Does anyone have any info or know of any sites that have good info on bichir eels? I have what Petsmart calls a Dinosaur Eel, but they also told me he would be fine in a 5 Gallon and only get to be 5 inches....yeah right... He is currently housed in a five gallon with a striped raphael and a pleco. Very cramped. Next month I'm going to move him to a 55 gallon that I'm getting for my birthday. I feel so bad for them I told my mom and dad I don't want anything else for my birthday other than to get them out of there. Thanks.
Bichir Eels
- Thread starter lilchris_28
- Start date
is this what u have purchased http://images.google.com/imgres?img.../images?q=senegalus+bichir&svnum=10&hl=en&lr=..... and if so it says they reach about 30- 40 cm which is far larger than 5 " lol way to go big chain pet stores well as u have found out by now u cant always trust what they tell u. but dont feel bad i fell for the same trap as they assured me a red bellied pacu would only reach about 10 - 12 inches and after i researched it way after i bought the fish i found out they can easily 18-24 in a home aquarium. oh i was pissed but i had no one to blame but my own ignorance now i research every fish i want to buy way before i go looking.
patoloco
De seguro no sabes lo que dice aqu
Yes, that's what I have and that's why I'm do research on the fish I'm now considering BEFORE I buy them.
I have what Petsmart calls a Dinosaur Eel,
What you have is a Polypterus senegalus and should reach 10-12 inches adult size
Jason the size differs with the different species but usually senegals max out at 10-12inches
heres a list of species and sizes
Species and sizes
maximum known sizes often smaller in captivity
Upper Jaw Species-Upper jaw protrudes past lower jaw
P. palmas palmas ('palmas' bichir)- 13"
(subspecies)P. palmas polli ('marbled bichir)- 14"(there seems to be evidence to promote this to its own species)
(subspecies) P. palmas buettikoferi ('buettikoferi' bichir)- 13"
P. ornatipinnis ('ornate' bichir)- 27"
P. delhezi ('armoured' or 'delhez's' bichir)- 14"
P. senegalus senegalus ('Senegal' or 'Cuiver's' bichir)- 12"
(possible subspecies)P. senegalus meridionalis- 12"+
There is, Also the possibility of a third member of the Polypterus senegalus
group that is found in the Nile River
P. retropinnis retropinnis ('retropinnis' bichir)- 14"
(subspecies)P. retropinnis lowei ('Lowe's' bichir)- 12"
P. weeksi ('week's' bichir)- 20"
P.teugelsi (found only in the Cross river)
E. calabaricus ('Ropefish')- 15"-30" (Closer to 15''-20'' in captivity)
Lower Jaw Species-Lower protrudes past upper jaw
P. endlicheri endlicheri ('saddled' or 'red' bichir)- 32", possibly more
(subspecies)P. endlicheri congicus ('giant' or 'congo' bichir)- 39"
P. Bichir lapradei ('Lapradei' bichir)- 24"
P. bichir bichir-30+ ''
P.ansorgii*
There are a couple of as-yet-undescribed (scientifically) Polypterids
Variations
There are variations of the above including
short bodied:
longfinned:
albinoism:Albino Polypterids have a pink/ white body with red eyes if they are a species with pronounced markings
these are often yellowish in color
leustic:Leustic (platinum) are silver/whitish bodies with black eyes.
.*There are only 3 known examples to exist and they are in museums its possible
this species is extinct.-Anne
What you have is a Polypterus senegalus and should reach 10-12 inches adult size
Jason the size differs with the different species but usually senegals max out at 10-12inches
heres a list of species and sizes
Species and sizes
maximum known sizes often smaller in captivity
Upper Jaw Species-Upper jaw protrudes past lower jaw
P. palmas palmas ('palmas' bichir)- 13"
(subspecies)P. palmas polli ('marbled bichir)- 14"(there seems to be evidence to promote this to its own species)
(subspecies) P. palmas buettikoferi ('buettikoferi' bichir)- 13"
P. ornatipinnis ('ornate' bichir)- 27"
P. delhezi ('armoured' or 'delhez's' bichir)- 14"
P. senegalus senegalus ('Senegal' or 'Cuiver's' bichir)- 12"
(possible subspecies)P. senegalus meridionalis- 12"+
There is, Also the possibility of a third member of the Polypterus senegalus
group that is found in the Nile River
P. retropinnis retropinnis ('retropinnis' bichir)- 14"
(subspecies)P. retropinnis lowei ('Lowe's' bichir)- 12"
P. weeksi ('week's' bichir)- 20"
P.teugelsi (found only in the Cross river)
E. calabaricus ('Ropefish')- 15"-30" (Closer to 15''-20'' in captivity)
Lower Jaw Species-Lower protrudes past upper jaw
P. endlicheri endlicheri ('saddled' or 'red' bichir)- 32", possibly more
(subspecies)P. endlicheri congicus ('giant' or 'congo' bichir)- 39"
P. Bichir lapradei ('Lapradei' bichir)- 24"
P. bichir bichir-30+ ''
P.ansorgii*
There are a couple of as-yet-undescribed (scientifically) Polypterids
Variations
There are variations of the above including
short bodied:
longfinned:
albinoism:Albino Polypterids have a pink/ white body with red eyes if they are a species with pronounced markings
these are often yellowish in color
leustic:Leustic (platinum) are silver/whitish bodies with black eyes.
.*There are only 3 known examples to exist and they are in museums its possible
this species is extinct.-Anne
ok i am so glad there are others who didn't know the details of these fish. i am getting one today and i was thinking of getting two for breeding purposes. how do you tell the difference in male and female? pet store workers aren't really that well educated on the topic.
i was told by a very reliable source(a LFS owner who has a bachelors from OSU in zoology and in the equivilent to marine biology but freshwater) that bichirs are very difficult to breed in captivity..and not to be picky but 30-40 cm is 11.7-15.6 inches thats an exact conversion so now u know what ur dealing with but i highly recomend the bichirs they are a very cool fish and very hardy i mean they can breath oxygen if they have to i am a very big fan of bichirs and lungfish.
Yes they can be hard to breed in captivity depending on the species.Polypterus senegalus is not one of them and most you see in Petco and petsmart are farmed
As for size I have never seen nor heard of a P.senegal reaching much over 12'' in captivity-Anne
As for size I have never seen nor heard of a P.senegal reaching much over 12'' in captivity-Anne