New Delhezi Babies

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Stab

Gambusia
MFK Member
Apr 29, 2005
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I was able to pick up 2 baby delhezi for 40 bucks! This is a terrific deal indeed (first time I ever see this species in real life), and I had one of them eating a broken up shrimp pellet 2 hours out of the bag. However I have some questions....

They are tiny. No more than 2" in lenght. Yet show no sign of external gills. How come? I remember when I got my ornate, who was 3.5-4" at the time, he retained external gills still for a few months. Are delhezis different in this regard? Maybe due to the fact that ornatopinnis is a larger growing species they take longer or get bigger to fully mature?

Also, I see pictures of this species with prominent black stripes on their back and flanks.While I have no doubt that my guys are true Polypterus delhezi they are not really showing real stirpes -- its more like a pattern of black spots that follow a stripe pattern and are more prominent at the end of tail. The question is whether or not this a typical baby coloration for this species?

Please advise
 
Hi Hi Stab
Some bichirs just lose them sooner than others sometimes they even grow back its not a species thing.
FYI your delhezis were farm bred in the far East
some will most likely turn into stripes as it matures-Anne
 
i bought a small ( 4 inch ) delhezi a few weeks ago and he didnt have very prominant markings.you want to see him now,stunning.give it a while and it will show.
 
Thanks Anne. I knew they were farm-bred, just didn't realize external gills would be gone at such a young age (even if hormone infused).
 
Sometimes other bichirs or other fish would nip at the external gill which would explain why they disappear at such an early stage. And sometimes they do grow back if conditions are right. And as for the stripes, IME they don't really change or acquire any stripping when they get older. I grew 6 dels from 2" and none of them have change patterns and they are all between 6"-8" now. The thing with farm bred dels is that their patterns aren't as well defined as wild caught ones.
 
:iagree: patternless delhezi or less defined patterns was probably once a hot thing in the east. thats why most of the farm bred ones turn out this way. but i read that a lot of people over there now want delhezi with bold well-defined stripes.

also agree with is300zx that their patterns don't really change much in the sense that they don't acquire striping that weren't already there. what can happen is some parts of their initial juvenile patterns could become more prominent as they grow while other parts fade.
 
Shucks, I happened to be one of those people who want "dark, well-difined stripes". Oh well, they are still quite pretty. I will try to have some pics up as soon as they become a bit less reclusive
 
STAB - My del' is about 4" and when I got it, it was about 2" and didn't show any ex gills. But they grow out later. My C. lucius thought one of the gills was a blodworm, when I feed them and snaped it of, and it have slowly start to grow out again.
So maybe, some tank mates had a feast on them earlier, both In my and your case.
 
I saw BOTH babies eating black worms this morning, so now I can breath a sigh of relief in this regard
 
I have 2 more questions that kinda pertain to these guys...
1. Being that they are so small (barelly 2"), I could not put them in with the other bichirs into the african oddball tank. So far now they are in a partitioned 1/3 of a 30 long, bare bottom and with a large and bushy fake plant for cover. Ever since they were introduced to their temporary home, both took liking to hiding in the plant at the very surface of water. They persist doing this even after I gave them a nice little cave to crawl into. The only time they can be seen on the bottom is during feeding and ONLY if lights in the room are out. Being that I have never dealt with baby polys this small, I am curious to know if this is a normal behavior for babies? All of my other bichirs always looked for a hideout on the bottom and so I find this behavior of "surface-dwelling" to be a little weird

2. Why are delhezis called "armored bichirs"? Where's the armor at?
 
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