Bichir Id Needed

[Kizz]

Well i bought this lil dude around a year ago . It was sold to me as a Rope/Reed fish ...which it clearly isn't . I was then told it was an Senegal or an Ornate but the size doesn't seem to add up . He has reached around 8/9" whereas i've read they reach around 24" ! My tank is big enough to support it if it does reach 24" but would just like a comfirmative Id on him . I'm sure it's a him as he has more spikes on his pectorial fin and i've read the males have more than the female ...Is this correct ? Without further ado some pictures . These are about 6 months old as it it;s hard to get pictures of him as he likes to hide ! a lot !

 

[nmonks]

Polypterus ornatipinnis. I nice species, but gets big and tends to be much more territorial than P. senegalus, so is less suitable for mixed species aquaria.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Kizz]

So it is gonna keep growing ? and get Territorial aswell ? hmmm . They growing big i can deal with the territorial thing may become an issue with breeding pair of Sev's and 2 breeding pairs of Angel's aswell ...May have to rehome him then . Thanks for info tho neale

 

[nmonks]

This species gets to about 60 cm long in the wild, and I've seen aquarium specimens not far short of that. These are big, powerful predators. The severums might be okay assuming that the aquarium is really large, 150+ gallons, but the angels will probably end up being battered or simply eaten. Because it's a nocturnal predator, cichlids, being day-active animals, are particularly vulnerable to their attacks. Clown loaches and medium-sized pimelodids would be better companions.

On the other hand, growth is slow, so there's no rush to move fish about.

Cheers, Neale

So it is gonna keep growing ? and get Territorial aswell ? hmmm . They growing big i can deal with the territorial thing may become an issue with breeding pair of Sev's and 2 breeding pairs of Angel's aswell ...May have to rehome him then . Thanks for info tho neale

 

[Kizz]

Thanks for the info neale . My tanks is 112G and i have no plans to upgrade cause water changes are a pain as it is ! tank is 3 foot deep so it is hard to keep bottom of it clean . I will end up rehoming him as i do have some dithers , White widows BST and some form of tetra in there aswell and they have all been there longer than the he has ! Why can't LFS get the identities right first time round !! bought as a simple rope fish but turns out to ma a major predator ! . I'll only rehome him to someone who has the tank and means to care for him properly . Again Thanks for the positive ID and info

 

[nmonks]

On the plus side, these are gorgeous fish and usually much more expensive than ropefish or Senegal bichirs! So if you got this chap for the price of those, you did rather well. Even small P. ornatipinnis seem to go for £20-30, and adult specimens are several times that price.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Kizz]

Yeah will def agree with you on that he is a handsome fish . He was starting to hand feed until the 2 new sev's were introduced and started breeding now he doesn't really get a chance to come to the top . I pad £22 for him . So either lfs knew what he was but didn't label him correctly or they were just being rip off merchants on a rope fish ! lol i feel sorry for anyone else who has purchased his tankmates and had no idea what he was ! If i was to sell him now what price would i be lookin at ? Thanks

 

[nmonks]

I agree, £22 for a ropefish is a bit steep! But for Polypterus ornatipinnis, I've only ever seen very small specimens -- well under 10 cm -- go for that price.

Cheers, Neale

 

[always4lora]

i paid £32 for a 3 incher, shame they loose their colouring. Mine's a 280g tank atm with my other bichirs. Mine shot up in no time to about 10inch and since then has really slown down. I am yet to see one more than 18inch, obivously some lucky person will have a bigger one somewhere Mine is the more agressive of my bunch tends to hang out by itself where as the others like to stay together. I've seen it stalk and attempt to eat prey way bigger than itself, although it stopped after a couple of attempts.

Good luck with guy /girl , you'll enjoy it i love all of mine

Edit just seen a pic of a 19inch ornate over at the site we do not mention, #41#### they look impressive at that size!