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I give my bichir fry bloodworms, blackworms, frozen BBS, and the occasional sinking pellet....as they grow (which they do very quickly with room, good food, and good water quality), you can start offering larger meaty items, like chopped earthworms, bits of krill, etc. Sand substrates are best, but fine gravel works well, too. Be sure he can easily access the surface, as he will need to take periodic gulps of atmospheric air.

Here is a link to a senegal bichir care sheet I wrote a while back...it is not quite as detailed as the one in my upcoming book, but should contain just about all the info you will need...and feel free to ask any specific rearing questions you may have:

http://aquatic-hobbyist.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=3362

I just bought an awsome fish its called a dinosaur eel does anyone have any info on it. What size ?
What does it eat.
it ill try to get a pic. sone!!!!




[span class="edited"][Edited by fish1 2004-07-04 08:11][/span]

It will grow to be at least 10-12" long.

what you bought is probably a bichir of some type. i've seen them come up labelled as that at the store where i work (petsmart). bichirs are large, aggressive, predatory fish that will get to be at least 10" long. they can be fed frozen, pelleted and live food. i don't think they're fussy about pH, but nitrite, nitrate and ammonia should be kept at 0. they can be mixed with other large, aggressive fish such as cichlids, as long as they are similarly sized. i have heard that they can be territorial with other bichirs, so it may be best just to keep one.

they are awesome fish that i would definitely love to own one day!! good luck

Usually Polypterus palmas. Hardy, usually easy to get to feed, and cool looking to boot; all the qualifications of a good fish to keep, except for the fact that they get almost a foot long! If you don't already, you'll want a bigger tank in the future, of course, like a 55 gallon.

Nitrate doesn't have to be kept at 0, though.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

thanks guys the fish is small like 2 in. i will be gettinga 55-75 gallon tank soon so i dont think space will be a prob..
my mom accully like the idea of hatching shrimp so i might try to feed it that
i have some wardly shrimp pellets will that be fine? thanks for all the quick replies i hope they still are coming!!!!!!

i don't think hatching live shrimp is necessary...i've seen them eat frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp right off the bottom of the gravel so you can feed them that way too. it's easier in the long run.

Shrimp pellets will be fine if it eats them; sometimes predatory fish can be hard to get onto pellets, preferring dead meats (or live meats with pickier fish!). You can also feed cut up pieces of shrimp and fish meat. If well-fed the Polypterus will grow quite quickly.

That is a really small Polypterus; I've seen Kuhli Loaches bigger than that! It's good you're going to get a larger tank in the future; the Polypterus will do just fine in the larger tank!

Hatching live shrimp is good for feeding tiny baby fish. The baby shrimp are usually microscopic, making them too small to be eaten by anything bigger than a baby. Though your Polypterus is small, it might not even go after baby shrimp.

[span class="edited"][Edited by Shinigami 2004-06-05 15:15][/span]

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Is there any frozen food that my mom would approve of???
he ate some pellets last night. Since he is so young, i'll
try to get him on pellets. Are freeze dried worms ok??? Can anyone confirm that they can breath air?? thanks for all the replies!!!!!!!!!

Yes, polypterus and their relative the ropefish can all breathe air. This allows them to go onto land and move about to other bodies of water. Keep your tank covered to prevent escape (can't believe I forgot about that)!

I'd use the freeze dried only as a treat.

I guess your mom isn't okay with different sorts of worms in the freezer. You may be able to use krill if they come small enough.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

kinda like that ,shini, was kinda shocked when she said i could do brine shrimp. lol

thanks tortis i think i have a ? anyway um is it ok if my
eel stays up by the filter or is that a bad sign??? He has an real easy acces to air. I took him out a few minutes a go 2 mesur him and it came up to 2in. i won't do that again for a while

[span class="edited"][Edited by fish1 2004-06-05 18:09][/span]

They like to rest on things such as ornaments, filters, plants....perfectly normal.

hey fish, i just picked up a poly tonight also, a juvi ornate. Gonna raise him and hopefully work him into my 75g when i get it.

With proper care, that ornate should hit 22"-26" and be as big around as your wrist....a very impressive show fish (I have 5 large ornates that catch everyones' eyes).

woo, thats one big fish!!!! I should feed him when the lights are out right???

well fish, i tried feeding mine some worms and a cube of tubifix worms last night. No idea how many worms he ate, since it was night time, but when i turned the light on the tubifix cube was still there this morning. However, i then dropped in a few shrimp pellets, and he went crazy . Ate 3 of them, with the lights on. So just try it out and see what works for you.

How big is yours?????? mine eats shrimp pellets havent treind tubifex yet or blodworms!!! btw how do you get worms to sink????<<<????<<< my eel like a apple snail shell that he can barely fit into!?! Mine is like only active at night!!

i got him yesterday, he is about 3"

I get nervous about snail shells since I wouldn't want a fish getting stuck in one...

To get frozen food to sink, you usually only have to soak it for a while until it has defrosted.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.