Simple question , how to differentiate between these two ? Most of the lfs are known to label bichirs incorrectly so how to identify ?
Thanks
Thanks
Oh dear lord. Dr B thx for this detailed answer. This is experience.It's not as easy of a question as you might think. There are different ways to tell for different species. Another aspect is sometimes you just have to have a good eye and see the little things that are hard to explain (things you can tell after seeing WC and CB for a long time). With sens usually they're almost always CB. WC sens are hard to come across just because of how there are so many readily available CB sens. So why would some stores spend the extra money when most of the customers can't tell the difference or even care? However when I have come across WC sens they tend to have a lot more natural look. It's hard to explain unless you see the difference in person. I've also noticed, most of the time the first few weeks the WC sens are a lot slimmer than any CB ones you will find.
Dels are a little trickier. CB dels are becoming increasingly more common vs WC dels. Usually when you see "royal tiger" delhezi or any type of del that has "super" markings, it is most likely CB. Another thing I seem to notice is that CB del sometimes get a little curve in their back while having an increasingly large stomach.
Endlis are somewhat easy if you know what to look for. Endlis seem to show a larger scale of differences between their WC counterparts. A few easy differences are head shape and CB endlis have "frog eyes," their dorsal finlets are usually smaller and "stubbier," and their patterns (to me at at least) seem different than WC (not really patterns, but the way the stripes look).
Laps are a bit harder, but usually you can tell the difference by head shape.
Teugelsi are IMO pretty easy to tell. The CB ones that seem to be spreading rapidly are usually always seen in the LFS at small sizes. They're head shape is much more rounded, and they seem to always have a increased amount of red around the tail. They also have a much more rounded tail than WC specimens do.
Ornates are a hard one to explain and a hard one to really see. WC ornates seem to be much darker and not great of patternation when they are young compared to CB ornates. As they get larger it really varies as it seems a lot of ornates look that dark black color they have as a juvenile.
A few other things to think about (not necessarily tell), Is the store (or person your getting them from). Is this person reputably? Do they consistently get in WC fish? Do they consistently get in rare fish/bichirs? Usually a delhezi from a store that gets in rarities and is known for WC fish will be WC compared to if you were to go into Petsmart for example. Also if you buy a small lower jaw that isn't labeled BV or that doesn't have a river variant than it is most likely CB. You would think if a store is going to pay more for a WC fish they'd label is as so to describe the price. However this isn't so for upper jaws. Upper jaws are much more common to come in small.
Speaking of price that is also something I would not base if something is WC or not on. I have gone to numerous stores and have seen CB and WC fish that are price equally, WC higher than CB, and CB higher than WC. It is something that really just depends on what the store wants for it rather than the actually fish itself (most of the time). So a great example I have is I walked into an LFS one day and see they have a 10" CB senegal for $50. I obviously don't get, but rather go to another LFS to see their stock. They have a few WC sens for about $30. Prices can be very deceiving so would try my best not to base my thoughts on the price.
Lol. I read an article in a science journal which says these are very difficult to breed and there are medicines involved other than natural matingAre moke commonly captive bred ? Just curious the one i ordered is said to be wild caught but either way i dont care of they are bred in my back yard lol
Often times when polys are massed produced for profit the hard work and time that you would have to put it would still result in a longer amount of time needed to breed them and fewer offspring because of the less frequent breeding. So they start using artificial hormones that induce spawning behavior and speed the process up. Which is why some might ask well why is it so hard to breed these fish if CB ones are all over the place?Lol. I read an article in a science journal which says these are very difficult to breed and there are medicines involved other than natural mating
I have yet to see a CB bred moke. Doesn't mean there aren't any because there are probably some somewhere in the world, but I would say there is an extremely slim chance (none IMO) that your moke is CB.Are moke commonly captive bred ? Just curious the one i ordered is said to be wild caught but either way i dont care of they are bred in my back yard lol