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Thats the one at my LFS. i still need an ID on it. Anyone? I know its not the best pic but he wouldnt move and pose for me

I think that was a pretty good pic and I really dont know anything about BICHIRS except for the dinosaur eel(P.Palmas)!!!!

lunker, it's hard to tell what species yours is by that pic. I compared to as many pics as I could and the species I saw that was the closest was P. bichir lapradei but I doubt that's what it is. I'd wait for Toirtis to drop by again as he would be much more qualified than I to try to ID your bichir. In the meantime, any chance of a photo from the side showing more of the body?

Also, just to note I couldn't take it anymore and I sent an email inquiring about the P. polli buettikoferi. He only has 1 left and someone else is supposed to check it out, but if that person doesn't take it it's mine for $60. If I do get it I'll also get a few pairs of west african riverine cichlids. Probably Pelvicachromis taeniatus "Moliwe" and "Lokunje" and Nannochromis transvestitus.

Jason

Maybe i will just forget about it and see what i can get off of aquabid. I really want a moderately grown bichir to hold in my 29g until i finish getting my 90 setup so i can have something nice to put in.

Well watch out that your Royal Plec doesn't suck on the Bichirs (assuming it's also going in your big tank). The only person I've seen successfully keep Bichirs with a Royal Plec has like 15 Bichirs to spread out the Royal's attention. That's the only reason I don't have Bichirs; my Royal would tear them apart...

[span class="edited"][Edited by Shinigami 2004-06-17 10:22][/span]

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

thats is great jason!!!!!!!! i hope you get iT!!!!! For you lunker i think all bickirs are great and so you should get P.Palmas BTW i now have 2

well shin, my royal is only about 4" and has alot of growing to do before i would put him in there.

Im sure i asked this already somewhere in the 7 pages of this thread BUT doesnt anyone have a good bichir website or resource i can take a look at? I want to examine all my options before i order a big fella or buy the one at my LFS. IF it is a congo, how big do they usually get?

Might not be the best, but:http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/polypter.htm

Looks like a P. bichir lapradei to me, although I would want more photos to be 100% certain.

i just did a search for the one u suggested toirtis, i only found a few good pictures but it looks VERY much like the one at my LFS. I havent found much info on it, is it a rare species?

Yes, the Lapradei is a relatively rare species, if I'm not mistaken.

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

Even if I mis-identified it, i think i will just snatch it up. Its an interesting looking bichir and seems pretty healthy. Plus i get a discount so it all works out

does anyone know the best site to put pics on also the eisest!!!!!!!Hey i like that site i has the "marbled bichir" which buy the pics and the scientific name is the same one as mine!!!!!!

I tested a few when trying to host the pic i posted and i liked village photos the best.

o ok i will try im on a different computer and i will bring them up later !!!!!!!! then do it!

i tried them and i cant get them to work!! any help??

is anyone here????? none of the things i tried work!! Mabe it is because lunker hasnt been on in a whilE!!!!!!!???

Perhaps....why not just use photobucket or some such host?

lol ive been on, just didnt see any new replies, sorry. Village photo is pretty straight forwards but i had (and still have) problems with webshots. What is your problem with them exactly? Photos too big?

well, um, village photos wont let me update my album! yahoo i !!! snap fish didnt come up and web shots was weird i might have to try photobucket

yeah photobukcet is probably the best

6x2x2 - Firemouth and Oscar Tank
30+ royal pythons.

Back in the game after 4 years out ..

i just tried it and i dont like it i think i will just make my own web site! for pictures

GUESS WHAT i feed him last night and they ate some pellets i accutally think they like it!

ok so noone is here anymore??? i really dont get it why arent there any replies!

this threasd is dead no one will reply...im sorry but i think photobucket is the best

o, ok, well if it is dead then there is no point in getting pictures o well!

Hardly dead...we are just waiting for pix.

Well there are pics of fish1's bichir in the photo booth now.

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

yea so i declare this thread dead!...umm...nevermind i cant do that

Come'on fish, where are the pics?

Toirtis, quick question...how big do P. endlicheri endlicheri grow? I've checked around the net and only size I've found was 29". I was unable to get the P. palmas buttikoferi so I've been considering the P. endlicheri endlicheri but I want to know how big a tank I'll eventually need.

thanks

Jason

its alive !!! here are the pix http://img32.imageshack.us/my.php?loc=img32&image=DinoShark.jpg and how do you make this clikable and heres another!http://img5.imageshack.us/my.php?loc=img5&image=newellfromepetsmartpoic2.jpg here it is

I barely remember mine being that size, he has grown ALOT in 3 weeks. You make the link clickable by using the "link" button bellow the post reply button.

I use mine to keep my guppy fry under check. Hasn't grown that much though.

[link=http://img32.imageshack.us/my.php?loc=img32&image=DinoShark.jpg ]http://img32.imageshack.us/my.php?loc=img32&image=DinoShark.jpg [/link]

[link=http://img5.imageshack.us/my.php?loc=img5&image=newellfromepetsmartpoic2.jpg ]http://img5.imageshack.us/my.php?loc=img5&image=newellfromepetsmartpoic2.jpg [/link]



[span class="edited"][Edited by tetra_fan1212 2004-06-24 18:37][/span]

thanks guys for the link thing lol! i will try to get more pic as soon as i get my digital camera from ebay!

ok this link thing is hard hearse a test [link=http://img5.imageshack.us/my.php?loc=img5&image=newellfromepetsmartpoic2.jpg ]http://img5.imageshack.us/my.php?loc=img5&image=newellfromepetsmartpoic2.jpg [/link]

wow it worked thank lunker!

[span class="edited"][Edited by fish1 2004-06-24 19:33][/span]

Glad you finally got the pics to work. Nice shots too

That is a baby P. s. senegalus.

Jason...those P. e. endlicheri (one o the most expensive and highly sought after bichirs) has been observed to reach 34", but 28"-30" is more common. Err on the large side when choosing a tank for these guys...I have my pairs in 275 gallon, wide tanks that are 6' x 3' x 2'. If you wish, I have an excellent article on their care, housing and breeding (with good pics), by the pioneer H. Azuma that I could copy/scan for you.

that would be great toirtis, I'd love to read it. My biggest tanks are 125 and 150 gallon, both of which have a 72" x 18" footprint. How long do you think it would be before I need a larger tank for an endlicheri endlicheri?

Jason

That is a baby P. s. senegalus.

are you talking to me i think mine is a p.palmas!

more pixs of my p.palmas on this thread last post i did!
http://www.fishprofiles.com/interactive/forums/thread.asp?id=41766

How long do you think it would be before I need a larger tank for an endlicheri endlicheri?

Depends on how large & old they are now.

"That is a baby P. s. senegalus." are you talking to me i think mine is a p.palmas!

Yes, I am...it does not look like a P. palmas ssp. at all.

I second what Toirtis said. It looks like a senegalus. I do believe most pet shops mis-label their stock as palmas but a true palmas is actually a rare find (I think ).

o thanks tortis can i keep them in a 35 gallon with whisper 30 and penguin 170 for life or no??

Depends on how large & old they are now.

Yeah, I guess that information would help huh?

If I ordered one, the range is from 5"-12"+ but I would ask for one in the 5-6" range.

Jason

o thanks tortis can i keep them in a 35 gallon with whisper 30 and penguin 170 for life or no??

Sure, a pair of senegals will do OK in a 35 for life.

If I ordered one, the range is from 5"-12"+ but I would ask for one in the 5-6" range.

Probably be OK for 12-18 months...but where on earth are you able to get 6" P. e. endlicheri in the US? Typically, only WC specimens of 10" or more are available in North America unless you are ordering from a Japanese breeder, which is ugly expensive.

Opps...never mind...I think I have guessed: http://www.rehobothaquatics.com/stock.htm

[span class="edited"][Edited by Toirtis 2004-06-25 20:01][/span]

Sure, a pair of senegals will do OK in a 35 for life.

Wait, don't senegals get about a foot long? If so, I most certainly would not keep it in a 35 gallon for life.

---

They shade the glow of it with their mossy-misty costumes,
They wear masks of silk, porcelain, brass, and silver,
So as not to mislead with their own, ordinary faces.

Kinda off-topic from your main thread fish, but seeing as to this became more of a General Polypterus Info thread rather than a thread on Fish's new bichir, i decided to post this: http://imageevent.com/codomo/bichirspecies

I LOVE that site, truly some great pics. I think i identified my LFS Bichir as a Polypterus Bichir Bichir and i plan on picking it up this thursday.

[span class="edited"][Edited by 2004-06-25 21:29][/span]

Wait, don't senegals get about a foot long? If so, I most certainly would not keep it in a 35 gallon for life.

10 tops and tortis is the EXPERT and they dont really move i think at least mine dont! o ya tortis when do you think it will be a good size to feed my bichir earthworms


cool, lunker101 i hope it is still there for you!


and i was wundering tortis! i want my bichir to grow so i am going to feed it strictly live or frozen food with accosional FLAKES (i dont know why they eat that) how often should i do this?? i would kinda prefer not to do it every night cause i dont want to bloat/ overfeed my tank
,but i will be getting them a new tank soon within the next couple weeks!! thanks for your time

[span class="edited"][Edited by fish1 2004-06-26 08:44][/span]

Kinda off-topic from your main thread fish, but seeing as to this became more of a General Polypterus Info thread rather than a thread on Fish's new bichir, i decided to post this: http://imageevent.com/codomo/bichirspecies

Heh...it is...Yu-Chia provided a lot of the photography and a fair amount on anecdote for my book.

Wait, don't senegals get about a foot long? If so, I most certainly would not keep it in a 35 gallon for life.

They can, although 10" is a lt more common as a maximum size. A pair (no other fish) will do OK in a 35 gallon tank, so long as it is 12" or greater wide, although personally, I would prefer a minimum of a 40 gallon wide/breeder tank.

Fish1....stick with frozen and fresh foods....flakes will simply unecessarily cloud your water. You can feed your bichir small earthorms when he is 8-10cm (3"-4" long.

no, tortis accosionally he will eat the flakes when i feed my tetras!and such!

Well, yes...at this size he will eat a few bits of flake, but assuming you had him in his own tank and dumped some flake in, he would likely only eat 10% of it (even less as he gets bigger), which would foul your water something terrible.

I agree, loose the flakes.. If you want to supplement his diet with prepared foods, then use some kind of sinking meaty pellet like shrimp pellets..

Toirtis, you guessed right...www.rehobothaquatics.com always has a nice selection of hard to find polypterus. He's supposed to be getting lapradei and retropinnis in soon, and for the last few months at least he has always had P. endlicheri congicus and P. endlicheri endlicheri available.

and they dont really move i think at least mine dont

Give him some time...my 2 senegals are very active

Jason

[span class="edited"][Edited by jason_r_s 2004-06-26 15:50][/span]

ok, i have shrimp pellets! to use! the tank i will be getting is about 13in long! when can i feed them live food ie. fish and such? also will he eat crickets or live ghost shrimp or wood shrimp or something like that! also would this be ok water phirimeters

p.h. 7.0

ammonia 0

nitrite 0

nitrate 5 (omeone said earleir in the post that nitrate had to be kept at 0 than shinigami said no so what do i have to keep it at? thanks for all your time toitis!

I'm sure they would eat live shrimp assuming the bichir could find the shrimp. you can also buy frozen shell-on shrimp at your grocery store pretty cheap to feed them as well. I thaw out a piece of shrimp, remove the shell and cut it into bitesize pieces. assuming not all the shrimp gets eaten by the cichlids I have and some reaches the bottom, the bichirs will gobble it up in a hurry..

Jason

I thaw out a piece of shrimp, remove the shell and cut it into bitesize pieces.

And once your bichir is full-grown, or nearly so, you can leave the shell on the shrimp...just be sure to buy raw shrimp, not cooked.

o ok thanks! i might get my digital camera today and if i do i will get some more pics! i feed them bloodworms last night! and they ate that up in a hurry!

ok this pic thing got really anoing so i didnt do it i will post like 1 pic soon

when i turn the lights out for them to eat, how long should they be off for before i dump in the food? and then what size should the earthworms be when i feeed them to him and should i buy the worms or should i find them in my yard!

If you are 100% sure there have never been any pesticides or other chemicals used in your yard, then you can take earthworms directly from your back yard. Otherwise, I would go to a local bait shop or lfs. Many lfs will sell earthworms, meal worms and nightcrawlers. IME, when my bichirs were smaller they seemed to have a difficult time eating meal worms. You can always take a nightcrawler and cut it in half or even smaller pieces if necessary to get an appropriate sized piece for your bichir.

Jason

If you are 100% sure there have never been any pesticides or other chemicals used in your yard, then you can take earthworms directly from your back yard.

I agree...or at least 3 years pesticideherbicide free. I feed mine just before, at, or just after lights out.

ok so here is the pic of him flying across the aquaruim a pretty good one if i dont say so my self1!http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/8900/DSCF16.jpg

anyone around! i have another question!
how quick will my dinosaur eel have to be moved from my other 33 gallon tank? they are growing! so i think i should be planing on moving them soon is this correct?
and i have another ? about feeding when i have them in their own tank is this a fine rutine for feeding??

sun- water change and pellets
mon-no feeding
tues- frozen brine shrimp
wed- pellets
thurs- no feeding
frid- worms
sat- no feeding

is this ok or should i plan on feeding them every day this is not what i feed them now! so i was just wundering what your guys suggesions would be?!thanks for your help!

Personally i dont like following a strict feeding schedule. I like to mix up foods to the point where i could never organize a schedule out of them. You might want to add feeder fish to the menu, as they get bigger. May I ask why you dont want to feed them every day? As long as you take care not to over-feed (they will make enough of a mess as it is ) I would do feedings everyday.

[span class="edited"][Edited by 2004-07-01 19:40][/span]

You might want to add feeder fish to the menu, as they get bigger.

Just make sure you raise your own. Not only will this reduce the chance of introducing diseases but you'll also know exactly what the feeders are getting to eat. If the feeders haven't been fed a good quality diet then they are of virtually no nutritional use as feeders.

If you raise your own feeders and feed them a high quality diet, then your bichirs will be forever grateful and happy.

Jason

ok ,well, what do you mean by raise your own do you mean like get some from lfs and then feed it worms and shrimp for a week or feed it fry or something? i have guppies and am looking out for some fry! do any of you guys have experience tring to buy the lfs's fry they like always have some and the fry always dies cause they never notice them! also what would be the grow rate of this bichir will he get about 6in and then slow down?

I brought home 6 feeders for my big poly (whom recently did a dive and layed on the floor for hours and is now doing his best to recover and i took 2 small feeders that wouldnt even be a snack for the large poly and put them in my baby ornate's tank, to my delight he ate them up. He is only about 4" but u can almost watch him grow bigger with each feeding.

ok ,well, what do you mean by raise your own

I mean, buy some swordtails, mollies or platys from your lfs' regular tanks. Don't buy feeder anything! I'd set up a separate breeding tank for the livebearers and feed the fry when they are big enough. Or, let the livebearers produce fry, then gradually feed the parents to the bichir while growing up the fry. When the fry get big enough to reproduce, you'd then feed the new parents to the bichir and so on.

If your bichir is small enough, you could just put larger swordtails or mollies in the tank and when they release fry the bichir will most likely find and eat them.

Jason

The senegals get to about 8", then slow considerably, whereas the ornates get to 14"-16" before their growth slows.

well ok i got you. im not sure how good he is going to eat live food though considering hes with neons right now!

well after some quick abserving at feeding time i have realized he is trying to eat the neons hes mouth is litterally 8x to small! but i like the neons so they will be moving soon ( being the bichirs)! all they ate was a couple of flakes and some shrimp pellet! well the shrimp pellet took him a while is there anyway i could break it into smaller hunks so he could eat the hole thing!! i think he is big enough to eat fry so i am going to go to my lfs and see if the have any for sale anyone have any experience with this! i cant get my guppeis to breed but i am giving them time!

here a pic of the 2 that i took this morning the look pretty cool ones behide the heater and the other one you should be able to find!http://img33.exs.cx/my.php?loc=img33&image=EELrezized.jpg

i did some experimenting on feeding the bichirs and i found that they will eat betta bites and freze dried tubifex worms1

One of the ones in that pic (the one swimming downwards) looks really skinny, make sure you fatten him up!!!

ya i will try! ya i need to try today i geuss i will have to give him a couple of good helpings of food! Guess what i have another ? (lol) will it ever be possible to feed him crickets if so what size allso i saw some pretty small feeders at my lfs could i just keep those in a seperate tank for a week or 2 feed them a high protien diet and then feed them 2 my bichirs if so what size?

Well, its been three weeks since we last posted here...I was wondering how everyone's baby bichirs are doing.

hey my man hows that book coming! my bichirs are looking great very fat i think thats a good thing! hmm i'd say much bigger than the eraser of a pencil im feeding them frozen brine shrimp in the morning and worms at night sometimes i skip the worms for pellets! um they are both pretty even in wideth but one of them is now 2.7in and the other 2.3 inch! they have grow a bit from the 2in and 1.7 inches i got them at! eating very well! right now in a small tank 6 gallon since i dumped a can of food into my 33 will be going back into my 33 soon like today and i'm getting my 35 gallon soon to! i would get some pics but the batteries on my camera are low! i will get some tonight or around 4pm easteren time i think i am going bolwing so i will try to get them before then cause then you will see them before 4! also i have a qiuck ?
what type of internet connection do you all have my camera can take with no sound in an avi and i could show you it eating or something! i would make the web site to post it on and since it would be an avi! so i was wundering what type of internet connection you all have! thanks fish1

Well, its been three weeks since we last posted here...I was wondering how everyone's baby bichirs are doing.

I have a hard time calling mine a baby anymore. He is now in my 29g holding and growing very nicely. I am afraid though that i may have to find him a new home eventually because i doubt an ornate can live in a 180g forever.

you can sell him when he gets to big but by that time you will want to hold on to him! i still call mine a baby!

[span class="edited"][Edited by fish1 2004-07-22 10:30][/span]

fish1, I have high-speed cable.

Lunker...if your 180 is wide enough, and he is more or less solitary in it, you sould do fine...and if you do decide to sell him, the going rate in North America for a 24" ornate is $150-$250 (in Aus, he would be a $1500 fish).

ok im thinking of setting up a site were i could post some of those there really cool! um tortios should i be worried about stunting in the 6gallon cause i think i might leave them in a little longer also i dont think this was good about a months ago i was stupid and tossed a little peice of lemon pepper chicken and my eels ate it i emidiately thought that after they ate it ! but it seems it did know harm! im thinking about try night crawlers soon!

Keep up with water changes every 3-4 days on that 6, and you shoul be good for a couple more weeks.

well in that case its do for a change!

Looks like a pair of my P. palmas polli may be doing the spawning dance....its a bit late in the season, but she appears to be ovulating, so keep your fingers crossed.

cool well i moved them from the 6 cause im giong to set it up for fidlers! they are doing good and get fat! i keep em croosed

That would be awsome if they are spawning. I would love to see some of your setups, im sure you have numerous polypterus tanks. I really hate worrying about my ornate becoming too big, im sure it will be awhile before that becomes a problem but i really dont see myself getting a larger tank after the 180. BTW Toirtis, i was wondering what you would say is the PH range on bichirs. Many of the sites i have been to do not list anything higher than 7.5, but i thought some have been found in some of the same very alkaline enviroments as some cichlids?.

[span class="edited"][Edited by 2004-07-24 23:04][/span]

They seem to tolerate pHs between 6.0-8.6 quite well (as you may know, ornates are found in Tanganyika)....I keep mine at around 7.4.

i keep mine 7.0! if that helpswell toirtis i can see them growing like every other other day so im expecting they will polish off those neons soon they only bother the neons during feeding time! but i figure some day they will be down the old gullit! o ya i go to the beach every summer last week of august and we go crabbing every day! well my grandma cooks em in all but i was wundering if i could feed some of that meat 2 my bichirs??it would be un seasoned well this one anyway i would just grab a claw right be she put them in the boil is seperately or when i got home! i will try to get some pics tonight! fish1

Yes, but not too much....it is an incomplete meal, and rather fatty.

ok thanks toitis! um well the smallest neon is missing! so im looking to get that tank like this weekend!] what about minnows could i feed them those?

Sure...feeder minnows, feeder guppies (I prefer using livebearers, especially home-grown ones), or even thawed frozen bait minnows.

yes. i go to a lake in the summer and they have minnows all over the place!

I don't suggest wild minnows, as you could be introducing all sorts of parasites, etc into your tank.

o well what if a qt them for 2weeks or not! i dont really want to feed my eels live fish to often anyway!