my dad just bought me a bichir . what should i do ? O.O

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Let him settle and feed on worms and occasionally other chunks of fish or meat once his settled you might have to be persistent if you want him on pellets as main diet and stop offering other foods till his so hungry he takes to them.if you got him feeding on worms his happy already and a diet solely on worms wouldn't do him any harm I had one weeksii polypterus that took years to get of worms and I still have a lot of polypterus that don't touch pellets especially the older ones.a varied diet on meaty foods is fine I done well on them and my oldest bichir is around 15 years old.


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ok , thanks man. can they be hand-feed like i do to my oscar? lol
really? 15 yrs? wow, how big is he now?
oh yeah, wht are the normal prices on this bichir according to its size?
 
There easy to hand feed I use to have to when I had tinfoil barbs in with them as the bichirs didn't have a chance against them.my weeksii is about 16-18 inches but male so won't grow anymore but his really cunky.he was fully grown when I brought him and I've had him 15 years so you could add another 5 years on him realistically. More common bichirs are around 10 quid upto around 100 quid depending on sizes but for the rarer types can double that I paid 200 quid for wild caught nile bichir and congicus bichirs.been a while since I brought any more as my collection is just right now keeping only the best ones in my opinion.


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There easy to hand feed I use to have to when I had tinfoil barbs in with them as the bichirs didn't have a chance against them.my weeksii is about 16-18 inches but male so won't grow anymore but his really cunky.he was fully grown when I brought him and I've had him 15 years so you could add another 5 years on him realistically. More common bichirs are around 10 quid upto around 100 quid depending on sizes but for the rarer types can double that I paid 200 quid for wild caught nile bichir and congicus bichirs.been a while since I brought any more as my collection is just right now keeping only the best ones in my opinion.


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probably i'll let it get use to me first then i can handfeed him. this is my first bichir, and im giving him the best care tht i can.
in dollars? sory, im not use to UK money calculations, but i can accept pounds.
 
it's my birthday and my dad bought me a bichir. i dont know wht type it is but i think it's an ornate. im new to these fish, and would need some advice on how to keep it. now it's only 2" long, and a bit stress from tht long drive. it's now in a 33g tank with sand substrate, also with some tilapia fries in it. do i have to put fake plants in it? and do they eat sinking pellets and earthworms? how do i feed them? :help2:

First of all, belated happy birthday and congrats on the new fish. Bichirs in general are hardy fish. If you have fake plants readily available, sure go ahead and place them in the tank since juvy bichirs love to hide most of the time. You can feed your bichir with a wide variety of fresh food like chopped bite size chicken breast, prawn (remove the scale), earthworms, chiken heart, beef heart or you can stick with pellets. Try to post a pic, full tank shot.
 
First of all, belated happy birthday and congrats on the new fish. Bichirs in general are hardy fish. If you have fake plants readily available, sure go ahead and place them in the tank since juvy bichirs love to hide most of the time. You can feed your bichir with a wide variety of fresh food like chopped bite size chicken breast, prawn (remove the scale), earthworms, chiken heart, beef heart or you can stick with pellets. Try to post a pic, full tank shot.

thank you . :D
sure man, i tried pellets but he didnt touch emm, he feeds on earthworms but i'll try something else.
sorry, but the water is a bit cloudy from the non-settled sand, as i just put some live and fake plants, and some driftwoods in it. i'll post some pics tomorrow.
 
To be honest all my bichirs didn't touch pellets till they were 5" plus and be aware this is the second biggest bichirs you can get. Just feed him almost anything he will eat which is usually anything that fits in their mouth. If your shrimp are small enough for him he will catch them. Bichirs are ambush predators so lots of plants help them hunt if you are feeding live.

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To be honest all my bichirs didn't touch pellets till they were 5" plus and be aware this is the second biggest bichirs you can get. Just feed him almost anything he will eat which is usually anything that fits in their mouth. If your shrimp are small enough for him he will catch them. Bichirs are ambush predators so lots of plants help them hunt if you are feeding live.

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okay. if i were to feed him nightcrawlers, should i just throw it in the tank or should i handfeed him? and is it usual for it to just eat once a day? he eats once in the morning , he wont eat again on tht day. when i give him some, he only sniffs the earthworms out and just leaves it like tht. is he full or is he just still not used to the new tank?
 
Once a day is fine for feeding. To help him grow quick and if you have means to try feeding feeders gut loaded with a very high protein food. This is controversial because many people believe feeders carry disease but if you can quarantine them for a week or two and only feed live til 5 inches I think you will be fine that's what I did with my endlis. Filled their tank with 20 roseys and let them eat at their own will feeding pellets only once a day for the feeders to eat. After they hit 5 inches and are nice and fat you can offer pellets and it might take a few days but they will get on pellets.

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Once a day is fine for feeding. To help him grow quick and if you have means to try feeding feeders gut loaded with a very high protein food. This is controversial because many people believe feeders carry disease but if you can quarantine them for a week or two and only feed live til 5 inches I think you will be fine that's what I did with my endlis. Filled their tank with 20 roseys and let them eat at their own will feeding pellets only once a day for the feeders to eat. After they hit 5 inches and are nice and fat you can offer pellets and it might take a few days but they will get on pellets.

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lol, okay, i have tons of guppies in my pond, and there are some small tilapia fries, small enough to fit in to his mouth, but he doesnt even chase emm. and how am i going to know if my bichir is healthy? mine only stays at one half of my tank and doesnt want to go hide. he just like only moves at the other half of the tank and doesnt want to explore.
btw, this is my bichir planted tank. what do u think ? do i need to add more plants to it? there are 4 driftwoods in it, and some plants tht i just pick from my pond. lol
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Tank looks fine to me, you can leave it that way. Your bichir is still adjusting to his/her new home, Give it about a week, you won't catch your bichir chasing the feeder because they are nocturnal they use their sense of smell when hunting during night time in which they are active. Try to cover the entire tank with a dark cloth and turn off the light for a day, that should let him/her settle.
 
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