Senegal Bichir

[Fish_fanatic]

Well I just got one Senegal Bichir and I was wondering what are some good tank mates? I dont want to put him with my cichlids at the moment because he is pretty small (no more than 3 inches long) and I think he would get killed quite quickly.

I am keeping him in my 33 gallon tank for now and getting one more Bichir in about a week. The only other fish in the 33 gallon is a fairly large pleco. Now, would it be ok to use tetras as tank mates (the bigger ones like lemon tetras and black skirt tetras) or would they turn into lunch?

 

[Endgame319]

The tetras would probably turn into lunch. I'm not totally sure, but you could probably put some convict cichlids with him.

 

[TankGirl]

I think some hardy cichlids, like the convicts Endgame mentioned, would be fine, but I would recommend against another bichir, as they will likely fight with their own kind quite a bit. I think we have some other Polypterus owners at this site, so someone will probably come along with other recommendations for you.

 

[Fruitbat]

The Senegal Bichir, Polypterus senegalus, will eventually reach about 12 inches in length and will just as eventually have most tetras for lunch. If you don't mind spending a little money, I'd suggest you try to find some Congo Tetras, Phenacogrammus interruptus as tank-mates. These are African tetras that come from some of the same waters as the Polypterids. In the right light they are among the most spectacularly iridescent fish alive and they will grow with your Bichir. (They reach up to 3 inches or so and are very fast when they need to be.) Keep in mind that Congo Tetras are schooling fish so you'll need to buy more than one of them. Check out the link below:

http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/gcongot.html

African Butterfly Fish, Pantodon buchholzi will also be good tank-mates that will occupy the very top level of your aquarium. You might have to work a little to get them to eat, being that they are strictly surface feeders.

Eventually you'll need a bigger tank for your Polypterus and for Congo Tetras, should you choose to get some of these fish. A 55-gallon would do very nicely.

As for keeping two Polypterus together, I've done it on a number of occasions with success but you can expect some occasional squabbles that might result in a nipped nose or a few ripped fins. There will be fewer incidents if you provide good hiding places for each of the Bichirs to call their own.

 

[Fish_fanatic]

I only plan to keep the Bichir in the 33 gallon until he is big enough to go into my 55 gallon with a jack dempsey and 2 convicts.

The reason that I was asking about the tetras was because when I move the bichir to his new tank I wold just move the tetras to my community tank.

Also, what should I feed it? I have already given it some frozen blood worms and he ate it quite readily. I've read that I should feed it live food, are they quick enough to catch guppies or should i feed them ghost shrimp?

Thanks

 

[Fruitbat]

Actually I wouldn't fret too mightily about feeding your Polypterus live food. While it certainly wouldn't HURT to feed it live food, I've always found these fish to do quite well on frozen food and pellets. Mine always loved frozen beef heart and cichlid pellets. Live earthworms can make an interesting snack for Bichirs as long as they're not too big. Polypterus will eat fish but they generally do it at night when the other unsuspecting morsels are sleeping. Probably wouldn't hurt to try a ghost shrimp or two but you might be surprised at how adept ghost shrimp are at getting away from fish that want to eat them.

 

[Christmasfish]

My bichir eats everything..he is still in his cute sengal looking stage....
(unless a boo-boo was made and I have the P senagal and some other poor person has the P bichir bichir that was in with him...heh).

He eats.....
moist krill, formula one pellets, hikari bloodworms, tubifex and ghost shrimp.
He eats tidbits of sardine, scallop, cod and catfish. He eats spirolina/kelp stuffed baby sand gobies the most..his fav. And trumpet snails. I think that is his list up to date.
He is reallly a slow swimmer..he walks faster! I doubt fast upper level tankmates would be in any greater peril than if a dempsy was in the tank. he gets to live alone til he is not likely to have his pecs nipped by something. They are all he' s got.