lungfish
- Thread starter no1lungy
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no1lungy;704546; said:
annectens can retain them for many years, their loss depends on several factors, including water quality. the aethiopicus, by contrast, loses them sooner. it's not a problem if the lungfish retains them, so i would enjoy their unique presence while it lasts
----solomon
Having a large collection of them, I can say that this "characteristic" varies from individual to individual. In fact, I have not discerned any "cut and dry" "reason" In other words, any lungfish may or may not show them. Even more interestingly, I have noticed that they COME AND GO. One of my 1 1/2 foot annectens just "showed them" again after not having them since last spring. (From 8 inches to 15 inches - no gills, and just "got them back" 2 days ago.) I have seen this happen now and again, so it's not an isolated incident.
So, as the other guys have said - just sit back and enjoy.
So, as the other guys have said - just sit back and enjoy.
santoury;705044; said:
as much as one may like to reference or not reference their "largest collection of lungfishes" (relatively speaking of course) there is documentation of which species retains or loses the lungs on average; if you are familiar with the lungfish literature, reference the journal articles by Bemis et. al in a lungfish symposia put into journal format from the proceedings of the American Society of Zoologists from Dec. 1984 and put into print circa 1987. P. aethiopicus is known for losing its gills much earlier than annectens (on average), and the amphibius generally retains them (hence its name).
although santoury is right in that this varies from individual to individual (as is the case with any organism in natural systems), generalizations are made (and have to be in most cases, otherwise research can prove obsolete). annectens will retain them longer than some of the other African species. this has to do with genetics of the individual and environmental conditions (very similar to the retention of external gills in bichirs).
either way, the overall message is the same, enjoy the uniqueness of the individual lungfish you have, and realize that in the future, it will eventually lose the external gills. hope the fish is doing well!--
--solomon
I guess this should be the opening of a new thread... gills on lungfish...
You're right about referencing lit, but I was going by personal experience with my own collection. You're right about the aethiopicus losing their gills earlier - My tiny 4-5 inch aethiopicus congicus has no external gills visible.
What I was saying is that with the annectens the external gills seem to "come and go" - as noted in the 1 1/2 foot individual I mentioned earlier. I have yet to see any literature cover this phenomenon. (In other words, it's not quite known if they actually lose their gills, or if they are withdrawn, and not visible, but extended from time to time, which seems to be the case, here.)
One of the reasons I have amassed so many lungfish, and continue to do so, is to conduct such observations that will lead to further, professional research.
This leads me to the question; has anyone else observed a lungfish that had "lost" its' external gills, only to "have" them again later in life?
You're right about referencing lit, but I was going by personal experience with my own collection. You're right about the aethiopicus losing their gills earlier - My tiny 4-5 inch aethiopicus congicus has no external gills visible.
What I was saying is that with the annectens the external gills seem to "come and go" - as noted in the 1 1/2 foot individual I mentioned earlier. I have yet to see any literature cover this phenomenon. (In other words, it's not quite known if they actually lose their gills, or if they are withdrawn, and not visible, but extended from time to time, which seems to be the case, here.)
One of the reasons I have amassed so many lungfish, and continue to do so, is to conduct such observations that will lead to further, professional research.
This leads me to the question; has anyone else observed a lungfish that had "lost" its' external gills, only to "have" them again later in life?
santoury;705105; said:
lugnfishes definitely do not 'withdraw' their gills only to 'extend' them again. this does not make any sense physiologically speaking in terms of their tissue make-up and origin. their regeneration may be possible as you say and have observed, but this is yet to be recorded in available literature that i have seen. it may be that they are reduced to a certain level and then return, but disappearing completely doesn't bode well (in terms of their tissue 'regeneration') for their return.
the literature does indicate the trends i have noted for the various african lungfish species, and that generally answers the question at hand...although, as with anything regarding the hobby of keeping lungfishes, new observations are always welcome
i would suggest some photo-documentation the next time this comes around for you as well--
--solomon
Thanks for the suggestion re: documentation and photos to back up unique observations. You are right about it not being "worth it" for the fish to withdraw the gills - especially when they are no longer used, using precious energy to send blood through those gills - doesn't make sense at all - so your idea of regenerating on a small scale may be more feasible. It'd be interesting to see if this is a "one time thing" or if others have noticed gills "reappearing" on their medium sized annectens. It'll be interesting to see how long this lasts.
I actually had fed her a BIG meal (her, being objective, of course) right before the gills reappeared... Hmmmmm
I actually had fed her a BIG meal (her, being objective, of course) right before the gills reappeared... Hmmmmm