Enough Room?

[moeligerent]

Hello there everyone!

First let me say this is a very nice site you all have here. I've gotten plenty of info for my 8' 13 month Senegal from these forums, but I've never had a question till now.

I live in a tiny town in Ca and was visiting LFS's and came across this hole in the wall PET store. They had all types of animals in less than desirable living conditions, but they seemed healthy. Anyways, this store had 3 Bichirs; 2 Ornates that were about the same size as my Bichir, but with more girth and A "tiger striped Bichir Eel"(pretty sure it was a Delhezi) at about 7" All 3 Bichirs were being kept in a tiny tank(less than 20G) and seemed a little cramped. Aside from that all 3 of these specimen were quite beautiful, seemed to get along fine and looked healthy from what I could tell.

I talked to the owner and she said that they had been there for over a year, that they have been fed goldfish, worms and pellets for most of their lives. Asking price was $75 each or $150 for all 3. Which really seemed like a fair deal to me. Herein lies the question.

As I said before I already have A 8' Sen. and a 8' Fire Eel, but was thinking of picking all 3 of the Bichirs, or maybe just the 2 Ornates. Is this too much Bichir? I have a well planted 75G tank with 3-4' of sand and plenty of hiding places. I know it's pushing it on tank space but I just feel so horrible for these guys. I know no one ever goes into this store and it just seems cruel. I plan on buying a bigger tank pretty soon but was wondering if it's really feasible to house these Bichirs in my tank for a little while.

I also am running a Eheim 2217 but planned on getting another one of these or just a bigger canister altogether. I also have a 55G tank so maybe I could split them up? Anyways I'm starting to ramble but I really need some help on this situation. Please let me know what you guys think . Thanks.

 

[FishNCash]

A 75g tank has plenty of room for 3 more bichirs. However, I do think 3 for $150 is quite pricey. TCarswell lives in cow town aka Sacramento Queens. You might want to ask him what is the going price for bichirs out in your area.

 

[GarNiac]

welcome to the forum,
you could house the ornate there for awhile, but soon you will need to upgrade the tank, say 150g at least for you and your bichirs to be happy. One day you'll be wanting more bichirs in that tank as you are a member of the MFK now.

 

[moeligerent]

First off I do plan on getting a 125L or a 150G tank sometime in the next year to house theses bad boys. So space would of only been a short term problem, but it sounds as if these guys will be alright. Thanks for the quick replies.

Secondly, I've been looking for Ornates or another "Marked" Bichir for awhile now, and have found some other local stores that have them, but at even higher prices. 1 store in particular wanted $140 for 1 6' Ornate most of the other pet shops only had Senegals. So far this is the best price I have a definitive deal on at this time.

I have also contacted several local people through this site and craigslist. Bichirs have an asking price from $35-$250 depending on size/type. On top of that I have yet to get A SERIOUS SELLER. People nowadays seem like they don't want to put in the time to send pics/communicate to make a deal

Lastly If anyone knows GUMP, tell him to contact me. he posted in the FS forum yesterday with an Ornate that I would love to purchase. He also happens to live less than 10 mins. from my house! Thanks again guys.

 

[GarNiac]

don't know elsewhere but prices above $100 for bichirs are a bit too much don't you think?perhaps you could wait a little awhile to find one with a decent price, that's what I would do, but dunno about anyone else.

 

[FishNCash]

Don't worry about the ornate living in a 75g for life. If you have a standard size 75g with 18" width then it could live in your 75g for a 2-3 years before reaching 18". Most ornates I see in aquarium don't even get bigger than 20". If you cannot find ornate locally then I suggest you order them. I can refer you to a few vendors I have order from if you send me a message. Always post to ask feedbacks about a supplier before ordering. This way you ensure you will not get ripped off. If you go with the vendors I ordered from you will be 99% satisfied. The price of ornates around here is from 15-50 for a 6". Fish store mark up the price by 300-500%.

 

[SUNFLOWER]

I say get them I had a similar thing happen to me ornate and lapradi went from 40 breeder to a 90gal now 9 years later 365gal 26 inches now.

 

[moeligerent]

Thanks again guys,

I can't seem to personal message yet. i think I need to have more posts. As soon as I'm eligible I will send you and TCarswell a PM so I can find out the local value and a trusted online dealer. I just hate having to buy live animals/fish online. Something about it just puts me off, but I'm not totally against it. I'll let you guys now soon.

 

[Darth Scohin]

Tiger Bichir usually means Polypterus endlicheri complex so be aware of this also use the #" inch sign cause you're using the ' foot sign and that's a little confusing. Look at the jaw if it's like the ornate and sen jaw it's probably a del but if it's underjaw it's a endli post pics if you can

 

[moeligerent]

Ok, so today I went back to the LFS and after further study Darth is right. It's a "lower Jaw" bichir, so it can't be a Del. Pretty sure its a some form of Endlicheri. That also means that he'll get bigger than I expected but, as I said. I plan on getting a bigger tank. The other 2 Bichirs were "Upper Jaw". I got some pictures, they aren't the greatest but it's a start. Let me know if you guys can make a better classification. I also included a couple pics of the other 2 Bichirs. Don't let the pics fool you, the tank they're in is tiny.

On a side note the owner was there today, He said I can get all 3 for $125 the 2 ornates for 90. Still somewhat steep, but best that I have as of yet. I PM GUMP but still no response.