Bichirs portraits...a few from my 'collection' (load warning)

[Fruitbat]

Polypterus senegalus



Polypterus senegalus (albino)



Polypterus delhezi



Polypterus palmas polli



Polypterus weeksii



Polypterus sp. 'Congo' (Zaire Green)

[itchy armpits]

wow, they look amazing!!!

are they hard to keep? what and how do you feed them? how big of a tank do you need for one (the one that grows 12 inches, i forget what they are called)?

i ask because i was just looking at these guys the other day and thinking of getting some if i can get another tank.

thanks.

[Fruitbat]

Polypterus senegalus and the various subspecies of Polypterus palmas (like p. palmas and p. polli) won't go much beyond 12 inches or so and then only after quite a few years (they can live to 30 years or more in the aquarium). They can be easily housed in a 55 gallon tank even at adult size....though a standard 55 is a little narrow for them when they're fully grown. Polypterus senegalus and the subspecies of Polypterus palmas are among the best for bichir 'beginners' because they're active, not especially aggressive, and don't get enormously big.

Bichirs (and their close relative the reed or rope fish (Erpetoichthys calabaricus) are very easy to take care of. They are quite tolerant of water conditions and will eat almost any meaty food. I feed mine a diet of frozen silversides, frozen beef heart, frozen and freeze-dried shrimp, frozen bloodworms (for the smaller ones), Hikari sinking carnivore pellets, Hikari carnivore sticks, earthworms (appropriately cut to size), and the occasional feeder fish.

[fishdude07]

WOW!! those look awesome! i wish i had enough room to get some of my own

[Lotus]

Very cool Thanks for sharing with us.

[420Loach]

oh wow! i like the delhezi! looks like a dragon! ive never seen them here...the way they look i dont think they might be legal here...still cool though!

[Evilhead]

Nice pics!! I'm thinking of getting a bichir for my 100 gallon. Maybe I'll try and find an ornate birchir, since they are the biggest, right?

[Fruitbat]

No....Polypterus ornatipinnis, the Ornate Bichir, is the largest of the bichirs with upper jaw longer than the lower...but the bichirs with the longer lower jaws like Polypterus endlicheri endlicheri, Polypterus endlicheri congicus and Polypterus bichir are larger fish than the Ornate.

[FiSh15]

i have the p. senegalus (about 9 in) and the p. palmas polli... i think (about 7.5 in). they are both in a 55 gal tank. i know its kinda small. i usually feed them either tuna or marlin cut in small pieces. they usually sell these sashimi trays for about 3 bucks so a tray would last about 3 weeks. they usually hide in the 2 caves i made for them. the p. senegalus is usually more active out of the two.

[RainBowCharmer]

I also have two of these amazing fish. However, I bought one about 3 years ago from a pet store calling it a "Polypalmus fish", which I am not positive now that it is a true Palmus, or if it is a sub species. I'm not overly familiar with their background, but was enthralled with the fish. Originally he(?) was in a 30 gallon, but is now in a 55. The other I think is a Senegalis (I know it aint spelled right LoL), but I bought it at PetSmart under the guise of "dinosaur eel". I knew it was a relative of the one that I've got, but the coloring is different, however that may be due to age.

The older one is probably 3 and a half years old, the other is not quite a year yet, though they are getting close in size.

Here is a picture of the older one. He is about 7 inches long. My digicam is charging, once it does, I'm going to try to get a picture of the younger one (about 4 inches long). Hopefully we can correctly identify them?

Thanks!

Emms