First lungfish, I have some questions

[xTHExHOUZx]

I saw a lungfish in a local fish store the other day, and fell in love with it. Someone had ordered it and never come by to pick it up, and the owners really wanted to use the tank it was in for other fish, so they gave me a great deal. I asked them some questions about taking care of it, and they told me that water quality wasn't a big deal, and neither was the aeration. They had a couple feeders in with it, but it didn't seem very interested.
Since then I've read that you can feed them lean meats cut into strips, earthworms, slow moving fish (which is why the feeders didn't work), and sometimes dry foods.
I was wondering what I should use as a staple for it's diet, how important water quality REALLY is, what type of substrate I should use (if any), and pretty much any other tips.
It's 18" long right now, and I have it in a 29 gallon. I'm setting up a 65 in a few weeks which I'm planning on moving it into.
Thanks for the help.

[beblondie]

What species is it?
''how important water quality REALLY is''well it has to be clean what they were reffering to
was pH and hardness tho.The smallest lungfishes common in the hobby reaches 3 feet +-Anne

[xTHExHOUZx]

I'm next to positive that it's a South American lungfish, as it doesn't really have anything that might resemble pectoral fins. It's actually the one that's my avatar.

[beblondie]

Lepidosiren paradoxa - South American Lungfish
Freshwater
Subtropical
Temp.76-82F
pH: 4.5-7.5
dH: 0-12
Size:4'
Description:The young look like tadpoles with four external gills. During the first weeks of their life they breath only through the external gills.Within 2 months the gills begin to disapear
and air breathing begins
Tank:Furnish the tank with bog wood and a dark, fine gravel substrate.
There can be subdued lighting and still water. Ideally, woody material should be the most prominent decoration in the tank.and open swimming areas.
Distribution:Argentina,Bolivia, Brazil,Colombia, Fr Guiana, Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela
Enviroment: Prefers stagnant waters where there is little current.
Foods:juveniles eat larval insects.Adults:snails, clams and shrimp,algae and plant matter
Plants: Echinodorus tenellus,E. intermedius Cabomba aquatica or myiophyllum brasiliense,Sword plants, Vallisneria, Heteranthera, Ceratophyllum, Lemma, Limnobium,water lettuce,and lemna
Notes: Same as african except they are reported more tolerant of tankmates

They have pectoral fins the one you have may have been damamged but they should grow back -Anne

[lizardfishman]

cool lung. the 65 will be too small in the long run.

[xTHExHOUZx]

thats awesome, thanks. ya, the 65 should be ok for a while, it'll give me time to plan for something bigger

[xTHExHOUZx]

alright, one more thing, just wondering how often i should feed it. I gave it half of a pretty big shrimp yesterday, then gave it the other half today. Does once a day sound right? Are lungfish piggy and will eat as much food as you'll give them, or are they pretty good about watching their figure?

[guppy]

If it has large scales it is an aussie, tiny scales it is african and medium scales it is SA,
Top pic is African, middle is SA, bottom is Aussie.

[beblondie]

''one more thing, just wondering how often i should feed it.?''Every couple of days is fine, actually we tend to overfeed or fish-Anne

[xTHExHOUZx]

ok cool, thanks

[LungfishUK]

Hi there,

Nice SAL. i have one too,

I find the SAL are really peacefull and only really come out after dark or to breathe. i feed mine on carnivore pellets (hikari), bloodworm, earthworm, cockles ect. dont be afraid to put other fish in with him as mine lives with danios and barbs and he has never touched them. Mind you dont put anything in there that you have particularly become attatched to incase mines just abnormal placid.

Wonderful fish to keep with definate personality!

Heres mine!

[LungfishUK]

Oh, and by the way, make sure he has somewhere to hide (i use a large reptile cave) as when they are out in the open during daylight hours they sometimes seem to look and act vulnerable and uneasy about being out in the open.

LungfishUK.

[shekes]

My 2' SAL shares a 130g with a ray and a black aro, gets along with them and seems liked. It has no real place to hide and spends a lot of time "standing" upright on his tail between the airlines in the corner. Most of the time it moves little and slow but after sunset he swims a lot. The swimming looks like an excerisize or stretching and doing it the fish occupies the whole tank. It goes up and down, bends, stretches, bumps into everything including they ray and climbs up on top of the filter.
I dont think it likes anybody but food but it is peaceful and slow. The convict I put in as a feeder has been living there happiliy for over a month and picks on the ray's back and sting.
Once when I left the tank open after the WC the lungfish climbed out of the tank and fell on the floor. Nothing happened to him but it was a scary noise.

[Steve_89]

That is a great looking lung!!!!

[Garfield]

This is also one of those monster fishes that I love....hope to get one soon....

[WckedMidas]

feed it like you would your other fish i feed mine pellets and beefhart if he hungry he goes for the pellets and doesnt mind eating them

[starrfish71]

Cool! I kept an African lungfish for years- Spike- And there is NO way he could live in a community tank- I'll have to reconsider a SA if they are community friendly!

Spike would eat when he wanted too. I fed him dog food- yep- at least once a week- he would crunch it all up, yum yum. And about once every two weeks I'd buy two or three large crawfish- live- crunch those up too, double yum. And maybe once a month or so, I'd buy fresh shrimp- whole- yummy.... and about once a month, I'd put 5-10 large feeder goldfish in the tank. They would sometimes disappear over night, and others would live in the tank for four months.

I would occasionally drop rosy minnows or guppies in there- Spike would hunt them all down- very patient, he was. And determined.

[xTHExHOUZx]

Just curious, does anyone know if it would be smart to keep a SAL with a stingray? Or would that just be asking for trouble?

[Aggro_07]

Just curious, does anyone know if it would be smart to keep a SAL with a stingray? Or would that just be asking for trouble?


SWEET :clap

[garth_the_gar]

How big are the lung and rays?

[redtailfool]

Just curious, does anyone know if it would be smart to keep a SAL with a stingray? Or would that just be asking for trouble?


Although SALs can be tolerate tankmates, i dont think it would be good idea to
rays and SA Lungfish. My LFS did this once and it worked for a while up until they found the henleii dead one day.

[Reddragon]

i've got me first lungfish and its an aussie :naughty: it started eating shrimp bits just after 10 min in its new enviro. Awesome! :D

[USMCtanker]

i have a 8 inch lung fish. whats the best way to set up a tank for them. like filtration, gravel, and hidding places. stuff like that. and whats a good food to feed them

[guppy]

Lung fish can be kept in any tank that will support other fresh water tropicals, they should not be kept with known fin nippers as the other fish just can't resist those filamentous fins. They are not usually very active but have been known to dig up plants as sometimes they burrow, mainly is fine sand. They eat any meaty foods and sinking carnivore pellets.

[concord]

I WANT ONE NOW :cry: :cry: *comes over to LFS and stares at their lung*

[Stone Like Fish]

I WANT ONE NOW :cry: :cry: *comes over to LFS and stares at their lung*


i know your pain mate

[Arapaimaman]

I was 11 years old and my first fish was a S.A.lungfish.44 years later I have 5 Australians.I think I got hooked !

[JimmytheCrud]

Weird, I was just reading the morning paper yesterday, and darned if there wasnt an article about the Shedd aquariums lungfish Granddad.He arrived at the Shedd in 1933 and is still going strong.If you take care of yours you could have a buddy for life

[Simcan]

ara-man, do you have any pictures of your five Aussies? How are you keeping them?

[lungfish72]

I saw a lungfish in a local fish store the other day, and fell in love with it. Someone had ordered it and never come by to pick it up, and the owners really wanted to use the tank it was in for other fish, so they gave me a great deal. I asked them some questions about taking care of it, and they told me that water quality wasn't a big deal, and neither was the aeration. They had a couple feeders in with it, but it didn't seem very interested.
Since then I've read that you can feed them lean meats cut into strips, earthworms, slow moving fish (which is why the feeders didn't work), and sometimes dry foods.
I was wondering what I should use as a staple for it's diet, how important water quality REALLY is, what type of substrate I should use (if any), and pretty much any other tips.
It's 18" long right now, and I have it in a 29 gallon. I'm setting up a 65 in a few weeks which I'm planning on moving it into.
Thanks for the help.
I would plan on a 125 gal minimum, but he will be alright in smaller tank for awhile. I have 3 lungfish that I've had for years. I keep mine at 78 degrees, 25% water change once a week. I feed mine freshwater smelts, shrimp, and tilapia fish meat. Also beef heart. You can get these food items at the grocery store, it's alot cheaper then the pet centers,just make sure the food you buy has no preservatives in it. I got good growth w/ my lungfish by feeding the tilapia meat. My S.A. lungfish is named "Elmer". He is in a 180. He is about 4 years old and over 3 ft in length. Good luck with your fish.

[gorillazsw]

cool lung. the 65 will be too small in the long run.
what is the ideal size tank for a small lungfish?
can you help me out?
peace,
gorillazsw

[AJFRONT]

THEY CAN EAT QUITE A BIT.. THEY LOVE NIGHT CRAWLERS AND FROZEN KRILL