Louie the SAL doesn't like Garlic the WAL in his tank. The aggression is tolerable short term. We'll see long term.
My laid-back African lungfish 2.5'
- Thread starter thebiggerthebetter
- Start date
thebiggerthebetter
Ive had the same thing happen SAL vs WAL… in the end my WAL was larger so it “won”, but the SAL was definitely the instigator. They would lip lock like cichlids and actually wore lips down to the bone. Josh/Rich have had lung vs lung trouble also with SAL… there more than fine with other fish but do not like other lungs 
… IMO its better in the long run, WAL can cut fish in half and i wouldnt risk the bichir collection with one. My old WAL was a sleeper… he’d cohab fine for years at a time then id find fish mutilated beyond belief lol… For me, “open water” fish were the best tank mates. Even then i had some large 8”+ geo brasilensis get decapitated after many years with the WAL. My lungs seemed to “turn” around the 28-30” mark. WAL and Aethiopicus. Always a craps shoot tho. Many people out there with lungs that dont bother anything. Trial and error as u know well.
wednesday13
I didn't understand couple things in your very helpful input above"IMO its better in the long run" - what's better?
"My lungs seemed to “turn” around the 28-30” mark" - turn killers or turn peaceful?
After a month the bite marks on the WAL back ceased, so I assume the SAL made peace with it. But then the bichirs and the American eel in the tank with the SAL and WAL began showing bits of fins missing, and a month ago the delhezi had its tail fin completely removed (it is surviving and still in the same tank). I think your prior comment was right on about not trusting the lungs with bichirs and about slow bottom dwellers getting bit preferentially. IDK which lungfish is doing it or both. Never caught in the act. Maybe it happens at night. No problems noted with 7x spiny eels, 3x lima shovenose, 1x goonch, 2x phalacronotus catfish.
*****
A new comer rescue Iroh 3yo WAL at 26 inches:
So the WAL (Lebron) we bought at 10 inches in June 2023 is today, 3 years later only roughly 18-20 inches. Three inches per year is way too slow vs what we see with Iroh (~10 inches per year) and other WAL, e.g.
that_Counselors_fishes (YT): The West African Lung fish that I currently have came in at 10-11 inches last May, now is at 21 inches (in 14 months), so roughly similar growth rates and also comes up to have pellets. (That's ~9 inches per year.)
The growth rate seems similar for our marbled AL (Mr. Marbles), whom we got in Nov 2023 at 12 inches and now 2.5 years later it is 18-20 inches, so about the same 3 inches per year.
I think I probably don't feed them enough then??
that_Counselors_fishes (YT): The West African Lung fish that I currently have came in at 10-11 inches last May, now is at 21 inches (in 14 months), so roughly similar growth rates and also comes up to have pellets. (That's ~9 inches per year.)
The growth rate seems similar for our marbled AL (Mr. Marbles), whom we got in Nov 2023 at 12 inches and now 2.5 years later it is 18-20 inches, so about the same 3 inches per year.
I think I probably don't feed them enough then??
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