Senegal bichir in a 20

[Fish king]

My roommate wants me to put a bichir in a my 20 gallon I told him they need a 40 but he said an albino needs less space is this true if yes I would love to do that


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[NigelK8485]

No, a 20 gallon is too small.


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[Fish king]

No, a 20 gallon is too small.


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Well how long can a juvenile live in one what's the maximum size before I have to upgrade my tank size


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[Coursair]

AFAIK the color doesn't magically make them smaller. LA recommends big tanks. http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=830+2241+1028&pcatid=1028

http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/keeping_polypterus.htm

Monster Fishkeepers apparently say there is a Short Bodied Albino Bichir.
Never heard of them. I would be very careful where you get it.

Regular Albinos get big.

I still think a 20g is too small. But I've never kept one.


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[NigelK8485]

You should keep it in a tank large enough to house an adult one. They're prone to short bursts of speed and since they're blind they're more likely to run into glass. In a tank as small as a 20 gallon it'd be really easy for the bichir to cause some real damage to itself. I think a 4 foot 55 gallon would be minimum for even a juvenile just to be on the safe side and give it some room to do these short bursts.

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[Kalamatas]

an albino is ok in a 20...i have an albino and is not growing up as much as the other...at first i thought it was a problem but when i checked i saw that most of albinos dont grow up like the common ones....my opinion is yes for sure

 

[NigelK8485]

an albino is ok in a 20...i have an albino and is not growing up as much as the other...at first i thought it was a problem but when i checked i saw that most of albinos dont grow up like the common ones....my opinion is yes for sure

This is horrible advice. Please don't listen to this. Sometimes albinos stay smaller than the regulars, but not small enough to be in a 20 gallon. There are also plenty of albinos that grow to be regular or larger than regular size. There are many other factors that may be inhibiting this person's bichir's growth than the fact that it is albino.


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[Kalamatas]

This is horrible advice. Please don't listen to this. Sometimes albinos stay smaller than the regulars, but not small enough to be in a 20 gallon. There are also plenty of albinos that grow to be regular or larger than regular size. There are many other factors that may be inhibiting this person's bichir's growth than the fact that it is albino.


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look man i have searched a lot about bichirs since i got my first senegals, senegals dont grow that much and a juvenile albino is more than ok in a 20 gallon...i know that for sure if you say the opposite that means that you dont know about senegal bichirs....the other guy above says that if your tank is small they will hit the glass because they dont see well...thats true but they will hit the glass in a large tank too....however in my view one senegal with one or two other semi aggressive fish that dont grow large (red tail sharks for example) will be ok in a 20 gallon for a year at least...

 

[Patty1980]

Its too small. This forum is all about ethical fish keeping. You never stock a tank based on juvenile sizes. Anything that's getting over a foot long (which includes Senegals) should NEVER be housed in a 20. The only situation I can see that is a breeder or short term for lfs display.

 

[Patty1980]

This thread is very useful. Its illustrating a problem that happens all the time. Just because you don't like where the conversation is going, doesn't make the conversation completely applicable to OP concern. You see fish not as living things but as entertainment items. You said, "if someone wants a fish so much and is ready to care and learn about his fish I think he should get it". That sentence is a contradiction in terms. One should NEVER buy an animal BEFORE its researched or before ALL proper housing (and everything else) have been nailed down. Liveaquaria recommends a 90g for this fish. I always think that site UNDER does it for tank size recommendations.

 

[FWFishTanks]

look man i have searched a lot about bichirs since i got my first senegals, senegals dont grow that much and a juvenile albino is more than ok in a 20 gallon...i know that for sure if you say the opposite that means that you dont know about senegal bichirs....the other guy above says that if your tank is small they will hit the glass because they dont see well...thats true but they will hit the glass in a large tank too....however in my view one senegal with one or two other semi aggressive fish that dont grow large (red tail sharks for example) will be ok in a 20 gallon for a year at least...

Might as well get a big tank to prevent stunting the bicher's growth