getting ornate to grow quickly

[beblondie]

when born Polyptrids go thru a larval stage and have external gills.The externalgills are usually gone by the time the juvi bichirs are old enough for sale,However some retain these gills for quite some time -Anne

 

[ninoe]

my ornate is the slowest growing bichir ive got. im not sure if that's because it's an ornate or if it is just the individual. interestingly, it's at about 6'' now, and it still has external gills, although they are tiny now

same here, it seems my del and ornates have been growing slow but steady, compared to my other bichirs, fastest one to date is 2 of y P.sens and my endli endli

 

[Dirty Old Man]

My ornate is also the slowest growing fish in my tank. I bought it @ 3" back in Feb. and it's only now pushing 6". My 2 senegals and 1 albino senegal grew from about 1.5" to nearly 6" within the same time frame. They all have access to the same foods (feeders, ghost shrimp, meal worms, earthworms, and frozen foods.)

 

[robroy]

I find earthworms/night crawlers very good for growth-worth a try.

 

[Sburke82]

I think all ornates must grow slowly. Mine has only grown about 2 inches in 3 months. However, my senegal grew from 3 inches to 9 inches in three months.

 

[rkc772]

i have 6 bichir in a 10 gal tank. 2 ornate and 4 delhenzi. i feed them 2x a day, either a combination of live blood worm, market shrimp or krills. two weeks before i feed them with 60 feeders for 5 days. but now i'm stopping the feeder feeding. water change is done every other day. 25-30%. temp is stable at 78-82 since it's summer. filter is hob and a sponge filter with high output airpump. my delhezis grew an good 25-30% and my ornate are growing 20% in 1 1/2 month time. and the 10 gal is getting small for them. i need them go grow a little bit more to put them into the 180 tank.