Mbuna Compatibility With Bichir?

[odettebottier]

Hello lovely african cichlid keepers

I've never posted on Cichlid section of the forum so yay for meeting new people I am totally nuts about oddball fish and I actually have a question about mbuna compatility.

My friend visited my place and totally fell in love with my bichirs! and she wants one now. However, she already has two tanks: marine tank and a mbuna tank. Her budget and space is a bit tight so he is not able to purchase any more tanks. So she is wondering if mbuna cichlids will be compatible with slower, bottom dweller? She wants to get a small senegal bichir, around 4-6 inches long. Will the cichlids harass him? Bichirs are carnivores but omg they are just a big pumpkin and a sweetypie! They will eat small fish but won't bother any bigger fish. It would break my heart if evil fish nipped the fins off of those big babies!

I've never kept african cichlids so I basically have no idea what their temperaments are like. Sure, they say they're aggressive, but they call the "peaceful-but-will-eat-smaller-fish" aggressive! so I can never trust so called "aggressive" from the internet. I'd like true opinions from mbuna experts

As an oddballholic, I would love to share the joy and let her enjoy these fascinating creatures! Please help!

 

[dthoffsett]

First of all welcome to the forum.

Yes mbuna are aggressive, they can range from mildly aggressive to psychotic. IMO the mbuna would harass the bichir if the bichir didn't manage to eat them. Unfortuantely your friend will just have to admire your birchirs until she can afford another tank.

 

[nmonks]

Mbuna and bichirs are absolutely NOT compatible.

About a year ago I visited an aquarium shop in Central London which had mixed a dozen juvenile Senegal bichirs about 10-15 cm long in a tank alongside a variety of juvenile (4-6 cm long) mbuna, including the usually mild Labidochromis. Every single one of the bichirs was being chased, pecked, or otherwise harassed. All the mbuna had lost some of their fins, and a few had no dorsal fins at all, and only the merest stumps for pectoral fins.

Perhaps the relatively small size of the tank (around 180 litres) made things worse, but it shows without any doubt at all there is the potential for serious problems if mbuna and bichirs are combined.

Cheers, Neale

 

[odettebottier]

First of all welcome to the forum.

Yes mbuna are aggressive, they can range from mildly aggressive to psychotic. IMO the mbuna would harass the bichir if the bichir didn't manage to eat them. Unfortuantely your friend will just have to admire your birchirs until she can afford another tank.

First of all, thanks!

Oh no, that's sad news
Lol I know what you mean by psychotic Some puffers can get that way, too

Mbuna and bichirs are absolutely NOT compatible.

About a year ago I visited an aquarium shop in Central London which had mixed a dozen juvenile Senegal bichirs about 10-15 cm long in a tank alongside a variety of juvenile (4-6 cm long) mbuna, including the usually mild Labidochromis. Every single one of the bichirs was being chased, pecked, or otherwise harassed. All the mbuna had lost some of their fins, and a few had no dorsal fins at all, and only the merest stumps for pectoral fins.

Perhaps the relatively small size of the tank (around 180 litres) made things worse, but it shows without any doubt at all there is the potential for serious problems if mbuna and bichirs are combined.

Cheers, Neale

NO that's TERRIBLE! They should be arrested for providing unsuitable living conditions to these poor babybears



Thank you guys for the help!

Is there any oddballs I can recommend for my friend? What about catfish? any cool catfish compatible??

 

[dthoffsett]

The only non-mbuna species I would consider adding to a mbuna tank would be bristlenose plecs or any of the Synodontis catfish, some of them can get quite large so she'll want to check adult size before deciding which ones. The two synos most commonly kept w/mbuna are S.multipunctatus & S.petricola.