Bichir tank mates

Good matches

17 of 98

The safest picks for bichirs are oscars, bala sharks and kissing gouramis. Each match shares bichirs' temperature and pH and leaves them alone.

Primitive predator that eats any fish it can swallow.

Temperature

72–82°F

pH

6.5–7.5

Temperament

Semi-aggressive

Minimum tank

75 gal

With care

8

Avoid

73

Good tank mates

• Oscar74–81°F
• Bala shark72–82°F
• Kissing gourami72–82°F
• Electric blue acara72–82°F
• Tinfoil barb72–80°F
• Common pleco72–82°F
• Black ghost knife73–82°F
• Severum74–82°F
• Koi72–77°F
• Elephant nose fish73–82°F
• Blood parrot76–80°F
• Silver dollar75–82°F
• Firemouth cichlid75–82°F
• Chinese algae eater74–80°F
• Clown loach77–82°F
• Dojo loach72–77°F
• Siamese algae eater75–79°F

Possible, with care

• Jack Dempsey Jack dempseys are aggressive. Bichirs hold their own only in a big tank with places to hide.
• Rainbow shark Rainbow sharks chase other bottom fish out of their patch.
• Mystery snail Large bichirs crack or pick at small snails. A big mystery snail has better odds than a ramshorn.
• Peacock cichlid Different water: bichirs want pH 6.5–7.5, peacock cichlids want pH 7.8–8.6.
• Flowerhorn Flowerhorns are aggressive. Bichirs hold their own only in a big tank with places to hide.
• Ramshorn snail Large bichirs crack or pick at small snails. A big mystery snail has better odds than a ramshorn.
• Nerite snail Large bichirs crack or pick at small snails. A big mystery snail has better odds than a ramshorn.
• Assassin snail Large bichirs crack or pick at small snails. A big mystery snail has better odds than a ramshorn.

Avoid

• Betta An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2.5 inches bettas do.
• Axolotl Axolotls are coldwater animals (60–66°F); bichirs need 72–82°F. No temperature suits both.
• Pea puffer An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 1 inches pea puffers do.
• Guppy An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2 inches guppies do.
• Angelfish An adult bichir is twice the size of an angelfish and will hunt or batter a slow, long-finned fish like this.
• Goldfish Goldfish are coldwater animals (60–74°F); bichirs need 72–82°F. They overlap only at 72–74°F, the edge of both ranges.
• Honey gourami An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2 inches honey gouramis do.
• Tiger barb An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 3 inches tiger barbs do.
• Blue gourami An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 5 inches blue gouramis do.
• Sparkling gourami An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 1.5 inches sparkling gouramis do.
• Congo tetra An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 3 inches congo tetras do.
• Dwarf gourami An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 3 inches dwarf gouramis do.
• Lemon tetra An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2 inches lemon tetras do.
• Cherry barb An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2 inches cherry barbs do.
• Neon tetra An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 1.5 inches neon tetras do.
• Black skirt tetra An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2.5 inches black skirt tetras do.
• Harlequin rasbora An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2 inches harlequin rasboras do.
• Celestial pearl danio An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 1 inches celestial pearl danios do.
• Cherry shrimp Bichirs hunt shrimp. Adult cherry shrimp will be eaten.
• GloFish tetra An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2.5 inches glofish do.
• Ember tetra An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 0.8 inches ember tetras do.
• Paradise fish An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 3.5 inches paradise fish do.
• Corydoras An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2.5 inches corydoras do.
• Kuhli loach An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 3.5 inches kuhli loaches do.
• Black neon tetra An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 1.5 inches black neon tetras do.
• Bristlenose pleco An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 5 inches bristlenose plecos do.
• Endler's livebearer An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 1 inches endlers do.
• Convict cichlid An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 5 inches convict cichlids do.
• Odessa barb An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 3 inches odessa barbs do.
• Serpae tetra An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 1.75 inches serpae tetras do.
• Molly An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 4 inches mollies do.
• Platy An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2.5 inches platies do.
• Bamboo shrimp Bichirs hunt shrimp. Adult bamboo shrimp will be eaten.
• Pearl gourami An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 5 inches pearl gouramis do.
• Dwarf neon rainbowfish An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2.5 inches dwarf neon rainbowfish do.
• African dwarf frog An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2.5 inches african dwarf frogs do.
• Pencilfish An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2 inches pencilfish do.
• Ghost shrimp Bichirs hunt shrimp. Adult ghost shrimp will be eaten.
• Amano shrimp Bichirs hunt shrimp. Adult amano shrimp will be eaten.
• Red tail shark An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 5 inches red tail sharks do.
• Pygmy cory An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 1 inches pygmy corys do.
• Zebra danio An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2 inches zebra danios do.
• Pictus catfish An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 5 inches pictus catfish do.
• Clown pleco An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 3.5 inches clown plecos do.
• Glass catfish An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 3 inches glass catfish do.
• Swordtail An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 5 inches swordtails do.
• Yoyo loach An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 5 inches yoyo loaches do.
• Glowlight tetra An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 1.5 inches glowlight tetras do.
• Hatchetfish An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 1.5 inches hatchetfish do.
• Rummy nose tetra An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2 inches rummy nose tetras do.
• Chili rasbora An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 0.8 inches chili rasboras do.
• Rosy barb An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 4 inches rosy barbs do.
• Boesemani rainbowfish An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 4 inches boesemani rainbowfish do.
• African cichlid An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 5 inches african cichlids do.
• Bolivian ram An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 3 inches bolivian rams do.
• Silver arowana An adult silver arowana eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 12 inches bichirs do.
• Otocinclus An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2 inches otocinclus do.
• Cardinal tetra An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2 inches cardinal tetras do.
• Upside down catfish An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 4 inches upside down catfish do.
• Crayfish An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 5 inches crayfish do.
• Killifish An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2.5 inches killifish do.
• Electric yellow cichlid An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 4 inches yellow labs do.
• Gold barb An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 3 inches gold barbs do.
• Zebra loach An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 3.5 inches zebra loaches do.
• Kribensis An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 4 inches kribensis do.
• Apistogramma An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 3 inches apistogramma do.
• Panda cory An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2 inches panda corys do.
• Discus An adult bichir is twice the size of a discus and will hunt or batter a slow, long-finned fish like this.
• Hillstream loach An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2.5 inches hillstream loaches do.
• Fancy goldfish Fancy goldfish are coldwater animals (65–74°F); bichirs need 72–82°F. They overlap only at 72–74°F, the edge of both ranges.
• White cloud minnow White cloud minnows are coldwater animals (60–72°F); bichirs need 72–82°F. They meet only at 72°F, the edge of both ranges.
• Zebra pleco An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 3.5 inches zebra plecos do.
• German blue ram An adult bichir eats fish that fit in its mouth, and at 2.5 inches rams do.

Planning a mixed tank? The tank mate checker tests every pair at once. Or read the bichir care sheet.