feeding, probably newborn bichirs.

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StarsOut

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 17, 2011
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Kuala Lumpur
hi, i saw some polypterus endlicheri at this aquarium shop at the size of about
1 - 1.3 inches max. I've been wondering, if i purchase one of these, how am i suppose to grow it? what type of food should i provide it or other types of fish at such a small size ? really thinkin about purchasing one
 
grow it out in a small tank first or an aquarium compartment in a large tank
(I prefer the latter since you don't have to buy a smaller tank and the additional volume would be good).
You don't want to place it in a large tank as it would have problem finding food.

As for food, you can feed it bloodworms and/or sinking pellets.
When feeding sinking pellets, make sure to cut it (I cut hikari sinking pellets into half) so that the bichir can easily swallow it.
 
whoa thanks for the quick reply.. ! hmm.. are endlicheri's hardy at all when young and what is their growth rate ? ill pass if its too slow lol
 
Pretty quick at that size if you feed them heavy and do lots of water changes, 2 or 3 per week rather than the usual one.
 
oh and another thing. Does the polypterus species like fast waters ? specifically sens and endlis. Can they also live together provided they are at a same size? getting an endli tomorow :D
 
Polys generally like calm, flowing water. kinda like in the amazon basin, where water flows from top to bottom.

If you want to mimic it, just put your intake on one end and the outlet on the other. By the way, I also place a wave maker in the tank to push all the poops into my overflow. My bichirs don't seem to mind at all.

But I won't use any powerheads/wavemakers for a 1" baby, might be too much for them to handle. Wait till they are at least 4-5"
 
finally picked out the bichir today !! :D

sadly, i mistaken it for a endlicheri.. its actually a delhezi.. nevertheless ! i still love it. Its about 1.5 inches and is temporarily living in a small like.. i dunno 1 gallon cylinder tank? its coz i bought this breeding net to be placed inside my bichir tank, but i opened the box and found 2 rectangular frames.. no net, no suctions ! will be going back to replace it tomorrow.

Since its in a small tank, how do i heat the water ?

Oh, and can i keep 4 sens and a delhezi (and probably more in the future if i can find different species ) with an earth eater cichlid ? will they disturb the bichirs or eat faster than them?
 
Since you are living in KL, i think you can skip the heater for a day. Be sure to change the water every 3~5 hours or so when it is temporary in the 1g tank. With such small volume & adding the fact that its uncycled mean ammonia would raise quickly.
 
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