Saved a African Lungfish yesterday

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CuTTy

CuTTy

Banned
Feb 12, 2011
37
0
6
crestview, FL
Had a buddy that was getting into the fish hobby about a year ago before i got deployed. came back and found that he had a lungfish in his 35 gallon tank... I informed him about the species and how big the can get and he willingly let me adopt him. I know at the moment i do not have the tank he can thrive in for a long time but its btter than a 35 for the time being.. I have him in a 90 Gal while my 240 Gal is getting fixed. ( cracked and leaking )

i was just wondering as to how u can tell which kind of Lung it is? i looked at some posts and in some he looks like a EAL and in some he looks like a WAL.

He is about 13-14" long and in with a 10" delhezi and two 4-5" red scats. so far no signs of aggression at all. and man is he active for a lung. i figured he would just kinda sit there like most catfish and bichirs but he is all over the place.

I was coming on here to ask for advice on how to care for him/her. i was told hes been eating frozen krill.
 
I doubt the scats will last long...
 
I will when the Wife gets home with her camera :). any tips with the Lung? he seems to be hanging out with the delhezi pretty well. laying side by side at the moment
 
A few things:

  1. Great pick-up!
  2. The lungfish would have been fine in the 35 gallon for a while at it's current size, but it seems to appreciate the extra room. The main thing with lungfish is ensuring that they have room to stretch out fully and turn around with ease.
  3. Separate it from the other fish ASAP! It may seem like it's getting along with the other fish now, but it will eventually turn on them. With African Lungfish, it's not a question of will it hurt/maim/kill the other fish; it's a matter of when will it strike.
  4. As far as food goes, you can keep feeding it the frozen krill, but also add algae wafers or some form of plant matter to its diet. I also recommend giving it pieces of shrimp and fish fillet to help vary its diet.
  5. Lastly, enjoy your new lungfish! They are awesome fish with a ton of personality!
 
so not even the bichir at the same size can be in the same tank? i mean. the lung is longer but the bichir is thicker.. by alot
 
Wiggles92;4881688; said:
It looks like a west African lungfish (WAL) to me.

I wouldn't trust it with even the bichir. Lungfish have pretty strong jaws, so it could easily bite a chunk off of the bichir.
Click to expand...

Is this the smallest species of lungfish?
 
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