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I love polypterus but have never tried to raise one. I was wondering if I could keep a three inch one in a 20 gal with 2 german rams unitl it gets a little bigger. I have a 29 and 55 to move it up to... but they have larger cichlids such as parrots and jacks and would be hesitant to put them in right away.

Yeah, it would be ok for a while , at three inches its only capable of taking fish around a cm long , so an adult ram would be safe. Theyre pretty non-aggressive when small. Give it plenty of tubifex , the odd white recently moulted mealworm, , earthworm pieces,shrimp and mollusc pieces, maybe some dead fish bits and it wont look at another live fish for 6 months to a year. After that get it in with bigger cagemates asap though. They are pretty peaceful , but when they get bigger they will move onto live fish. Try not to give it live foods that are literally alive and you may stop a little of its hunting behaviour until it basically kicks in later in life anyway. Make sure even worms are very dead before they go in. Polypterus settle for going on scent to start with, and if you avoid giving them food that stimulates them with movement they start in on hunting quite late. Given the way polypterus go on scent though, any fish with an injury that bleeds might get bitten, so watch for that carefully.

The day it starts tailing other fish though or gets interested when other fish swim by, its time to move it. As in that day. Dont cut it too close.

Your probably right not to put it in with cichlids straight away, they might find its small slender and rather wormy build at that age a bit too tempting. I wouldnt risk it with fish as small as a neon tetra, but it should be ok with a ram for a few months. My own senegal polypterus , ploppy has been owned since around the 3 inch mark, and ive had him getting on for 6 months, only now is he a little to big to be trusted with rams at about 6 inches. I dont imagine he'll be a threat to fish as big as rainbows for at least another year.

thanks for your help... one more question though. I just bought a whole bunch of hikari select massivore delight. If I broke some of the tablets do you think he would enjoy those alond with the worms?

Well, if you can get him to take it, it would be great, as it would give him most of the vitamins he needs,and a useful shortcut to healthy feeding, but polypterus tend to be very retiscent to take anything that isnt immediately meaty, or has the texture and smell of real flesh.Their feeding pattern is more like that of a lizard than a fish, and that means potentially that if you smear a pellet with a little real fish or shrimp, he might eat it if the first attempt fails. Ive never been successful in giving mine artificial diets, few people are, but it sure wouldnt hurt to try. Dont be surprised if he doesnt accept it though. At least the other fish you have will gladly finish the pack off . Polypterus usually grow up strongest and healthiest on bits of silversides or lancefish, and home grown earthworms (dont feed it wild collected worms, you may give it intestinal parasites that way) , avoid using too much in the way of beefheart, it tends to cause them nutritional deficiencies connected to oxygen exchange later in a life. Its not unusual for a polypterus owner that uses beefheart extensively to have a big beautiful poly that one day looks like a show winner and the next day lies dying on the substrate struggling for breath. Basic rule with polypterus is that thety are primarily piscivores at any age, and while one will enjoy the odd worm, the odd bit of meat, some shrimp or prawns etc, they do primarily take fish from day one, even if its only the fry of other species. They do best on fish as the primary staple. Certainly you dont have to give them literally alive food, its probably better if you dont, as by using frozen fish you avoid a lot of disease issues, but artificial foods might be a stretch too far for a fish that has barely changed in around a 100 million years of evolution. Primarily they just follow the smells and the wiggles.

thanks again for the help... I may end up having to put the polypterus on hold... being that my rams have turn out to be little devils. They tore up my five inch frontosa that I briefly moved into their tank while doing a water change on his, so I'm not sure if I want to risk putting a smaller fish in with them!

Probably a good idea, im not sure if a ram can literally kill a 3 inch polypterus, but they might depress one so young into waning and death, and polypterus arent without a temper if attacked.

I had a firemouth learn the hard way that its not a good idea to bite ploppy. In a mood they can turn in on themselves and deliver an immediate bite on whatever attacked them, even at a small age I dont doubt their courage.It might not be big enough to get a grip on a ram, but if it does, it will hang on like a pitbull.