Pictures

binaryjripper

Does anyone have any pics of a birch?

I tried looking on google but I couldn't find any.

Is there another name I should use?

I saw them at petsmart and they looked really fascinating.

Also do those little crabs with the big pinchers get along with burches and guppies?

Thanks,
I've been so curious about this.[/u]

Lupin

Are you talking about bichirs? If so, they can reach to more than 11 inches depending on the species. These are ambush predators and will eat your guppies.

mHeinitz57

yeah its probably a bichir and if you saw it at petsmart its probably a dinosaur bichir (called a dinosaur eel at petco but not really an eel). They are awesome fish and so fun to watch. Honestly they are like little puppy dogs in your tank but they grow VERY fast and will eat your guppies. My bichir grew from about 2.5 inches to about 8 inches in a matter of a few months. The little crabs you are talking about are mini crabs or fiddler crabs (same thing I believe). They are escape artists so make sure you seal the tank up. I've also had fiddler crabs and they took out a few of my fish. Ironically, my dinosaur bichir eventually ate it though, lol.

GregV

hehe thats why I love Poypterous Senagalus, they always know how to make you happy :)

mHeinitz57

yeah that crab was a punk! It took out a 4 inch gourami as well as a few other fish and escaped twice. I can't say I was mad when I came home and saw a big claw and some legs strewn about the tank and a big ol' pot belly on my bichir. Honestly though, the bichir is my favorite fish and I always try to keep one in my tank if I can. For about $2.50 I just went to the grocery store and bought a big bag of salad shrimp (same as cocktail shrimp) and he loves em.

GregV

not to highjack the thread but what do you usually keep your Birchir with? I really want to get an albino Polypterous palmas, but I also want a community tank with smaller tetras and rasbora,

i think if hes well fed he might not go after small fish, but I would still wonder if he would cause problems.

Lupin

You shouldn't take the risk. Bichirs are best left with large peaceful cichlids, barbs, etc but not with small general community fish.

mHeinitz57

depends how much you feed them but they can take down fish bigger than their mouths and as I said earlier...they grow fast! Right now I have a small cory in with my bichir and it could easily eat it if it wanted to but I keep it pretty well fed. I also have a 4-line catfish in there that will eat smaller fish if it has the chance...it actually ate the cory's buddy. My tank is somewhat of a darwinian survival-of-the-fittest tank though. There are also some ghost glass cats in there too that could be eaten but the bichir isn't much of a hunter so if there is dead food somewhere he will go for that first.