How many of these fish can I keep in this tank?

[Phil248]

I have a 75 gallon and a 100 gallon aquarium, and I would like to know how many rope fish and Senegal bichirs I can keep together in each tank (if possible). I don't think that aggression will be a problem, because the rope fish will be larger than the bichir. I would prefer to keep them in my 75 gallon, and both tanks will be heavily planted with a cave system for the rope fish.

 

[Ichthys]

I’ve never kept a bichir but I’ve kept ropefish. They should be peaceful enough together but I would worry about the bichir/s possibly biting the ropes because of their poor eyesight. The bichirs will get a lot bigger than the ropefish. Same kinda length but much wider mouth.

 

[Phil248]

The bichirs that I am interested in only get 13 inches max, so I'm not worried about them completely eating the ropes, but if there is aggression, I can move the bichir into another bichir only tank.

 

[Ichthys]

Senegal bichirs can get to about 24”, although they usually stay smaller in tanks. Ropefish don’t get much more than 12”.

 

[Phil248]

That is a max size from decades ago, and I've never heard of a Senegal bigger than 15 inches in captivity.

 

[Ichthys]

That is a max size from decades ago, and I've never heard of a Senegal bigger than 15 inches in captivity.

That’s still bigger than a ropefish though, with a much wider and more powerful mouth. I’d still be cautious about a ropefish getting bitten, although there’s probably less chance if they’re used to each other.

 

[Phil248]

I am going to see if they are good together, but if they are not, then I'm going to get to see what African fish tastes like.



I do have another tank for in case the bichir is aggressive. I was joking previously (clearly)