Senegal bichir

[Elisabeth83]

I was at my lfs today and usually they don't stock really exotic fish but this time they had 2 Senegal bichirs in I've never seen one in person before. I thought they were one of the coolest looking fish I've ever seen. Their heads are so neat like a snake VERY B)

They also had in a really stocky (short & wide ) electric eel. At least that if what the guy who works there told me it was

I think theres a few member on here who own Bichirs?? What are their personalities like? One day I'd love to get my hands on one...but for right now I don't have a tank large enough to house one!!!! They get pretty big

 

[ferrikins]

yeah they get at least 12 inchs.

great fish, can be abit aggresive, and they poop ALOT.

But if you have the foom and the time and money to spend I highly reconmend them.

 

[Black_Ghost_Guy]

Yep, great fish, usually not too aggressive, but can be very if they chose to do so. Senegals usually only get to 10" or a bit under, but can get to 12". You should be fine with one if you can get a 50 gallon.

 

[andywg]

Was that electric eel for sale?

Don't those things get like 5-7 feet long and charge up to 600V? Not a fish to be taken lightly.

I must admit I'm a fan of the Bichir, maybe if I ever remove all the smaller fish (tetras, minnows etc) from my community tank I might get one...definately groovy looking fish.

 

[spAcE mOnkEy]

i love these guys. i think they can go in a 30 gal tank thats 3 feet long though, dont NEED a 50 gal. i have mine in a 55 gal though, it seems really happy! i recomend that you use sand with these guys because i think they may choke on some larger rock gravel when they suck up food. just dont house with too small a fish. they dont need live food, mine even eats flakes! but i usually feed it shrimp pellets, and frozen food.

 

[Dwarfs]

can be abit aggresive,

Their personality...hungry, although not aggressive to other fish Mine have taken nips at eachother (and tried to rip off my fingers, have you ever seen a crocodile do a 'death roll'? ) but they are well behaved and leave the other fish alone The minimum tank would be a 50g, with no fish under 4", and no slender fish under 6"

 

[Phantom Thief]

I'd disagree. A 30g tank is quite enough, considering they are bottom dwellers and not extremely active.

P.T.

 

[astroboy]

I'd disagree. A 30g tank is quite enough, considering they are bottom dwellers and not extremely active.

But you have to remember senegals are generally the most active bichir. They are always cruising around snooping around in stuff.
I'd recommend a standard 55g is the min for any bichir, unless its a growout tank

 

[Phantom Thief]

But you have to remember senegals are generally the most active bichir.

Active for a bichir, yeah

But bigger is better, if you can get a 55g instead of a 30g for them, by all means go for it!

P.T.

 

[Dwarfs]

I would say that they get less active with age, 2" ago my little bichirs would cruise around the tank, now they sit lazily waiting for the food to come

 

[Black_Ghost_Guy]

Any senegals that I've kept have been quite active, even when larger. a 50 gallon should be the minimum tank size. My 9" delhezi and 10" palmas polli almost seem cramped in the 80 that they're in, a 30 gallon wouldn't be very reasonable. Oh, and I never said that they "NEED" a 50 gallon, but it wouldn't be very practicle to go with anything smaller, so it needed to be thrown out there.

 

[Dorkhedeos]

a 30 gallon can house a bichir for quite a while

 

[Jason_S]

personally I wouldn't put a senegal in anything smaller than a 55...or at least a 55's footprint of 48" x 13". no 10-12" fish, imo, should be kept in a 30 gallon tank. senegal bichirs are the most active of all bichir species and need some swimming space. a 30 gallon could be used as a growout though for around 2 years, but eventually a larger tank would be needed.

 

[bichir boi]

My senegalus is in a 30 gal and seems happy, but hes not full grown hes 6inches. I will be moving him to a larger tank soon tho. So i dont know if its ok to house a bichir in a 30 or not.
They arnt aggressive at all though, least mines not.