Any such thing as a begginer poly?

[Tihsho]

Is there a good species of polypterus thats in a sense good for a begginer of keeping the species?

I've mainly seen polyterus palmas for sale but have seen many wholesalers (I work retail) sell many species. Is the palmas relativly easy due to it being easy to find? How about the platinum senagalus? Which species usually hits a max of 2 feet or under?

~Tihsho~

 

[beblondie]

Is there a good species of polypterus thats in a sense good for a begginer of keeping the species?Polyterus senegalus is a great 1st bichir they are inexpensive and the most commonly one available,they are active with lights on,and generally have personality for a fish.
How about the platinum senagalus? got a cpl hunred+dollars to spend?
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"
(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' bichir)- 14"
P.mokelembembe
P. weeksi ('week's' bichir)- 20"
P.teugelsi (found only in the Cross river)-16.75''
E. calabaricus ('Ropefish')- 15"-30" (Closer to 15''-20'' in captivity)
Bichirs I find very easy to keep.They tolerate a wide range of water conditions,they are fairly undemanding fish with a long natural history that can be traced back in fossil records over 100 million years-Anne

 

[Tihsho]

Wow, thanks for the info. You seem to know your stuff. The ones I was looking at I have QTed of at work so they dont get sold and they are being fed mainly a diet of feeders... I am not too big of a fan of feeders and prefer to give my fish soaked frozen and freeze dried foods. Will polys' readily take raw cocktail shrimp, krill, silver sides etc?

~Tihsho~

 

[cuban jey]

Wow, thanks for the info. You seem to know your stuff. The ones I was looking at I have QTed of at work so they dont get sold and they are being fed mainly a diet of feeders... I am not too big of a fan of feeders and prefer to give my fish soaked frozen and freeze dried foods. Will polys' readily take raw cocktail shrimp, krill, silver sides etc?

~Tihsho~

yeah all mine eat frozen foods like krill,silversides,lancefish,sandeels,beefheart and raw shrimp

 

[Tihsho]

Sweet, goood to know.

Thanks

~Tihsho~

 

[beblondie]

Yup they will take all the above mine love Hakari sinking carnivore pellets too-Anne

 

[Tihsho]

Yup they will take all the above mine love Hakari sinking carnivore pellets too-Anne

Thats even better news! All my fish now love them, so I will always have those pellets at hand.

~Tihsho~

 

[beblondie]

Its good you always heave them on hand they can be hard to find around here sometimes
just keep they diet varied with the all the items mentioned
Generally when small <7 inches polys go thru huge growth spurt which generally slows
at 7-8 inches when you notice the growth rate slow down skip a meal thru the week its actually good for them as keepers we tend to overfeed-Anne

 

[Tihsho]

Yeah most of my fish get fed everyother day (puffer fish)

~Tihsho~