African Lungfish

[Laughncat]

Hello,

I was wondering if someone could give me soem good links where I could learn more about African lungfish. My LFS has one and I've adored it since I first saw it. Problem is, I also saw this guy's older brother and he was BIG! Even though their large size was a little dishearting, I still want to find out more about this fish though because I hope to one day own one. I'm interested in water requirements, dietary needs, minimum tank size, etc. Also if anyone has had personal experiance keeping one of these hideously beautiful fish, please share

Thanks!

 

[CFC]

Sorry ive neither kept them or have any links for you but i can supply some basic info on these particular beasties.

They are not fussy of water conditions and can tolerate a wide range of pH and hardness, once over 8" long they mainly eat fish though you may be able to get them to eat other meaty foods like cockles and mussels or earthworms, they grow to around 35" in length and become very wide bodied, the minimum size tank for a full grown fish would have to have a footprint (base measurement) of 6 foot by 3 foot, depth is unimportant and can be as little as 15 inches, they must be kept alone due to their voracious nature and strong jaws which can easily crush even larger tankmates.

 

[ryan]

African lungfish
Protopterus aethiopicus

As its name implies, this fish has two lungs and can breathe air, which allows it to live in swamps or mud, if necessary, during the dry season. In addition to swimming, it can do a slow crawl by using its thin, modified pectoral and pelvic fins. The lungfish is also known for its powerful jaw, which is strong enough to snap off a human arm.


To prepare for the dry season, the lungfish burrows almost straight down in the mud on the swamp floor. It then turns itself completely around so its nose is pointed up. As the water dries up, the fish secretes a large amount of mucus, which hardens into a tight-fitting, parchment-like cocoon. A hole remains at the top for breathing and the upward pointing fish remains immobile. The fish can survive for the dry season, usually seven or eight months, by having a lower heart rate and oxygen consumption and living off stored fat and protein. Lungfish in captivity have been known to survive this state, known as aestivation, for four years!
Local residents sometimes dig up the cocoon with the dormant fish and store it, with the fish inside it, until they want fresh fish to eat.


Size: Males have grown up to nearly 6 feet.

Food: Lungfish prefer to eat mollusks, such as clams, and also eat crustaceans like crayfish and insects in the larval form. They have jaws so powerful that they can snap a human arm.

Reproduction: Adults are usually solitary, but they meet during the rainy season to breed. Babies are born 35 days later. They are on their own by the time they are only six weeks old.

 

[MAM]

here's some links i found:
http/www.aquariacentral.com/articles/lungfish.shtml
http/aquadex.info/fish/Protopterus_dolloi.cfm
http/www.whozoo.org/fish/primbony/lungfish.htm
http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dipnoi
http/www.aquariacentral.com/fishinfo/fre...sh/lungfish.htm
http/www.fishbase.org/identification/spe...e=552&areacode=
http/www.glaquarium.org/victoria/lungfish.html

(i get a kick out of researching things online )

 

[rsz]

ryan's reply is an exact copy of the last link of mam's collection!!

 

[Laughncat]

Thanks for all the info. I had no idea that the lungfish had such powerful jaws

The most I heard about them being grumpy was from my LFS who said that hers (Lefty - The BIG brother lungfish I mentioned in my first post) would nip her if she didn't make a point of warning him that she was about to be cleaning/doing stuff in the tank. Now the Oscar he shares a tank with (Georgette - Who's also rather LARGE) had a MUCH meaner personality. Even her owner admits that the her and the fish merely have an "understanding" when she's cleaning the tank....but the fish will attempt to take a pound of flesh out of everybody else who dare to stick a finger in the tank.

Anyway, I appreciate the info, and hope to review all the links when I get home (alot of them were blocked by the web software here at work ) Anyway, I still think they are awesome fish, but at least know I know to take extra precaution if I get one next day so that I don't end up with either a three legged cat or only one arm

 

[De Plano]

I think I saw one in one of the LFS's for $900.00. That was about all I needed to know. They are cool, intriguing fish that is for sure

 

[Laughncat]

I think I saw one in one of the LFS's for $900.00. That was about all I needed to know. They are cool, intriguing fish that is for sure

WOW! That's like crazy expensive. That Lungfish must be either really hard to find in your area, or a hella rare breed. (or the your LFS is just waiting for some rich sucker to walk in the door )

My LFS is selling a foot long one for about 50 dollars. He's cute and blind as a bat when it comes to anything beyond the tip of his nose. I believe he's either a marbled lungfish of a western african lungfish.

 

[De Plano]

Yeah I saw another one in the same store for $40 US. I can't remember what was so special about that one. Maybe it was albino or some rare variety.

 

[Eelzor]

I have seen about 4 in my lfs, they are very nice fish indeed and have a lot of character once accustomed to their owner. I saw them with Plecs, catfish, gourami's, oscars and other large cichlids. The lungfish is a Native Australian Fish and actually a great sporting fish here, so since they're native, they can take a wide variety of water parameters and are very hardy. I would so buy one IF they had them in small. The larger one are too expensive for me.