Question about endlis

[troutking]

well i went to my lfs and i saw some endlis. some had external gill thingys and others dont. what are the external gills for? should all of them have it or only a few? im a total noob when it comes to polypterus

 

[frogman5]

they go away as they age

 

[FishGoneWild]

They fall off as they get older or poor water quality can cause it to fall of, too.

 

[beblondie]

When polypterids hatch out they are not fully formed and go thru a larval period
they use the external gills (pinate) to obtain O2 from the water as their internal gill
and lungs form and become functional the external gills are reasorbed into the body
or often bitten off in scuffles.-Anne

 

[troutking]

thanx for all the help