiger oscars in with them they were gone the next day when I got home from work. The senegal are like any other fish if it fits the mouth they eat it. I did keepTinfoil Barbs, Large Clown Loaches and Knife fish.
Thanks for sharing the info.
Bill that is a shame about your ropefish. I'll pass on the Congo tetras based on what you wrote. I don't want to see my fish getting eaten by tankmates. :o
Dennis...not only would I heed your ropefish advice, I'll pass on them altogether too. The D. choprai crazies are enough of a concern when I do water changes. Lol. I don't need to worry about a fish that figures out how to actually escape when I'm not around.
JR...your oscars turned your Niles into very large snack. That's too bad. At 24" it would seem like they'd be safe with 8" bichirs. (I think you mean the oscars were the eaters rather than the ones who got eaten.)The Niles are attractive but too big for my tanks.