How Many Birchirs In A Rio 180?

[Genesis]

I want to switch my Rio 180 to a birchir tank.
How many could I have? and what type?

 

[Esfa]

I want to switch my Rio 180 to a birchir tank.
How many could I have? and what type?

one delhezi
one senegal

thats about it

or you could have 4-5 reedfish.

 

[beblondie]

P. palmas palmas ('palmas' bichir)- 13"
(subspecies)P. palmas polli ('marbled bichir)- 14"
(subspecies) P. palmas buettikoferi ('buettikoferi' bichir)- 13"
P. delhezi ('armoured' or 'delhez's' bichir)- 14"
P. senegalus senegalus ('Senegal' or 'Cuiver's' bichir)- 12"
P. retropinnis ('retropinnis' bichir)- 14"
P .mokelembembe

pick any two of the above but be warned once you get past senegals(the most common and cheapest) the price can go up steeply-Anne

 

[Genesis]

Thanks to the both of you for your replies.

Could any of the aformentioned birchirs be kept with any of these fish?
1 RTBS
1 Angel fish
1 L018 Golden Nugget Pleco
1 Brachychalcinus orbicularis
2 Bosemani Rainbow Fish
3 Corydoras robinae



I would really like to keep the pleco and the rtbs, but would the others also be okay?

 

[Esfa]

a birchir would deffo munch the Corydoras, and your rainbowfish might be at risk.

the Brachychalcinus orbicularis might be okay cause they are deep bodied.

it depends on the bichir, really.

my 10" delhezi is currently living with swordtails and platys. never once bothered them. but i know DE's senny ate/attacked his congo tetra.

 

[Genesis]

Yeah, well I had a senny a few months back and it didnt bother the angel or the RTBS, or even some albino cories I had at the time so yeah, I just wanted to make sure.




Sizes:

The Bosemani rainbows are about 4" long and very quick.
The Angel is about 6" deep and 3" long.
The RTBS is 7" long.
The Brachy is about 3" long.
The Goldy Nugget is about 2-3" long.

 

[DarkEntity]

If you do go with a pair of Polypterus, then you are really limiting yourself to other fish that are well out of mouth size for the Polys...and even then its not 100% safe they wont try

 

[Genesis]

If you do go with a pair of Polypterus, then you are really limiting yourself to other fish that are well out of mouth size for the Polys...and even then its not 100% safe they wont try

Angel, RTBS and Pleco are out of mouth size yeah?

 

[Esfa]

If you do go with a pair of Polypterus, then you are really limiting yourself to other fish that are well out of mouth size for the Polys...and even then its not 100% safe they wont try

Angel, RTBS and Pleco are out of mouth size yeah?

nope... nothing is really "out of the mouth size". im pretty sure a bichir would go upto an arowana and much it's tail, if he was hungry.

however, it's unlikely that he will have a bite at your angel, RTBS or plec if you keep him well fed.

 

[invader]

I just want to add something here that expands on Esfa's last post: Just because a fish is out of the mouth size, doesn't mean that the bichir will not try and take a bite out of them. They are pretty blind animals and rely on their sense of smell more than anything. If there is another fish that has food in it's mouth or near it (like a catfish with a piece of food near it's tail), the bichir may take a bite and take a nasty chunk out of the fish with the food. I've had this happen to me more than once. It doesn't cause any lasting damage on the fish who got bitten, but it's not a nice thing to see.

With the angel fish, I would be worried that the bichirs might think that the ventral fins are a nice tasty worm... I don't want to think about how many times my bichirs have accidentally munched on a catfish whisker.

Just take care when housing these awesome fish. Don't ever forget that they are truly predators at heart and tank mates should be chosen wisely.

 

[Genesis]

I just want to add something here that expands on Esfa's last post: Just because a fish is out of the mouth size, doesn't mean that the bichir will not try and take a bite out of them. They are pretty blind animals and rely on their sense of smell more than anything. If there is another fish that has food in it's mouth or near it (like a catfish with a piece of food near it's tail), the bichir may take a bite and take a nasty chunk out of the fish with the food. I've had this happen to me more than once. It doesn't cause any lasting damage on the fish who got bitten, but it's not a nice thing to see.

With the angel fish, I would be worried that the bichirs might think that the ventral fins are a nice tasty worm... I don't want to think about how many times my bichirs have accidentally munched on a catfish whisker.

Just take care when housing these awesome fish. Don't ever forget that they are truly predators at heart and tank mates should be chosen wisely.

Thanks for your reply, the reason I sounded so adament about the Angel & RTBS is because they have been kept with a senny before; however, I shall consider your advice and look to rehome the fish if/when I feel their security is threatened.




On a side note, the tank is filtered by a Fluval 204 external and the Jewel standard internal filter - if this means anything

 

[DarkEntity]

My Senegal and Palmas have lived with larger fish since they were tiny, so have grown up with them and "seem" to accept their tank mates, Im talking large Ctenopoma, Geophagus, Congos etc....

Even having said that my Senegal did have a momentary lapse which cost me 2 congos a while back....grumpy cow was just in a bad mood i think....so just beware.

 

[Genesis]

How about a pair of Convict Cichlids?

 

[invader]

If you add a male and female pair of convicts, you can kiss your other fish goodbye. They are terrors when spawning (and they will spawn).

 

[DarkEntity]

have a look at Geophagus as they are chunky cichlids