polypterus endlicheri growth rate

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jpjoeyjp2

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 27, 2013
12
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belgium
i've owned a poly now for a year and in this time it grew about 3-4cm(1.18-1.6inch)
i bought him around 10cm (4inch) it looks like me that the best food for him was live food all the other sorts he barely touched
he curently lives in a 450l(120 gallon) aquarium
with a oscar and 2 pleco not the best tankmate a oscar to get some food to the bottem the problem is that none of the lfs sels live food around here so i'm looking for the next best thing ;) and hes not a big fan of frozen food either spoiled brat

i apoligize in advance for my english :D
 
the plecos will end up being a very big problem, because they will start to suck on the endli's slime coat which will make it more susceptible to disease. As for the growth rate it can vary greatly on it's genes. Is it CB or WC?
 
What were you feeding him that was live? If it was mostly feeder fish that weren't gut loaded w/ nutrients that could be the issue, I suggest getting night crawlers, squeezing the insides out (gross I know but its efficient) and sliding some kind of pellet inside of them. That's how I'm pellet training my bichirs and one of them broke to straight pellet in 2 days.

And like Dr. B said, remove the pleco, and if it is CB it may be weak genetics, bad conditions at the farm where it was hatched, or some just don't get that big.

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the pleco's won't be a problem i had 4 at first and kept 2 of them because they didn't suck on the slime coat of my discus when i still got them
about the fish he ate they where my left over fish that where still in the tank after i sold my discus fish
[h=1]Moenkhausia pittieri and Pristella maxillaris a bit more expensive than feeder fish and they where well fed so full of vitamines
the question about wich type
here is a picture of the store who sold it to me but mine isn't green but much more grey
http://www.poisson-or.com/32394-30884-large/-new-polypterus-endlicheri-8-10-cm.jpg[/h]
 
jpjoeyjp2 said:
the pleco's won't be a problem i had 4 at first and kept 2 of them because they didn't suck on the slime coat of my discus when i still got them
about the fish he ate they where my left over fish that where still in the tank after i sold my discus fish
[h=1]Moenkhausia pittieri and Pristella maxillaris a bit more expensive than feeder fish and they where well fed so full of vitamines
the question about wich type
here is a picture of the store who sold it to me but mine isn't green but much more grey
http://www.poisson-or.com/32394-30884-large/-new-polypterus-endlicheri-8-10-cm.jpg[/h]
Click to expand...

Actually the pleco's can eventually become a problem. Since the bichirs hang out on the bottom as well as the pleco's, it'll be a lot easier for them to decide to see how the bichirs taste and once they develope a taste for their slime coat, it's all over. It's better to prevent that from happening rather than wait until it happens. You might get lucky and they decide to never try it but I don't think its worth it.


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I agree with with what they have said, pleco will EVENTUALLY explore and suck the slime coat of your endli. Changing the feeds of a bichir is not that hard but most of the time the owner gives up easily out of pittiness. A bichir can live for about 1 month with out food, try starving your endli for about a week and introduce a new food. You can try shrimp, remove the scales cut into bite size or Tilapia fillet, Cream Dory fillet, Chicken Breast, Chicken heart. Hope this helps.
 
I have pellet trained 7 different species of WC that ranged in size from 5" to 23" when imported. I found it to be a really simple process. It has had a 100% success rate. It isn't always real fast, though. It has taken as long as 3 months. My method, you ask? I have never fed them anything besides pellets. Try it. They will learn to like it, believe me.

Get rid of the Pleco's. I had one kill an Endli in the QT tank before he made it to a real tank.
 
rodger said:
I have pellet trained 7 different species of WC that ranged in size from 5" to 23" when imported. I found it to be a really simple process. It has had a 100% success rate. It isn't always real fast, though. It has taken as long as 3 months. My method, you ask? I have never fed them anything besides pellets. Try it. They will learn to like it, believe me.

Get rid of the Pleco's. I had one kill an Endli in the QT tank before he made it to a real tank.
Click to expand...

Same here. Just start with 1 pellet after not feeding him for a few days. He should swim up to it but most likely won't try it. Then remove it if it isn't eaten. Do this everyday and eventually he'll get hungry enough to try it and then eat it. If you have fish fillets or any other type of seafood, you can do it with those as well. Your main goal is to just get him off of live.


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A few things...

To start everyone is right, plecos will kill Endlies/bichirs , when smaller you'll hear a lot of success stories when the bichir is too small for the pleco to sit on and suck the slime coat, but when the get larger it'll happen.

I also agree feeding them live is unnecessary, I own a dozen WC poly (6 different species), including 2 endlies, all excepted frozen foods (chopped shrimp/talapia/smelt) right from the start and switching them over to pellets i was very easy. very similar method as previously mentioned, skip a few feedings let them get hungry and offer them pellets, feed only pellets and they will learn to like it. I actually didnt have to go that far, I feed chopped shrimp/smelt, live insects and pellets, depending on the day sometimes all at once, and mine will eat what ever is offered an time it's offered. Don't feed meats like Beef even organ meet, it's not a natural food source and fish cannot digest it properly and it will eventually lead to health issues due to buildup in the liver.

And lastly ,That would be a very slow growth rate for an endlie of that size, however (and i'm surprised nobody else caught this) the picture you posted of the fish our keeping is not an endlie, the fish you posted is polypterus delhezi a much smaller species.

hope that helps
 
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