How fast will he grow?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Some piccies :D He's settled in well, is very active and even eating and hunting. Very impressed with him, I've never had a new fish that has settled in so fast!!

SANY0158.JPG

I am hunter, rawr!

Rest are just links to save loading time if your not interested :D

http://www.spodbox.org/~saphphx/image/fish/Dino_2009-06-15/SANY0159.JPG
Wait! It moved!!

http://www.spodbox.org/~saphphx/image/fish/Dino_2009-06-15/SANY0160.JPG
It did move, I missed it

http://www.spodbox.org/~saphphx/image/fish/Dino_2009-06-15/SANY0161.JPG
AH HAH! GOTCHA!

http://www.spodbox.org/~saphphx/image/fish/Dino_2009-06-15/SANY0162.JPG
Grissom is hiding out

http://www.spodbox.org/~saphphx/image/fish/Dino_2009-06-15/SANY0163.JPG
Dino in the front (inside the cave) and Grissom behind. Grissom is about twice his size lol.

http://www.spodbox.org/~saphphx/image/fish/Dino_2009-06-15/SANY0164.JPG
Grissom and Dino (and some left over dinner)
 
How fast will it grow?It will grow as fast as it grows some do this quickly some take forever.

Growth in fish is determined by many factors both physiological and environmental.Factors such as genetics,sex,diet,water conditions,age, Maturity,Temp etc.All of this can impact total growth for a given year by an individual fish.Fish in captivity are on a very different water change and diet schedule that those in the wild.One they get 100% waterchanges daily and two they forage at will.They also have an open ability to select optimal habitat.
In captivity they do not receive the same conditions.We generally feed our fish in a manner best described as"stuff and starve".They receive a set amount of food and that's it.This does impact growth.Small bodies of water are also more likely to concentrate wastes much quicker.I do not care how much filtration you have or how many waterchanges you do a week, you can not replicate natural water conditions in captivity.Co-habitation with other fish in a small system also impacts the fishes growth through psychological stress as well as competition for food and living space.
To help your fish reach its maximum growth rate and potential size try the following.
GENETICS
Theres not a lot you can do here but hope for the best.Unfortunatly with farming taking place theres no telling how good the gene pool is especially with the manipulating of the gene pool they are doing creating short bodies,albinos etc.if the parents are on the smaller side of bichir size odds are the young
will be smaller than the normal 10-12 inches and genetics can influence rate of growth as well.
Temperature
Fish depend on their enviroment to supply them with heat.To this end their metabolism is heat dependent the cooler the water the slower the metabolism
and the warmer the water the faster the metabolism.The faster the metabolism is the faster food is processed and made available for lets say growth
as well as digestion etc.etc.The natural tempurature ranges from mid 70'sF to mid 80'sF so keep the tempurature in low to mid 80's to increase the metabolism rate.
WATER CONDITIONS
Establish and maintain a waterchange schedule this means 10% minimum do do this to remove the nitrates but also the other compounds that are
not dealt with thru biological filtration such as urea,inorganic salts,organic compounds including,protiens,hormones,and metabolites
PHOTOPERIOD
Fish like most animals need fairly normal periods of light and dark 8 hours minimum to 12 hours maximum of light good use a timer if you
need to but keep the fairly constant.Note here you can adjust the photoperiod to mimic nature.
SEX
Female polypterids generally grow bigger than males
DIET
Nutrition-Quanity and quality which is one reason i suggest adding a good quality pellet to a varied diet this insures they get they needed vitamins.Several small meals thru the day are better than 1-2 big meals,smaller meals allows them to scavage thru the day as they would in the wild(see primer for food & nutritional information).
TANKMATES
Avoid species that are generalized as agressive.Generally fish named after prizefighters,satan and criminals should be avoided.Polypterids are usually
slow to eat and agressive fish can often outcompete them
GROWOUT TANKS
consider using a growout tank for very young(small) bichirs a ten gallon is good for this as it allows them to exercise
and makes finding food stuffs easier so they can use the energy for growth then move them to a bigger tank when they get about 7 inches
 
thank you for all the info! He's in a 2 foot tank now (I think its 15-20 gallons, I can tell you easily its more then 40ltr, whatever that is! Its bigger then the 10 gallon I had in the US at least)

Thanks so much again!
 
Nice new fish, best of luck.

Ellie was a VERY impressive fish!!!!!! Looks like a Lap and a fine one at that.
 
Thank you :D

She was very cool! She would eat from hands, follow me around, do all sorts of cool stuff. I didn't think Laps had spotty tails? Maybe she was just funny marked - not all cats have stripes after all :D Will have to try to track down another - if I can do you think it would be safe to keep one with a Sen? Ellie was MASSIVE and if Sens only get to 12 inches or so, I don't want him to be breakfast lol
 
Some1 posted earlier they dont get on with plecos(They usually are fine with them) and u were wondering if they can on with clown loaches...! In 6 years those clown loaches will be very big.. My senegalus is in love with my clown loaches he always resting under them and follows them around! also the size of senegalus im still not sure about.... some people say they can get up to 12" i think its like 7-12". Iv had mine for 3 years now and he is around 6"... he is in large tank and i feed him well! dont really care bout size still my fav fish
 
Size isn't so much an issue as long as he wont fit in PITA's mouth lol. PITA did well with a thin 5 inch long Bala (until it decided to lodge itself in the filter while I was away for the night) so not so worried as they tend to be fat and long

Good to hear the clowns will get on well with him though! Our clowns are about 4 inches each, but a bit small for the large tank still. We've had them maybe for 2-3 years from little half inch babies haha.
 
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