Shrimps will get eaten crayfish are a dbl edged sword they may go after the bichir or when they molt the bichir could go after it.As for snails one of my senegals took great pleassure in picking them off the bottom swimming to the surface and dropping them over and over. not sure if she was trying to break the shell or just torment the hell out of the snail-Anne
I've been put 3 senegals with 3 goldfishes in 50g for temporary
My problem is not senegals harming goldies, but goldies steal bichirs pellets. I've to manage so hard about feeding, gotta give them chop meat which goldfish dislike. or put some shrimp so bichirs can hunt.
btw today, the goldfishes owner finally come and take them away from me. so now we are back to normal and peace. lol
or should I switch to enjoy with those goldies anyway lol, they also cute.
LoL. Haven't had any trouble feeding yet, as the goldfish doesn't like the blood worms, and neither to the other fish. The dojo loach has a snack EVERY now and then, but the bichir pigs out.
I'm trying to do some research on some tank mates right now, I figured a small school of silver dollars, 6 or so should be good. If they can survive in my water, which seems to be the big problem right now.
Scratch that idea. I don't think I could have 6 6" silver dollars in a 40 gallon.
Plus fishprofiles.com says they thrive in pH up to 7.5.
Fishprofiles says the congo tetra can get up to 8.0 pH, so they should be OK, but it also says they only get to 3.1"... is that a snack?
Wow that butterfly fish looks cool. It says a pH up to 7.5. Could they live in my water? Does look like a VERY interesting fish though. Has anyone ever kept them? How many would you put into a 40 gallon with a bichir?
silver dollars (and most other south american fish) wont thrive in 8.3. silver dollars get too big for that tank anyways. my albinoes arent growing that fast. but they are all different, so im not saying yours wont, just not to assume yours will. my cousin works across the street from a place that sells RO water for (i think) about 50 cents a gallon. it may be worth it to find some place you can buy decent water from real cheap. some home improvement places sell water in the big water cooler jugs, refilling the 5 gallon jug may only be a dollar or so, wouldnt hurt to look around. i thinkyour water's pH is a problem that should be dealt with, not try and see what could live in the water you have. beblondie would know better than me whether peacocks are a good idea or not.
I have 2 senegalus in my bigge tank and they seem to get along very well. For tankmates, choose fish that mostly stay on the top of the water. Any bottom dweller is an easier catch for the bichir. In my case, gouramies have worked great but with your high Ph I wouldn't try it. I have my tank at 7.8 and would really love to lower it a bit.
My bichirs eat almost anything that get the bottom of the tank. Flakes, sinking pellets, raw shrimp, earthworms, tubifex. Thwy will also catch a feeder fish that get too close to them.
When I started feeding them raw shrimp I was scared since I threw a chunck that was too big, and the bichir just opened his large mouth amd swallowed it. I was realy freakened. The same happened with some sinking pellets. They were almost the size of the bichir's head but hi ate them anyway. At first, he took in his mouth and started throwing it against a rock until it softened. Today, both bichirs eats them without any trouble.
Hmm I might give a gourami a try... I'm sure I can get them adjusted. The peacock eel has been living in my 29 gallon in 8.3 for over 7 months. Happy and healthy.
I thought about getting a pair of kissing gouramis. Do you think that would work?
As far as RO water goes, I'm hoping to have my own RO filter here very soon.