external gills? also tank size for two bichirs, eel?

[sigaru]

hi. i have a question about the external gills on bichirs. my ornate had them [he was just a baby], but i see lots of pictures of bichirs on here without them... what exactly is up with them? i am also curious as to the recommended tank size for two bichirs [ornate and something else], and some sort of spiney eel.
thanks,
jessica

 

[sigaru]

okay, so about the external gills, i think i just read that they lose them as they get older?

 

[vaine111]

From what I understand if they need the external gills they will have them, if they don't they won't. I used to have a 7-8" ornate that still had them and now I have a 4" one that had them at the LFS and now in the first week or so that I have had him he don't have them anymore, but on my old one they would come and go though.
Some will say that a 180 is bare minimum but lets just say a 20" wide tank is a necessity, I'd go as far as saying 6ft long too but I don't think it's a necessity IMO.

 

[sigaru]

:] thank you very much

 

[vaine111]

Sorry missed the eel part but wanted to add if you are going to go with one make it a TT or fire eel. Ornates love worms

 

[sigaru]

lol, thanks again. yeah, we were thinking of a fire eel, which i guess is a type of spiney eel, though i've seen eels labled as just "spiney eel". so yeah. :]

 

[Darth Scohin]

Both Fire Eels and Ornates will need a tank of at least 24" wide and 72" long....Also in high oxygen enviorments polys will gain external gills the less O2 in the water the lesser the need for Ex-Gills

 

[Infblue]

okay, so about the external gills, i think i just read that they lose them as they get older?

yes they'll lose them as they get older. how long they keep them mainly depends on the species, and to an extent the individual and the environment.

From what I understand if they need the external gills they will have them, if they don't they won't. I used to have a 7-8" ornate that still had them and now I have a 4" one that had them at the LFS and now in the first week or so that I have had him he don't have them anymore, but on my old one they would come and go though.

Also in high oxygen enviorments polys will gain external gills the less O2 in the water the lesser the need for Ex-Gills

to clarify, they will eventually lose the external gills when they get older, although how soon that happens is species dependent. environment can play a part as pointed out. Also, for juvies, sometimes they can regrow the external gills if they're damaged or if they aren't completely gone yet (which can be triggered by various factors, environment being one of them). But this isn't true for adult bichirs; you won't see external gills come and go on an adult even if they have a use for them.