hi i bought a curvualr birchir yesterday and to day he has dissapeared i have stripped the tank bear took out all plants and rocks and nothing looked all round the tank and nothing its a community tank with barbs a livingston and a blue cray fish and this guy has just dissapeared it a sand substrate too any ideas what might have happened to him he was about 5cm long
Bichir Help Please
- Thread starter john2708
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nmonks
A stroke of the brush does not guarantee art from
Likely jumped out. Do not underestimate this! Since they can tolerate being out of water for quite some time (being air-breathers) and are able to inch their way across flat surfaces (reedfish are said to travel from swamp to swamp via flooded grasslands) look all around the room. Under chairs, behind sofas, etc.
Cheers, Neale
PS Just saw you said this thing was 5 cm long. That's tiny! A crayfish could very easily kill and eat such a creature. As has been said many, many times -- crayfish are not community animals, and will kill and eat anything their keeper is silly enough to keep with them. Yes, they are herbivores in the wild, but they're opportunists too, and eat all kinds of organic matter, carrion, and yes, slow-moving fish.
Cheers, Neale
PS Just saw you said this thing was 5 cm long. That's tiny! A crayfish could very easily kill and eat such a creature. As has been said many, many times -- crayfish are not community animals, and will kill and eat anything their keeper is silly enough to keep with them. Yes, they are herbivores in the wild, but they're opportunists too, and eat all kinds of organic matter, carrion, and yes, slow-moving fish.
Davo86
Cichlids, Catfish and Oddballs
Do you mean a Nimbochromis Livingstonii; the large, aggressive, predatory african cichlid ?
ok here go's yes i do have a livingston but its a baby and probobly the most timid fish in my tank and the bichir was tiny around 5-8 cm iv checked all over the tank and room and havnt found him any were and yes i do know about crayfish but have never seen mine catch a live fish he is just too slow
nmonks
A stroke of the brush does not guarantee art from
Famous last words. Seriously.
Fish are often predated on by crayfish when the fish are sleeping. A gazelle can outrun a lion, but not when its asleep. Given that an aquarium provides little to no meaningful space between predators and prey, mixing them together is a "when" not an "if" situation. It is possible to condition some predators not to hunt their tankmates. Zoos do this all the time, primarily by keeping the predators so fat that the predators never switch into hunting mode. That's how sharks are mixed with all those little fishes you see in public aquaria. But unless you're handfeeding your predatory fish, you can't do this at home.
Crayfish can, do catch their tankmates. You really do have to wake up to this fact. Every aquarium book ever written recommends not mixing crayfish with small fish.
As for Nimbochromis livingstonii, yes they are timid and peaceful. So are most dedicated predators. Ever noticed how most of the aggressive fish aren't specialist predators? That firepower a predator has to catch prey can't be damaged by pointless territorial disputes. Omnivores and herbivores have more robust mouthparts, and since their food doesn't swim away, it doesn't matter too much if they hurt their jaws or lose some teeth. For a carnivore, damage to their mouthparts is a death sentence. Piscivorous cichlids, needlefish, lionfish, pike characins, etc., etc. -- these fish are all very placid towards things they don't consider edible. On the other hand, just because they're pussy cats in terms of behaviour doesn't mean they'll pass up a free dinner.
Cheers, Neale
Fish are often predated on by crayfish when the fish are sleeping. A gazelle can outrun a lion, but not when its asleep. Given that an aquarium provides little to no meaningful space between predators and prey, mixing them together is a "when" not an "if" situation. It is possible to condition some predators not to hunt their tankmates. Zoos do this all the time, primarily by keeping the predators so fat that the predators never switch into hunting mode. That's how sharks are mixed with all those little fishes you see in public aquaria. But unless you're handfeeding your predatory fish, you can't do this at home.
Crayfish can, do catch their tankmates. You really do have to wake up to this fact. Every aquarium book ever written recommends not mixing crayfish with small fish.
As for Nimbochromis livingstonii, yes they are timid and peaceful. So are most dedicated predators. Ever noticed how most of the aggressive fish aren't specialist predators? That firepower a predator has to catch prey can't be damaged by pointless territorial disputes. Omnivores and herbivores have more robust mouthparts, and since their food doesn't swim away, it doesn't matter too much if they hurt their jaws or lose some teeth. For a carnivore, damage to their mouthparts is a death sentence. Piscivorous cichlids, needlefish, lionfish, pike characins, etc., etc. -- these fish are all very placid towards things they don't consider edible. On the other hand, just because they're pussy cats in terms of behaviour doesn't mean they'll pass up a free dinner.
Cheers, Neale
i am not saying my crayfish cant catch fish but i have had him for the past sixmonths i have had him have lost no fish to him this bichir is the first fish i have lost and there is no evidence my cray fish cought him i have fed him dead bait fish before and seen what a mess he leaves as for the livingston i do not doubt he could kill another fish but he is way to small to do any fish in my tank any harm
nmonks
A stroke of the brush does not guarantee art from
And yet you have a missing bichir. It didn't burrow into the sand, so that's not a possibility. Swimming into the filter is possible if you have an overshoot type system (like those used on Juwel tanks) where water sluices into a sponge or trickle filter, but otherwise isn't likely. So you're down to three options:
[1] Died and was eaten by the crayfish.
[2] Was caught and eaten by either the crayfish or the cichlid.
[3] Jumped out because the tank wasn't properly covered.
Cheers, Neale
[1] Died and was eaten by the crayfish.
[2] Was caught and eaten by either the crayfish or the cichlid.
[3] Jumped out because the tank wasn't properly covered.
Cheers, Neale
i only have a external filter as i removed the internal one and i have checked that and a very good cover on my tank so i think he is hiding rely well or has been eaten as for the chichlids they are both now for sale on this forum and another
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