Bichirs

[AquaJason]

Hi
I have set my eyes on a bichir at my local pets at home
but it doesnt state what species of bichir it is except it grows up to 20cm.

I have looked on the internet and the smallest species i saw i think was a sengal which grows upto 30cm.

Any ideas what Bichir species i saw? colouration was grey/blue

 

[Kerber13]

Hi
I have set my eyes on a bichir at my local pets at home
but it doesnt state what species of bichir it is except it grows up to 20cm.

I have looked on the internet and the smallest species i saw i think was a sengal which grows upto 30cm.

Any ideas what Bichir species i saw? colouration was grey/blue

Did it have any stripes or patterns? or did it just look like this: http/www.aqua-fish.net/imgs/fish/senegal-bichir-profile.jpg

 

[AquaJason]

Hi
I have set my eyes on a bichir at my local pets at home
but it doesnt state what species of bichir it is except it grows up to 20cm.

I have looked on the internet and the smallest species i saw i think was a sengal which grows upto 30cm.

Any ideas what Bichir species i saw? colouration was grey/blue

Did it have any stripes or patterns? or did it just look like this: http/www.aqua-fish.net/imgs/fish/senegal-bichir-profile.jpg

Thankyou, It had no stipes, looked rather like the one on the image- is it a sengal?

 

[Kerber13]

Hi
I have set my eyes on a bichir at my local pets at home
but it doesnt state what species of bichir it is except it grows up to 20cm.

I have looked on the internet and the smallest species i saw i think was a sengal which grows upto 30cm.

Any ideas what Bichir species i saw? colouration was grey/blue

Did it have any stripes or patterns? or did it just look like this: http/www.aqua-fish.net/imgs/fish/senegal-bichir-profile.jpg

Thankyou, It had no stipes, looked rather like the one on the image- is it a sengal?

Yes it is a senegal. http/www.liveaquar...028&pcatid=1028 Here is some quick info on them. Although it says 90 gallons as minimum tank it can be kept long term in a 55. But the bigger the tank the better like with any large fish. They can grow to 30 cm but most are smaller. Glad to see more people are getting in to keeping bichirs. I must warn you though they are VERY addicting.

 

[Davo86]

but it doesnt state what species of bichir it is except it grows up to 20cm.

it probably said 20" which seems to be standard length on most commercial senegal bicir labels,

but in captivity 8-9"" is much more the normal adult size

 

[AllAboutSwords]

Hi
I have set my eyes on a bichir at my local pets at home
but it doesnt state what species of bichir it is except it grows up to 20cm.

I have looked on the internet and the smallest species i saw i think was a sengal which grows upto 30cm.

Any ideas what Bichir species i saw? colouration was grey/blue

Did it have any stripes or patterns? or did it just look like this: http/www.aqua-fish.net/imgs/fish/senegal-bichir-profile.jpg

Thankyou, It had no stipes, looked rather like the one on the image- is it a sengal?

Yes it is a senegal. http/www.liveaquar...028&pcatid=1028 Here is some quick info on them. Although it says 90 gallons as minimum tank it can be kept long term in a 55. But the bigger the tank the better like with any large fish. They can grow to 30 cm but most are smaller. Glad to see more people are getting in to keeping bichirs. I must warn you though they are VERY addicting.

That they are. I used to own over 60 bichirs once. I still have some, and bought a new big one today. As for the senegal, they are an EXCELLENT species to start with. They are very active, and even when fed high protein foods, will grow fairly slowly. I've had several, and for quite awhile, you can keep one comfortably in a 29g, but a 55 is a must when they reach their adult size. Another great starter bichir is the Polypterus Palmas Polli - in size and activity, it's very similar to the Senegalus, but it has much more interesting patterns.

 

[gasmask]

Very addictive fish.
More so if you try collect the whole group!

I have every species of Polypterus twice over now.
My next mission is to collect all Platinum and hybrids.

As for senegalus, they can max out at up to 12-14" but as said earlier, they tend to stay smaller.
There are of course many "Super Short" body Senegalus too.
My albino SSB is about 3" and is a few years old. Very fat.

There are Senegalus from Lake Turkana that are said to grow to over 20". Possibly these are the elusive "Meridionalis" variant.

Cheers, TGM