Probably one of my favorite fish ever, got him in March of 2016 at about 2" now he's probably pushing a foot. I really like the scribbled markings down his sides, they appear to be getting more pronounced as he grows. Mine has been a fairly slow grower, even being fed every other day, but hey, no complaints here!
April, 2016
bowfin by Mike Fallen, on Flickr
And today (sorry about the glare)
20180211_152552 by Mike Fallen, on Flickr
The funny thing is, despite his size, he's a big baby. Never shown any signs of aggression to any of the tankmates he's been housed with and was actually getting pushed around by some 3.5" sunfish when I had him in a 55 gal growout lol. So needless to say, they shouldn't be housed with anything aggressive or they will likely become stressed out in short order. He's now happily living with a group of 3 Florida gars, all of whom pay the bowfin no attention at all.
I was able to get him to take FT fish chunks since day 1, which was quite nice compared to my gars that still refuse anything but live minnows. Just a tip, be careful if you try to hand feed, those teeth are no joke... trust me lol. It has been worth the risk, though, as now he will swim right up when I approach the tank.
Bowfin are very underrated fish IMO
April, 2016
bowfin by Mike Fallen, on FlickrAnd today (sorry about the glare)
20180211_152552 by Mike Fallen, on FlickrThe funny thing is, despite his size, he's a big baby. Never shown any signs of aggression to any of the tankmates he's been housed with and was actually getting pushed around by some 3.5" sunfish when I had him in a 55 gal growout lol. So needless to say, they shouldn't be housed with anything aggressive or they will likely become stressed out in short order. He's now happily living with a group of 3 Florida gars, all of whom pay the bowfin no attention at all.
I was able to get him to take FT fish chunks since day 1, which was quite nice compared to my gars that still refuse anything but live minnows. Just a tip, be careful if you try to hand feed, those teeth are no joke... trust me lol. It has been worth the risk, though, as now he will swim right up when I approach the tank.
Bowfin are very underrated fish IMO
