bichirs and sand

M

Mondego

Small Fish
#1
Dec 19, 2004
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#1
I've read bichirs like a sandy substrate, and i currently have a small type gravel. i imagine his pectoral fins would work better when he takes off from the bottom if i had a sand bed for him. so my question is..

how easy will it be to clean? can you see the leftover food better* (so you can vacuum it back up?). i have a siphon with a very small opening, one of the smallest at the LFS. would sand still get up into the vacuum? or will i have to use a net to sift through it?

*if the color matters i'm going for a natural look. i have realistically colored rocks, driftwood, and fake plants (real plants when i get my diy co2 to work and better lighting). maybe a tan colored would look best.
 

Fruitbat

Fruitbat

Large Fish
#2
Jan 6, 2004
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#2
A lot of folks I know use sand in their bichir tanks. I've never been a fan of using sand, however. All of my bichir tanks over the years have had 'natural gravel' for a substrate (I've got one bichir tank now with Eco-Complete in it and I like the dark color.)

In my experience, sand is a pain in the butt to keep clean. Standard aquarium vacuums don't work all that well because the particles of sand aren't heavy enough so they get sucked up into the vacuum along with the other debris. A siphon with a very small opening will be even worse because it develops more suction than a siphon with a larger opening.

Just my 2 cents worth.

-Joe
 

Fruitbat

Fruitbat

Large Fish
#4
Jan 6, 2004
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Garland, TX
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#4
mykoe817....

Glad to hear that you're varying the diet for your bichirs. Shrimp definitely seems to be a favorite food for most of my Polypterids and the exoskeleton of shrimp seems to be beneficial for the development of the scales on these fish.

-Joe
 

Fruitbat

Fruitbat

Large Fish
#6
Jan 6, 2004
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#6
If your siphon has a very small diameter overall then you won't have the problem I mentioned above. However, if it has a small opening but them grows in diameter they you'll have an effect similar to what happens when you put your finger over the end of a garden hose. You're still moving the same amount of water but the velocity increases dramatically because of the narrower space it is going through.

It is only a personal preference but I like standard 'natural gravel' as a substrate for my bichirs. Other people keep them on sand or even in tanks with no substrate at all.

-Joe
 

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