Distinguishing Ropefish From Polypterus

[DarkEntity]

Beef heart is something id never ever feed my fish. Its something that some do and others dont, i personally prefer the shrimp, prawns, brine shrimp, bloodworms and gamma foods these are far safer and less likely to have anything in them that could harm your fish

 

[OohFeeshy]

I wouldn't feed beefheart very often, but there's not likely to be any problems in small quantities to encourage growth.

Although the lack of growth *could* be to do with tankmates- my delhezi is still tiny although he eats plenty and I suspect it's to do with the other fish. Don't know how or why, but it's the only possible explanation. If possible, it might be a good idea to move it to its own tank for a while, that way you can ensure he's eating plenty and avoid competition.

 

[Fishy412]

My only other tank is a 10 gallon so I can't really move him there. I could, however set up a divide which should work. Would worms from a bait shop be any good? Also when you say prawn do you mean like cocktail shrimp or something like brine shrimp? Also he CAN take feeder fish pretty well I'm just a little worried about any disease that they might have being passed on. He takes down tuffies easily and I've seen him eat small goldfish before too.

So heres what i'm going to try to get today
- Brine Shrimp
- Bloodworms
- Beefheart (but wont feed as often as before)
- Hikari pellets
- a few tuffies if theyre looking good
- any shrimp pellets I can find that have lots of protein
- Cichlid sticks

and some eggcrate for a divider

 

[poopsydrew]

if he's only 5 to 6 inches then worms would be the option. have you tried earthworms? "super" worms? or if you think he's big enough to take it, feeder fish.

but honestly i prefer my senegal to not be all round and bloated. it kinds of turns you off. just enough to keep it full and happy will do.

I wouldnt reccomend using feeder fish as they will just make the fish sick eventually. They are also not a good source of nutrition. If you are going to use feeder fish then breeding your own livebearers is the best. That said there is really no reason to do this as the senegal will take dead fish with little persuasion. http/www.fishforums.net/Feeder-Fish-Mini...ns-t148384.html

Drew

 

[nmonks]

Small polypterus will eat practically anything. They hunt by smell, so the main thing is to put _small_ amounts of food in. This cannot be stressed enough. Animals that hunt by scent have trouble localising the food if there's too much. Think of it like trying to hear a single voice against the roar of traffic, or a single star compared with the sun. Too much of any strong stimulus makes it difficult to find the one specific thing you're after.

So put small bits of food in. For a 30 cm specimen, a piece of prawn about the size of your little finger nail is about right for one meal. Repeat as required, but obviously don't overfeed, and as with any predatory fish, err on the size of *underfeeding*.

You'll see your polypterus hunt in a very specific way, advancing forwards and rocking its head from side to side. It's basically trying get a "stereo" image of the smell so it can amble towards it. This is one reason why live food isn't of much value with polypterus -- they don't care. Provided it smells right, they'll eat it. Their eyesight is extremely poor. So unlike, say, needlefish, they aren't attracted to movement. Hence, live food is a luxury, not an essential.

Polypterus senegalus feeds primarily on insects. So mosquito larvae, bloodworms, maggots, mealworms, squished houseflies, and so on would all make the ideal diet.

I absolutely would not use live fish as food for a small bichir. No point, since they're not a major part of their diet in the wild, plus you have the potential risk of disease.

Polypterus senegalus have apparently lived 34 years in captivity. They do very, very well in home aquaria and are generally regarded as the very best species for the beginner to intermediate level hobbyist. Many specimens become tame. Hand-feeding is possible, and to some extent I think worthwhile, because it helps encourage the bichir to become day-active and more involved with what's going on outside the tank.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Fishy412]

ok so it seems like ive been feeding him enough, and i definately see him eat, but is there any reason why he is still so skinny? His belly isnt sunken in at all but in diameter hes about dime sized. Ive heard that it may be internal parasites but ive seen no evidence of this at all.

 

[nmonks]

"Internal parasites" is usually a made-up thing by aquarists that roughly translates as "I don't know what the problem is, but rather than blame poor aquarium conditions or the wrong diet, I'm going to blame some mythical internal parasites that snuck in during the night and attacked my fish". There's almost a 1:1 relationship between the aquarists who blame "internal parasites" for any unexplained deaths and the aquarists who do stupid things like overstock tanks, use inadequate filtration, mix fish from different water chemistry environments, or use feeder fish. On the other hand, aquarists who keep their fish properly almost never seem to have to blame "internal parasites" but explain deaths by acknowledging problems with the wrong diet, wrong water chemistry, etc.

While it is possible for fish to pick up internal parasites in the wild, under aquarium conditions it is very rare because the intermediate hosts (things like [specific species of] snails or water birds, depending on the parasite life cycle) is missing. Wild fish are most at risk, but things farmed outdoors, like goldfish and koi, are also at risk. Your standard community tropicals are not.

The most common parasites on bichirs are external leeches and other such things (similar to anchor worm). These can be removed fairly easily using dips and medications of various types. When fish lose weight or fail to put it on, your most likely problem is the wrong diet. You can feed lots of food, but if it is the wrong stuff, the fish will lose weight. This is very common where people give meaty foods to herbivores, for example. In the case of predatory fish, relying on things like goldfish and minnows would likely be a serious risk of causing organ damage. Certain invertebrates are also very poor in nutrition, most famously brine shrimp.

Provided your fish doesn't have a hollow belly, he isn't starving. But these *are* slow feeders, and they prefer to eat at night. Therefore, mixing with, for example, catfish or loaches would be inviting disaster.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Fishy412]

"Internal parasites" is usually a made-up thing by aquarists that roughly translates as "I don't know what the problem is, but rather than blame poor aquarium conditions or the wrong diet, I'm going to blame some mythical internal parasites that snuck in during the night and attacked my fish". There's almost a 1:1 relationship between the aquarists who blame "internal parasites" for any unexplained deaths and the aquarists who do stupid things like overstock tanks, use inadequate filtration, mix fish from different water chemistry environments, or use feeder fish. On the other hand, aquarists who keep their fish properly almost never seem to have to blame "internal parasites" but explain deaths by acknowledging problems with the wrong diet, wrong water chemistry, etc.

While it is possible for fish to pick up internal parasites in the wild, under aquarium conditions it is very rare because the intermediate hosts (things like [specific species of] snails or water birds, depending on the parasite life cycle) is missing. Wild fish are most at risk, but things farmed outdoors, like goldfish and koi, are also at risk. Your standard community tropicals are not.



Provided your fish doesn't have a hollow belly, he isn't starving. But these *are* slow feederThe most common parasites on bichirs are external leeches and other such things (similar to anchor worm). These can be removed fairly easily using dips and medications of various types. When fish lose weight or fail to put it on, your most likely problem is the wrong diet. You can feed lots of food, but if it is the wrong stuff, the fish will lose weight. This is very common where people give meaty foods to herbivores, for example. In the case of predatory fish, relying on things like goldfish and minnows would likely be a serious risk of causing organ damage. Certain invertebrates are also very poor in nutrition, most famously brine shrimp.s, and they prefer to eat at night. Therefore, mixing with, for example, catfish or loaches would be inviting disaster.

Cheers, Neale

Thanks for the great info. As to internal parasites it was something that was suggested to me. I havent had any mysterious or unexplained deaths since I started stocking the tank and none of the fish in this tank have died of disease, only been eaten. I'm going to do a little bit more research to find some better foods in addition to the ones already listed and i'll definitely keep a close eye on the water conditions.

He is mixed in with catfish. 4 Pictus and 1 Spotted raphael. This could definitely be part of the problem. The Raphael is the only one in there who is strictly nocturnal, the Pictus seem to be active all the time though. I'll divide off the tank so he can be by himself and then see if I notice any growth.

 

[Fishy412]

Well today I bought a bunch of food. I got Cichlid Pellets, Brine Shrimp, Beef Heart, hikari sinking pellets, and bloodworm. I fed the bloodworm right when I got home and he absolutely LOVES it, and the best part about it is that my Severum (AKA Piggy) took no notice of it at all which leaves him even more food. I'm gonna try the pellets again after dark because the severum got every single one before it hit the ground. Also is cocktail shrimp good for him?

 

[randallhart]

I knew those worms would work.
I don't know about cocktail shrimp though.
Sorry to hijack, but I notice my lfs has somewhat a lot of raphael catfish. How big do they get and are they peaceful?

 

[Fishy412]

I knew those worms would work.
I don't know about cocktail shrimp though.
Sorry to hijack, but I notice my lfs has somewhat a lot of raphael catfish. How big do they get and are they peaceful?

Theyre bumblers. They won't necessarily go after a fish but if they bump into something that fits into its mouth then theres no guarantees. They are extremely nocturnal and you will barely ever see it. They do clean very well however. Theyre supposed to get fairly big at about 10" for spotted (agamyxis pectifrons). Thats a foot in the wild though, I doubt it would get over 8" in the aquarium. I barely ever see mine and its only about 5" at the moment. I've seen a pretty big striped and I definately wouldnt keep a full grown one in anything less than a 55

 

[randallhart]

Thank you. I do have a 55. I have a lot of bottom dwellers too and I don't want him eating any and I don't want to take a chance so, maybe another time.

 

[Paul_MTS]

No ones mentioned lancefish!

When I buy young bichirs my main target is to get them off small foods like bloodworm and get them onto lancefish. After lancefish they will usually take prawns and muscles after a while too.

For a small bichir like your take 1 lancefish and chop it into 4-5 pieces, hopefully your bichir will take this. The as he grows move him onto bigger pieces then whole lancefish.

I bought 4 P. Endlicheri Endlicheri around beginning of the year at about 4", they first would ignore lancefish only taking bloodworm, but eventually got them onto lancefish. 6 months later they were 8" eating 4 lancefish every other night.

 

[The-Wolf]

No ones mentioned lancefish!

that is because they make you fingers smell worse than a city dump.

 

[Fishy412]

I'll have to see if I can get lance fish around here then. I've never seen it at my LFS so i'll have to shop around.