I bought a new bichir...

buddah101 · 04-01-2005, 08:19 PM

Here are pictures of my new bichir. sorry they are kind of blurry.
I believe it is either a Nile bichir (Polypterus bichir bichir) or Polypterus lapradei (lap)
It was labled P. palmas.
I used this website to properly identify it www.polypterus.info/profiles.htm

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fishfreaks · 04-01-2005, 08:53 PM

wow! neat pics

buddah101 · 04-02-2005, 08:34 AM

Anyone else keep any type of Polypterus? If so I would like to hear about your experiences.
Thanks again!

Here is one of my Oscars saying hello to you all! LOL

melonhead · 04-19-2005, 03:52 PM

well, i got a new ropefish (Erpetoichthys calabaricus) just a couple of weeks ago. he's so cool looking, but he doesn't come out very often...and he's a pain in the butt to feed.

he won't eat any of the dried food we've offered him--shrimp pellets, cichlid pellets, etc--even dried whole shrimp. he didn't eat the fresh boiled shrimp we put in either. he's not aggressive about getting food at all.
so far, all we can get him to eat is frozen beefheart, and we have to watch him and makes sure he gets it before someone else does.

any suggestions would be appreciated. i'll try to get a pic up here soon.

peace.

flynngriff · 04-19-2005, 04:48 PM

I have one 12+ inch Polypterus delhezi, one 8 inch Polypterus senegalus and a 20+ inch ropefish in my 125 gallon. They're are some of my favorites. I've even got them eating normal flake food and cichlid pellets.

The delhezi is an aggressive eater, but he only has been for the past 6 months or so. A year ago he was much smaller, and hid a lot. Now he's out all the time and eats like a pig! The ropefish and senegalus are a bit more shy, but I've got them eating the same thing. I give them treats of different meaty foods pretty frequently, though.

I need to take some pictures...

buddah101 · 05-01-2005, 05:47 AM

I have never known a bichir to refuse raw, cut smelt (deboned)! They go nuts and the best part is that you can buy big bags in your local supermarket for only a couple of bucks!

Anaughtybear · 12-14-2009, 04:14 AM

I have noticed that there is a lot of differing opinions about the temperament of these fish. Keep in mind that individuals of all animal species differ in personality, depending on various factors such as how they were raised. I have seen individuals of many "aggressive" breeds of fish that are almost affectionate, and the opposite is true as well.

As for my albino Senegal bichir, I've only had him for a few days now, but he seems quite comfortable with me at any time I do anything with his tank. He even watches the cats watching him. The issue I have is that he is small. He was in a very small tank at a pet store for about a year before I bought him, and is about 6" long. I'm sure he was underfed as well, considering their healthy appetites. I am hoping that he decides to continue growing, now that he has the space and abundance of food. He already has a prominent anal fin, so I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't achieve near max size.

I simply bought him because I thought he looked cool, and I love albinos of any species. Also, I had recently watched a TV show about snakehead fish, and these guys remind me of them. The more I researched these fish, the more I realized how unique and interesting they are.

My bichir's tank set up is pretty simple at the moment, and he is the only occupant. Since they don't seem to be picky about their living conditions, I just have a filter, heater, decorations, and no light. I figured that since albinos generally have sensitive eyes, he might appreciate a dimmer environment. I just gave him an opaque food container to hide in, and he seems to like that just fine.

I plan on feeding him a variety of foods, whatever looks tasty that week. Some animals become bored with one type of food, I'm not sure if that is the case with bichirs or not. So far, he has eaten a couple types of sinking pellets and guppies, and I just bought a few types of frozen food. I have fed other fish crickets and other non-traditional foods with good luck, and it sounds like bichir don't refuse much of anything.

If you have other bichir tips or suggestions for me, I'd appreciate hearing about it. I think that given a little time, these fish will gain more popularity and their will be a more mainstream market for them.