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So as far as I'm aware there are roughly 12 species of extant Polypterid fish, with a few additional sub-species. How many of these are actually available in the trade, or are kept by people out there? 1. Erpetoichthys calabaricus 2. Polypterus ansorgii 3a. Polypterus bichir bichir 3b...

I'm trying to get ABF's to breed but have been having no luck with them so far. I have mature animals that are well fed but they just don't want to cooperate. I'm hoping to study their development compared to that of other fishes, so if anyone out there has got them breeding, or thinks they...

You're probably thinking of Britz, R. & Bartsch, P. (1998) On the reproduction and early development of Erpetoichthys calabaricus, Polypterus senegalus and Polypterus ornatipinnis (Actinopterygii: Polypteridae). Icthyol. Explor. Freshwaters 9 (4): 325-334. The relevant bit is: "Two males and...

I'll shortly be looking to set up a breeding scheme for African butterfly fish (Pantodon bucholzi) and was wondering if there was anyone online who could offer some advice, or anyone in the UK that has currently or in the past bred this species successfully? Any advice gratefully appreciated!

I'd be wary of feeding tadpoles to a fish...but mainly because so many amphibians are in decline that they may be protected. Leave the tadpoles in the pond - there's enough things around to eat tadpoles wihtout adding your fish to the list!

Most of the fish available in this country now are Florida Gar (Lepisosteus platyrhincus) that are bred in the Far East - they're a bit more used to tropical temperatures than the Spotted Gars (L. oculatus). They also don't grow quite so big - although they are still a pretty large, inflexible...

I've noticed in half light conditions that bichirs have a reflective surface like a cats at the back of their eye. I'd imagine they have reasonable vision, particularly in murky water, but that a sense of smell is their primary means of finding food. It certainly seems like mine sniff out food...

You need at least a 1000 gallon pond. Sturgeon are pretty slow feeders, so you need to feed them sinking pellets that won't be stolen by other fish. I suggest you have a look at either fishnetwork.co.uk or sturgeon-web.co.uk for guides and info.

Snails are enough to keep their teeth under control then? I always thought they would need shellfish or something.

Okey dokey, brackish it is then. What about feeding - what seems to work best for their teeth?

I've seen other people say that this species is purely freshwater...anybody got any thoughts?

Cheers. I've been thinking that if I do get one that the shop is calling freshwater I should bring it up to brackish afterwards. How quickly did you bring yours up?

Are these fish only brackish, or do they do well in FW? I've seen them listed as both. Any info greatly appreciated....

similar, but different genes. Danio is just for comparison, like comparing human and mouse for mammals.

I need to use Polypterus since its the most basal ray-finned fish. I'm also looking in sturgeon, gar, bowfin and some teleosts like zebrafish.

I need to look at the expression patterns of a family of developmentally-important genes. They are conserved between fish and mammals, so I need to see if the pattern of expression is as well.

If there is anybody in the UK who thinks that they might be able to breed Polypterus senegalus (or another species maybe) "on demand", and who would be willing to supply some embryos for developmental studies, could they please contact me? I'm also open to suggestions of other lists to post...

A question for those who've bred Polypterus (specifically P. Senegalus) successfully - what ratio of sexes did you have in your tank? I currently have two males and one female, and I'm not sure if its worth taking one of the males out....

Gneral fishy research

Senegalus. Any eggs will be transferred to dishes to develop for a little while until I use in them in my research....no babies for me.

My water's fairly neutral. I'm trying to lower the pH as a way of stimulating breeding in Polypterus. I think I can achieve the desired reduction by adding deionised/demineralised water. Thanks anyway.

Anyone have any suggestions for a safe way to lower pH?

My guess is it could be an Anguilla sp. They're pretty easy to identify, and will eat a variety of invertebrates, fish etc. Eels

They look a bit skinny and worn around the fins....

I have been offered 8-10 inch Axolotls for £29.99.... Is that too expensive, or about right?

There are still some knocking around in the UK. I've seen various new shipments come in this week....

At the moment I have 3 Senegals in about a 30 gallon tank. They're all about 6 inches and each have their own hiding places in the bogwood/rocks or under the filter. There's no other fish in the tank with them. If they get too big for that tank, or I need to separate them later (for breeding) I...

Cool. Cheers people.

Mine are already about 6 inches and are in a big tank together. When I feed them I try to spread the food around the tank so that each of them gets about the same. So at this sort of level of feeding they may be at full size within the next year?

I feed my bichirs every other day. Their diet varies between bits of fish, shrimp, blood worms or catfish pellets. Whats the best feeding strategy to ensure optimum growth rate? Should it be more food at shorter intervals, or the same amount of food more often?

So is it normal for them to occasionally grab onto each other with their mouths, or can this be considered overly-aggressive? There never seems to be any damage done, and they let go pretty quickly. Generally, one goes to the other ones hiding place, has a nose around, has a quick bite and then...

Fins should grow back ok without needing any special food etc. Most important thing is to watch for fungal infections as the fin grows.

Lots of places were looking into this for me, but it seems that big Bichirs don't crop up very often - I guess everyone loves theirs too much to give it up! I'm getting about half a dozen 6-8" Senegals now that I'll have to let grow through before breeding. Might be a bit of a time lag, but...

Just bumping this. Anyone got any new ideas? I didnt expect them to be this difficult to track down....

Gar nomenclature is pretty crappy in most places I've been to. They tend to label everything as Alligator gar or Spotted gar. How positive is the identification on the Florida Gar coming from captivity? Its quite a rare fish compared to Spotted, so I'd have thought it more likely that it was L...

I had heard about water changes stimulating breeding. One of the other tips I've heard is to add a small amount of sea water - the theory being that it provides some minerals that might have been missing.

Thanks anyway Bichirkeeper. As well as looking for fish, I'm also after tips and hints on how to raise chances of successful breeding. I've got various books and papers, but theres nothing quite like a bit of first-hand advice....

Sounds good, I'm still trying all avenues to find other mature fish...

Does anyone in the UK (specifically the Oxfordshire area) have any mature Polypterus senegalus that they are willing to part with? I am hoping to set up some breedings and so obviously need mature fish. Any advice on shops that might be able to help will be appreciated....

Has anyone in the UK had any success with breeding the Butterfly fish (Pantodon bucholzi)?