Is a Polypterus senegalus feasible for me?

[packer43064]

Ok, so bare bottom will make it easier to keep clean and move. I'm on quarters (not semesters), so I will have smaller breaks, but that would mean I would probably only have to move the tank for summer break since the winter break is less than two weeks.

What is the average growth rate of a senegalus?

.5 to an inch a month. He'll start to slow down around 8ish give or take a few in.

 

[Wiggles92]

Ok, so it would be fine for at least my first year in a 20 long, but the custom one I mentioned should work for life.

I think I might make a small area of sand or fine gravel in the tank to allow it to burrow and poke around in the sand/gravel.

 

[Austin]

20L will be good for quite some time if you get him small. sen's grow really slowly comparatively.

 

[packer43064]

Ok, so it would be fine for at least my first year in a 20 long, but the custom one I mentioned should work for life.

I think I might make a small area of sand or fine gravel in the tank to allow it to burrow and poke around in the sand/gravel.

Mine absolutely loves plants. I bought some random fake ones from a craft store and weighed them down and he will swim all around it and through the nooks and crannies. He even "sleeps" under one of them. Sand is great though, I've never seen them burrow or etc. but some sand and a few bushy plants and your senegal will be right at home.

 

[dennisdeng2002]

Just buy a 30 gallon tank, colleges really don't care that much as long as the tank isn't humongous. My cousin used to have a 55 in his dorm and nobody told him he couldn't keep it. I doubt a lot of administrators could eyeball an aquarium's size and gallonage. I mean drinking is illegal for college underclassmen (<21)...

 

[Wiggles92]

K, fake plants sound good.

I can't just get a bigger tank; the contract for the dorm made it very clear that 20 gallons was the maximum size, I think it was higher up on the list of things in the contract than no alcohol in freshman dorms lol.

 

[davcheng]

alternatively, you could go live plants. get a piece of driftwood and tie some java fern to it and let it grow. a *bit* of extra filtration, plus my polys like to hang out in/around/under the driftwood/plant piece i have.

 

[Wiggles92]

Is java fern easy to take care of? I kinda have a black thumb when it comes to plants; I can't even keep a cactus alive lol. Fish, on the other hand, work much better for me; I've managed to keep shad alive for a few hours in cooler before transfering them to my pond lol.

 

[packer43064]

alternatively, you could go live plants. get a piece of driftwood and tie some java fern to it and let it grow. a *bit* of extra filtration, plus my polys like to hang out in/around/under the driftwood/plant piece i have.

I can't keep live plants alive, I've tried.

Try live and if they live great! if not you always have fake for backup.

 

[Wiggles92]

Haha, I'll give live plants a try, and ,as you said, I always have fake for backup.