Holyfish75;1427788; said:
how would one identify a bichir bichir against a lapreadi? does the head structure differ? does the no. of finlets count as a criteria in this case? how about markings and max size?
from what i've seen, the head/jaw shape is different, its actually one of the main differences i notice, but the difference is not what you described. i don't think bichir bichir has a box like head structure from pics i've seen.
i have a lapradei that may look similar to what you were describing. do you have a pic?
the markings are somewhat different between the two, but some Nigerian lapradei and bichir bichir do have very similar patterns.
and all the bichir bichir i've seen (in pics of course) have 15-16+ dorsal finlets (depending on how you count that last one). lapradei usually 13-14 (although 15 is definitely a possibility, just uncommon). So dorsal finlets count alone cannot be used as the ID when its in the overlapping range. i personally look at all the different features together.
from what i've read, bichir bichir grows much faster and larger.
lapradei is usually a slow grower and shy feeder. max size is listed at 2.5 feet in the wild. largest i've seen is ~2 feet. in aquariums, 18"-20" lapradei is considered large in my book, and probably takes a long time to get that big.
theres unconfirmed report of 4 feet P. bichir bichir in the wild. biggest i've seen is 2.5 feet (on japanese sites), but based on its growth, i believe it may be the largest bichir species, bigger than congicus even.
just hopping that some experienced bichir keepers can advise on the differences between the 2 species. i'm not able to differenciate then apart, as their visual differences are subtle? apart fro mthe elongated bodies and darker base colour, are there any major differences between the two? any pics would be very much appreciated. 
, hope someone here can help. 
