ID this Lungfish!

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Cheesetian

Cheesetian

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Oct 14, 2010
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I know there are stickies to help and i wouldn't post ID threads but i'm really unsure about this fella' i'm thinking about purchasing. I'm thinking it's either a Dolloi or Annectens but probably the former cos' they're more available here. Your experts opinions would be greatly appreciated before i go ahead with the purchase. It's currently 6". Photos were all sent to me by its current owner.

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Wiggles92;5057151; said:
I'm going with either Protopterus dolloi (SpAL) or Protopterus annectens (WAL) on this one, but I'm leaning towards P. annectens.

Do you know what part of Africa it is from? Having locality information should allow us to give a positive ID for sure.
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I'm not too sure of it's origin cos' the current owner isn't sure as well.

King-eL;5057185; said:
West african lungfish (Protopterus annectens annectens). At 6" the body is way to thick and shorter to be a p. dolloi.
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I guess it's a confirmed WAL then cos' a reputable LFS owner identified it as such too. Thanks you two!
 
I agree with those who said WAL. :)
 
Hao;5057688; said:
I agree with those who said WAL. :)
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Thanks for your input Hao! I was hoping it would turn out to be an Annectens cos' from what i've read, they're pretty easy to comm., is that true?
 
Cheesetian;5058979; said:
Thanks for your input Hao! I was hoping it would turn out to be an Annectens cos' from what i've read, they're pretty easy to comm., is that true?
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No, they're definitely not easy to keep with other fishes for life, but you may be able to do so while it is small if its temperament permits you to. For example, I have two WALs with very different temperaments: the one goes out of its way to kill any other fish or invertebrate that gets put in its aquarium while the other could care less for the most part and currently lives with a Synodontis catfish. Please keep in mind that these two lungfishes are still only about half of their adult size, so their aggression may increase as they get bigger.

Most African lungfish in general tend to be pretty aggressive and get more aggressive as they get older and larger, so they usually have to live alone.

Ask King-El about how to keep them in a community setting; he's one of the few people to do so without many problems.
 
Thanks for your input Hao! I was hoping it would turn out to be an Annectens cos' from what i've read, they're pretty easy to comm., is that true?
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Hells no, the SAL is the one that's easy to keep in a community. As they grow, annectens tend to murderize everything in the tank.
 
Even SALs have been known to go nuts and kill a bunch of fishes, though, too. It seems like the only safe bet is the AUL.
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What? Find me an example lol. I've had three 2-3 footers with all kinds of stock and never a problem. The only thing they object to is each other.
 
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