Senior Puff: My cute little Ornate Bichir

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grmanrocks

grmanrocks

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Apr 22, 2006
1,237
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Fishville
I finaly got my ornate bichir on friday. i havnt had a tank in a while and when i did it was shared with the rest of my family. so i was limited to what i could have. i had a piscus cat that ate all the other fish in the tank :headbang2 . but that bad rap forbid me from having any more carnivorous fish in our community tank:cry: including bichirs. Unitl now!!!
i recently purchased a little 10 gallon in order to rear my one and only fish i plan to have, a baby (and i mean baby ornate bichir.) i know 10 gallons is tooo small but right now he is only 2.5 inches long, so i will get him a bigger tank when he outgrows this one. any advice for a new bichir owner.
 
grmanrocks said:
I finaly got my ornate bichir on friday. i havnt had a tank in a while and when i did it was shared with the rest of my family. so i was limited to what i could have. i had a piscus cat that ate all the other fish in the tank :headbang2 . but that bad rap forbid me from having any more carnivorous fish in our community tank:cry: including bichirs. Unitl now!!!
i recently purchased a little 10 gallon in order to rear my one and only fish i plan to have, a baby (and i mean baby ornate bichir.) i know 10 gallons is tooo small but right now he is only 2.5 inches long, so i will get him a bigger tank when he outgrows this one. any advice for a new bichir owner.
Click to expand...

My only advice for you really is to do research on the Ornate first. I'm actually in the process of trying to find myself a baby Delhezi (which I think I know where I can get one from...*coughcoughToyincough*...
But, seriously...the only defense in having very bad things happen is research. My research advice to you:
1) Learn about all Polypterus.
2) Learn about specifically the Ornate
3) Live by what you learn

Do those three things, and trust me...You'll be fine. :)

Shane,
 
Nice thing about bichirs care is the same for all
Care of young
Young bichirs in this example P.senegalus, As they
breed in captivity and are now being farm raised
and are the most readily available subjuvenile of
the bichirs and the cheapest ( $5-10) range
and they are incerdibly small when we buy them
2''-3'' is about normal .
This is how I raise them certainly there are other
ways. I use the step up system in other words
small fish small tank as it grows I move it up
to bigger tank. Its a three step process I use
they start off in a 10 gallon tank with the water
level reduced to about half the tanks volume
fine gravel or sand for the substrate and silk
plants for cover and to float in.At this stage
they are fed bloodworms and baby brine shrimp
chopped squid and very small silversides
I feed small portions a few times a day.This
isn't possible for many but try feeding morning
and again at night, between now and 7" they
are undergoing their greatest growth and are
hungry constantly
When they reach approx. 5'' i add a small
power filter and raise the water level to approx
2 inches under the trim frame.At this size they are
bigger foods small feeder, ghostshrimp,bloodworms
earthworms etc .They stay in this tank till 7-8'' at which point
I move them to a 20 gallon long for final growout
These steps allow the bichir room to exercise
but still small enough so its easy to find/catch
food. Of course if I get a bigger specime
5-6'' they would go into the 10 gallon then move
up to the 20 long this gives me time to watch
for any signs of illness.-Anne
 
Tank set up
Bichirs are low light loving fish as many are nocturnal and some dinural . The tank
needs a secure top or lid with any opening plugged as some species are escape
artists and others can jump well.The water level needs to be 2-3 inches below normal
as bichirs need to breathe air from time to time. The substrate should be sand or finely
crushed gravel. driftwood with short bushy plants.attached or anchored under it.
In general I find it hard to have live plants as bichirs tend to uproot them searching
for food, floating plants are a good option though ,I silicone silk plants to nylon needlepoint
canvas and bury it in the substrate in one square foot sections makes it easier to
remove to clean and rebury in the substrate. One last point no sharp edges
bichirs tend to move close to things and sharp edges remove slimecoat
 
ill have pics up today at about 6 when i retrive him from the OC petexpo, hope hes been fine these last 2 days, i fed him plenty before i left(didnt see him eat it tho), and i hope he was able to get the necessary gulps of air, i proably just have a case of nervous daddy but what ever, cant wait to put him in his new corner :D
 
hes gonna live in my 10 gallon till hes bigger thebn im gonna buy at least a 20-30 gallon for him to live in all alone, sounds good right?
 
grmanrocks said:
hes gonna live in my 10 gallon till hes bigger thebn im gonna buy at least a 20-30 gallon for him to live in all alone, sounds good right?
Click to expand...

If you have an ornate I hope you have plans for much bigger tank than a 20-30 gallon tank to house it for life. They can reach around 24" when full grown so you'll need a tank than can accomodate its size.
 
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