Large Cichlid with Small Bichir?

[Guenivere]

I just got two beautiful approx. 8" vieja regani who are settling into my 135 nicely. They have not touched the juvie congo tetras or juvie rotkeil severum who are with them. Eventually I will end up with one rotkeil (whichever has best colour and personality) and possibly take out the tetras - they are around 2" now including tail, they're doing well but I'm planning on grabbing up some honduran red points in january when a guy I know comes into town with the fry he's growing out and I'm concerned about bioload. The boyfriend really wants a senegal bichir, which I also enjoy the look of - I'm just concerned that if I get a bichir small enough to live with the tetras the big guys will eat it -they're very vegetarian, but have wiped out my trumpet snail population just by scopping up mouthfuls of sand and biting down on the snails - they spit them back out, but with cracked shells the snails don't last long.
Does anyone have experience with small senegals living with large cichlids?

 

[Binge]

I have no experience vieja myself However I lost one small sen to mbuna at one point his sibling survived and became a monster. At the time I lost the one the sibling was almost double his size in the same period of time.

For safeteys sake I would grow the senegal out till around 5 inches or so at that point he is more likely to damage the cichlid if it tries.

 

[Fish Eat Fish]

Yeah cichlids And birchirs don't always mix. Birchirs are not quick and they are definitely not agile. If a cichlid decides to pick on a birchir expect it to become a serious problem very very fast. They can't really dodge or escape it. I've had a few birchirs with an Oscar with no problems but it was also a very docile Oscar that never really picked a fight with anything.

 

[Guenivere]

Hmm, ok. I don't expect the vieja to start anything really, but a crime of opportunity is still possible. Looks like it's either a larger bichir or the congo tetras. I feel like my vieja regani really need the congos right now because of their shyness - I'll hold off until the new year when I'll be messing with the tank setup anyways.

Thanks!

 

[dan518]

At the size your vieja are it will take them 2/3 months to settle in the tank properly, I would wait till then and see what there temperament is like.

 

[Guenivere]

At the size your vieja are it will take them 2/3 months to settle in the tank properly, I would wait till then and see what there temperament is like.

So true. I've been staring at the tank for so many hours it feels like I've had them forever, it was actually a shock to realize that yesterday was only my first weekly water change with them. Time to cool my jets a little

 

[dan518]

The bigger a cichlid is the more of a baby it is when there moved

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

Time is best friend for these large fishes, and depend on each own personality thing would go smooth for months, years then BOOM something flip the switch then they decided to kill everyone.

 

[Guenivere]

I've heard that - I've also heard that when they're in their prime mating years is when you'll get the most unexpected behavior (my guys) but they're less prone to changes in personality after they've done their baby thing. But perhaps that's just people projecting our own life cycle on fish - go crazy as teens, drive to procreate and make a place for ourselves, have midlife crisis (for fish, snap and kill everything in tank. maybe for some humans too..?) and then settle down for golden years. Wish I could trade some people in to my LFS as easily as I can trade overly aggressive fish...

 

[Yuki Rihwa]

I've heard that - I've also heard that when they're in their prime mating years is when you'll get the most unexpected behavior (my guys) but they're less prone to changes in personality after they've done their baby thing. But perhaps that's just people projecting our own life cycle on fish - go crazy as teens, drive to procreate and make a place for ourselves, have midlife crisis (for fish, snap and kill everything in tank. maybe for some humans too..?) and then settle down for golden years. Wish I could trade some people in to my LFS as easily as I can trade overly aggressive fish...

LMAO True though.