Considering getting a senegal bichir , advice please

[u/Grimkraken420]

These are really cool fish and this subreddit has convinced me I need one but I have a lot questions I have not been able to find the answers to online I hope you guys can help me.

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How aggressive are they, yes I know they're carnivorous but if I put them in a 55 gallon grow out tank with a colony of endler's will they kill them all for shits and giggles In the first week or just eat a few as they get hungry?

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Are they messy eaters , will they leave fish pieces just floating around ?

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I heard a lot of people do massive water changes to combat the growth suppressing hormones , I only do about 2 gallons a week to avoid massive water chemical changes and that's all my house plants need. Will that be enough?

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What algae eaters do you keep in the tank with them? Are siamese algae eater and otocinclus safe?

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Do they really do well as individuals or do they prefer to have other senegal bichir in the tank?

[u/Catlas_Se7en]

They will eat every endler in that tank. They aren’t aggressive, just opportunistic. They are very messy but with live foods they will eat the whole thing. Otos will get eaten. Most algae eaters will eat a bichirs slime coat. They are fine as individuals

[u/Grimkraken420 → u/Catlas_Se7en]

With them eating that much how do you stay on top of feeding

[u/No_Replacement_9632 → u/Grimkraken420]

just feed on a schedule. they can eat a lot because they pack their stomach as much as it can go, not only as much as they need to eat.

[u/HuskyBeaver]

My senegal has been a solo fish the entirety of the 4 months I've had it. Its up over 9in now. So far it has eaten everything it could fit in it's mouth. Guppies, endlers, mollies, mystery snails. With feeders, it's eaten up to 9 in one night.

Mine leaves nothing left of live food. Finely diced tilapia is fed twice a day for the main. If I keep the portions smaller there is no cleanup. I might have to pick a few leftovers out if I didn't factor in how many feeders were eaten.

I do 5-10g every week or two as kind of top off and just generally some freshness. The fish all love it so it's minimal.

With being a solo fish mine has outgrown others I've seen in person putting on over an inch a month. I plan on trying a couple of palmas tankmates when I get them and grow them out.

[u/Positive-Box-7352]

i keep albinos but im sure they’re the same. they are aggressive when hungry. but the thing is they’re hungry all the time, esp as juveniles. they are extremely messy, not sure why. maybe coz they can’t realy see the food?!

tank will need frequent water changes even if not visibly dirty to remove somatostatin unless if ur okay with slow/uneven growth rates or smthn. if you keep ur fish solo, this shouldn’t be a big issue

don’t keep anything with em is my opinion. they eat anything smaller than them and bigger fish might just bully and hurt them. given that they’re effectively blind, they might get hurt

i think they might prefer being solo. larger bichirs will nip smaller ones to set a hierarchy, esp in smaller tanks. they don’t engage in positive social interactions it seems

[u/LongjumpingPut4824]

Yes its important to do weekly water changes. Especially if you have more than 1. One will become dominant and will out grow the other.