Senegal Bichir Tankmates

[zmazza]

Hmm sounds good. I'm going to go ahead and put the gouramis into the tank while the bichir is small. Is a 5 spot gourami going to get too big? Or maybe they are called 3 spot.... I'll have to check into that. They are a blue color with black spots on their sides.

I'll go ahead and leave the dojo loach in the tank, and when I know for a fact that he doesn't have disease or parasites, I'll put him in my 29 gallon with the other loach.

 

[zmazza]

What a cool tank. Can't wait to get it set up. The 4 gouramis and the bichir. I think it's going to look very nice.

Any chance of adding inverts into the tank? Different shrimp or snails? Or just put them in there for a snack for the bichir?

 

[beblondie]

How big is the eel?

 

[patoloco]

Is a 5 spot gourami going to get too big? Or maybe they are called 3 spot.... I'll have to check into that. They are a blue color with black spots on their sides.

2 spot, 3 spot, 5 spot, blue gouramie. All the same species with variation in their color pattern. 3-4" max.

 

[zmazza]

I'm worried now that I might be overstocking my 29 gallon... I don't want to get rid of any fish, I'm already too attached, but I don't want them to be eaten.

Any ideas on how can I move my fish around?

My 29 has 2 Blood parrots that are 4" and 3", a 5" dojo loach, and a 4" peacock eel.

My 40 has the 3" dojo loach.


The inhabitants of the 29 gallon are like my children, haha! I don't want ANYTHING to happen to them.

I wanted to move the dojo loach in the 40 over to the 29, but I think it may be a little overstocked at that point. So I thought about moving the eel to the 40, and the loach to the 29. I am thinking now that the bichir might EAT the eel!

I figured it would be OK if I did that... perhaps I can put like 3 gouramis, the bichir, and the peacock eel in the 40, and move the dojo loach over to the 29 to be with the other one... What do you think? Do you think I run the risk of having the peacock eel eaten? I could let the dojo loach sit in the 40 for a bit, as well as the gouramis, and make sure there are no parasites or diseases (kind of a cycle/quarantine), and then when I know everything is OK, I can put the loach in the 29, and the eel in the 40. What do you think?

Good to know on the gouramis..

 

[patoloco]

What if you just give up the gourami idea for a while. I'm not sure about the ell + bichir combination, but I don't think the bichir will look after the eel.

My try would be the bichir, the dojo loach and a couple of gouramies in the 40 gl. The rest, in the 29. When the ell grows a little bit more, you can move them with the bichir and bring the gouramies to the 29 to hang out with the parrots.

Your dojo loach will need about 40 gl. for himself when fully grown. The bichir and the loach would appreciate more space too. IMO, a bigger tank (80 gl) would be a need in a matter of, maybe, 1 year.

 

[zmazza]

Sounds like a good idea about swapping the loach and the eel for the gouramis.. I'll have to give that a try. The loach has barely grown half an inch in 8 months. I'm not too concerned with him outgrowing the 29 gallon right now. They seem to grow very slowly, especially since I only feed once a day.

I'm hoping that a year or two down the road I will be in my own house instead of renting, and my wife has already promised me a bigger tank. I'm thinking of going with a 75 - 90 gallon. The 75 is a 48x18x? and the 90 gallon is the same footprint, but a little taller.

I'll definitely be going that route, but it will be a little while down the road. If the fish get TOO big, I will find them good homes. But in the meantime, they are great fish and really make for an interesting tank. I'm concerned about the dojo loach in the 40 gallon though. I'm afraid that he's going to harm him from what I am hearing. Right now, they could care less about each other. All they seem to do is lay on top of each other.


So you are saying I should go with 2 or 3 gouramis instead of 3 or 4?

I may find the dojo loach in the 40 gallon a good home since I haven't become too attached to him... the loach in the 29 gallon is here to stay.

That would leave me with just the bichir.

I'm sure the bichir and the gouramis in the 40 would be fine, and when it finally got to that point, I could move the eel over when he was bigger than the bichir. I think that will work out great. I might do that.

I'll find the dojo loach in the 40 gallon a good home, purchase 3-4 gouramis, and leave them in the 40 gallon with the bichir.

 

[Asura]

African butterfly-Pantondon bucholzi
African Knifefish-Xenomystus nigri
Bristlenose-Ancistrus dolichopterus
Basicaly your looking at fish that are non agressive 3-4 inches long minimum and fairly deep bodied-Anne

Hi i'm new here, just wondering if a Black Ghost Fish is a suitable tankmate for bichirs?

 

[zmazza]

The black ghost knife is pretty passive. The senegal I had was pretty peaceful except when he had something as big as his mouth. He never messed with my cichlids, my eel, my dojo loach, or my blood parrots. Each one has it's own personality. I say as long as it's not as small as the bichirs mouth, then you should be OK, but then again, that's per fish. I'd find a black ghost knife owner and see how theirs behaves and if they have any territorial problems amongst their fish.

Good luck and let me know what you find out.

 

[Asura]

The black ghost knife is pretty passive. The senegal I had was pretty peaceful except when he had something as big as his mouth. He never messed with my cichlids, my eel, my dojo loach, or my blood parrots. Each one has it's own personality. I say as long as it's not as small as the bichirs mouth, then you should be OK, but then again, that's per fish. I'd find a black ghost knife owner and see how theirs behaves and if they have any territorial problems amongst their fish.

Good luck and let me know what you find out.

The ones at my LFS seems to be quite small around 3" long but they seem playful chasing each other around the driftwood
My biggest bichir's currently around 6"
Hopefully they won't end as expensive feeders or worst tail/fin nippers