Brown Polysomethingerother......Birchir?

[STONEDFISH]

My LFS just got two Brown Polysomethingerothers.....is that a bichir of some sort? It looks like one.

Are they worth buying for 15 bucks each? They are pretty small, maybe 2-3 inches.

He's got them in a little tank....how big of a tank do they need when grown?

thanks for the help.

 

[Fruitbat]

Probably Polypterus senegalus, also called the Gray, Senegal, or Cuvier's Bichir.

This is the most commonly available of the bichirs and certainly one of the most active. They reach a length of about 12 inches or so and I suggest a minimum tank size of approximately 50 gallons for a fully-grown adult.

Apparently they are being bred in large numbers in Asia because PetsMart is now carrying them (as 'dinosaur eels') for about $5.99 each. Still, $15 is not a bad price for one if you don't have a PetsMart nearby.

Here's a link to an article I wrote regarding this fish:

Polypterus senegalus article

-Joe

 

[STONEDFISH]

Thanks for the info........are they good to keep in pairs? I might have to go pick them up today.


STONEDFISH (still)

 

[piranha45]

they tend to be pretty sociable fish, yes. and no fish can stay stoned for that long.

 

[STONEDFISH]

You'd be surprised..........

 

[STONEDFISH]

I got one of them.........really cool little guy.....how fast will he grow?

 

[Fruitbat]

Up until it nears adult size (which for Polypterus senegalus is about 12 inches), a Bichir will grow fairly quickly depending on water temperature and the amount and quality of food it gets. Growth rates of 1 - 2 inches per month are not unheard of. Of course...individuals may vary considerably.

-Joe

 

[STONEDFISH]

Once again, thanks for the info.......I'm excited about this one.

 

[zhuangsw]

Once again, thanks for the info.......I'm excited about this one.

congrats on ur new purchase, does it have any strip or pattern on its body? if it doesnt, that means its a senegal, the most common birchir.

just feed it meaty stuff and it will grow, but the growth rate isnt very fast though..

 

[Fruitbat]

You have to be careful about using stripes on the body as an identification tool for young bichirs. Polypterus senegalus babies have very obvious longitudinal stripes on them that fade relatively quickly as they grow. They are the only bichir that goes through such a dramatic pattern change from baby to young adult. Some people mistake baby P. senegalus for other bichirs that are longitudinally striped as adults (like P. bichir lapradei).

Here's what a striped baby P. senegalus looks like:

And here's the same fish as an adult:

-Joe