How long can bichirs survive without oxygenated water?

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J

jeffries

Gambusia
MFK Member
Mar 20, 2009
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Philadelphia, PA
In about 2-3 weeks I am moving and it will be a 5-6 hour trip and I am wondering about moving my young bichir. How long can they survive without oxygenated water or low levels of oxygen in the water? I am wondering how I should go about transporting him to my new destination. Any suggestions?

He is a small (3-4") ornate bichir that I just got a month or two ago. I definitely want to keep him but I have never moved fish like this before. Any help/suggestions would be greatly appreciated. :)
 
They actually live in a low oxygen place... so you don't have to worry about oxygen... but then, there's always a risk... What you have to worry is their waste...
 
If a birchir can survive upto 3 hours out of water, im sure they could go quite a while in stagnant water if filtered well, otherwise the waste build up would kill it rather than lack of oxygen.
 
machine;3512463; said:
does ur lil bichir still have external gills?
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No, from what I can tell, it looks like his gills are inside of him now. It's kinda hard to tell though, because the edges of his gills are slightly "frilly" but they certainly don't stick out.
 
Morcs;3512809; said:
If a birchir can survive upto 3 hours out of water, im sure they could go quite a while in stagnant water if filtered well, otherwise the waste build up would kill it rather than lack of oxygen.
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That's good information to know... thank you for that. It looks like I just need to make sure that he has enough water to "dilute" his waste material during his trip.
 
I make about 4-5 hour trips regularly with my bichirs in a cooler, nothing else. None have died from the transport yet.
 
davcheng;3513463; said:
I make about 4-5 hour trips regularly with my bichirs in a cooler, nothing else. None have died from the transport yet.
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That's good to know. That makes me feel a lot better. What kinds of bichirs do you have? That is a great picture that you have as an avatar. :)
 
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