[crazyklown89]

Ok, the reason for this topic is to find out what the hell I should get. My FH has reached max size, 8"(don't ask I don't know why it won't grow any bigger). It's also being a c*nt and won't let anything in the tank with it so I went to the LFS to buy some food for it today and I noticed, holy sh*t they got some awesome fish in. I asked if I could trade in my FH and they said probably.

Tank = 46g bowfront.

The fish my LFS got in are:

new palmas or delhelzi bichir
tons of small africans
tons of small red terrors, texas, and a few kamfa
mid sized jack dempseys
5" jag
archer fish
green terrors
shovelnose catfish

There's a few more but I can't remember. So any and all input appreciated and I'd be much obliged if you guys could give me combinations like a bichir and mid sized jack, etc...

 

[piranha45]

OMG THERES JAGS AND RTS AND EXOTIC BICHIRS AT THE LFS?! HOLY f*ck BUY ALL OF THEM!~!!~!~

you of all ppl know full well jags, RTs, texas and shovelnose cats are too big for a 46g. Palmas and Delhezis will eventually outgrow the tank as well. Bichirs might look like eels, but they certainly can't bend like them.

A JD and 3-6 african mbuna mbuna, OR 3-5 mid-sized non-mbuna african cichlids.

face it dude, I dunno why you got all excited here, there may be alot of neat fish at the lfs but if all you have to work with is some piddly-assed 46g then you know you aren't getting very far. And you know this already.

 

[jonscilz]

damn... talk about disheartening...

 

[crazyklown89]

:laugh: Nah, I was focusing on the bichir idea mostly. The back up was the CA cichlid and mbuna.

 

[Fruitbat]

crazyklown89....

On a couple of points I disagree with P-45. He's right regarding the larger CA/SA cichlids and the shovelnose. However, depending on their size, you could easily get away with housing a Polypterus delhezi or Polypterus palmas in a 46 gallon bow-front for quite a long time (many years). It is true that they are not as flexible as an 'eel' because of the structure of their scales but a 46 bow-front has adequate surface area on the bottom for all but the largest individuals of those two species. I keep the majority of my moderately-sized bichirs (6 - 8 inches) in 20 gallon Long grow-out tanks and this includes both of the species you've mentioned.

Personally I wouldn't try to combine bichirs with the African cichlids because of the differences in their preferred water quality. Bichirs are amazingly adaptive to water conditions but the hard, alkaline water that African Rift Lake cichlids prefer is not the best thing for most bichirs (though P. ornatipinnis and P. endlicheri have been recorded from Lake Tanganyika....but generally only from the swampy margins where rivers empty into the lake and dilute the lake water a bit).

-Joe

 

[crazyklown89]

Would the bichir be able to go with a full grown 7" female Flowerhorn?

Apparently my LFS switched it up again and the manager said no to fish trade ins but the assitant had said yes...that bitch.

 

[piranha45]

it goes against all rational logic...

but for whatever reason bichirs seem to be profferred as about the best FH tankmate possible, among the FH enthusiast circle. If you are very concerned, you might inquire on a real flowerhorn-oriented forum for others' firsthand experience.