Are Birchir Ok With Plecos?

[Liam50]

i was thinking about getting a POLYPTERUS ORNATIPINNIS but read on the internet that pleco's can attach them selves to it and suck the slime off? has anyone experienced this first hand?

 

[indigoj]

I've kept bichir happily with plecs, some plecs do get a taste for slime coat but there is no real way of telling apart from to try it!

 

[dave_oddballs]

i agree with indigoj, there is no real definite answer really, trial and error as its called. in my experience i have never come across this problem and i have kept numerous plecs with my bichir. i wouldn't stop it getting you getting a bichir! very nice fish indeed!

David

 

[DarkEntity]

just make sure its a bloody big Plec since its an Ornate Polypt you are going for and they get big

 

[Liam50]

just make sure its a bloody big Plec since its an Ornate Polypt you are going for and they get big

well do you think the plecs in my sig would be ok?

 

[england]

my gibbicep does not bother any of my fish, never seen it touch the senegal,except when senne uses him as a hiding bridge

 

[simonas]

My Ornatapinis has been fine with my plecs as far as sucking is concerned. my ancistrus suck on the skin of my reedfish although I've moved them now but they never did it to Bichir

My only thought about Bichir is I'm sure my Bichir bit my L25. gIVING HIM fatal injuries.. I;m not 100% sure Bichir but I'm 99.9% if you know what I mean!! lol

 

[beblondie]

One has to remember that in the areas of the amazon where a number of plecos exist there is little in the line of protein based foods. Aquatic insects and small inverts do not do well in the heavy current. Plecs are very adaptable to feeding on availiable food sources and one is the mucus coating of other fish. There is good anacdotal evidence of these fish doing this in the wild and plenty of evidence of these fish doing this in captivity. The closest taxonomic relitives of Loricariidae are the Trichomycteridae. There are several mucus feeding only trichomycterid catfishes. It really would not be a suprise to find that mucus feeding is a common feeding method in many Loricariidae catfishes. These fish are really not obligate herbivores.

That said below is a list of primarily what are believed to to herbivores
Acanthodoras cataphractus-(4")
Amblydoras hancocki-(6")
Platydoras costatus-(8")
Ancistrus dolichopterus-(4.5")
Ancistrus adonis-(30+")
Ancistrus lamboensis-(6")
Panaque nigrolineatus-(9.5")
Panaque suttonorum-Blue-eyed plecostomus-(7")
Peckoltia vittata-(4-5")
Glyptoperichthys gibbiceps-(19")
Glyptoperichthys punctatus-Spotted sailfin pleco-(7")
Rineloricaria fallax-(4.5")
Chaetostoma sp.-Bulldog Catfish-(9.5")
Liposarcus anisitsi-Snow king sailfin pleco-(17")
Synodontis alberti-(6")
Synodontis angelicus-(22")
Hoplostermum thoracatum-(8")
Hemiancistrus annectens-(8")
Hemiancistrus landoni-(9")
Isorineloricaria spinosissima-Spiny suckermouth catfish-(12")

or at least not reputed to be slimecoat eaters.While eating slimecoat is bad enought a healthy
fish will replace it within 24 hours the real problem with plecos is the rasping teeth which can delaminate
the polypteids scales leaving it open to a number of bacterial and fungal infections-Anne

 

[nmonks]

Anne,

The paucity of aquatic invertebrates in *parts* of the Amazon system is nothing to do with water current. In fact aquatic invertebrates tend to be most common (and certainly most diverse) in places where the water current is strongest, e.g., fast-flowing streams simply because there's more oxygen in such places.

The reason that there are fewer invertebrates in, for example, the Rio Negro than the whitewater parts of the Amazon system is the absence of dissolved minerals, particularly calcium. This makes it difficult for molluscs and to some extent crustaceans to make a living at all, and you also get smaller quantities of things like insect larvae.

All this said, most of the plec species we keep aren't blackwater fish at all, but whitewater fish, so the absence of protein is irrelevant. In fact the issue that determines diet for most plecs is seasonality. During the (lean) dry season, it appears that most plecs actually go hungry, with the exception of those in the genus Panaque, which are able to consume and digest wood through this period. Other than this, most plecs tend to be opportunistic, though there is a spectrum in terms of species that are largely herbivorous at one end (like Panaque) through omnivores in the middle (such as Hypostomus) through to more or less carnivorous species at the other extreme (like Pseudacanthicus) which feed almost entirely on carrion and insect larvae. Mind you, even the carnivores are probably opportunistic in the wild, eating algae and fruits should they present themselves.

Cheers, Neale

One has to remember that in the areas of the amazon where a number of plecos exist there is little in the line of protein based foods. Aquatic insects and small inverts do not do well in the heavy current.

 

[beblondie]

Thanks for clarifacation See ya always learn something new -Anne

 

[Liam50]

are ornate birchirs very aggressive when it comes to hunting smaller fish, because i was going to buy one this week but i currently have a few small geo's like 6 cm and small clown loaches at around 7cm, would these fish be ok?

 

[nmonks]

Bichirs will eat anything they bump into.

The smaller species, like P. senegalus and P. "palmas" are largely invertebrate eaters, and tend to ignore all but the smallest fish.

But P. ornatipinnis is very definitely a piscivore in the wild, and tankmates should be chosen accordingly. It's not a particularly friendly species, and is usually kept alone, though given space, it should tolerate midwater fish.

Cheers, Neale

are ornate birchirs very aggressive when it comes to hunting smaller fish, because i was going to buy one this week but i currently have a few small geo's like 6 cm and small clown loaches at around 7cm, would these fish be ok?

 

[indigoj]

They are opportunist rather than aggressive. I had a 14" one in with 3 Opaline Gouramis (they were about 10-15cm) - no casualties but I guess it depends on the size of the bichir too - mine grew up with the gouramis.

 

[Liam50]

hmm i think i might go for a senegal

 

[always4lora]

Senegal will e cheaper too, i got mine for £5 from maidenhead aquatics in carlise. Common bichir so decent prices. Mine's in with bristlenose pleco and its fine, tend to have the senegal occasionally get in the bristlenose's space and gets chased out apart from that no issues