Polypterus Senegalus

[§tudz]

Hi,

I have just been given a 32 gallon tank, and one of my Not-so-LFS has a few different Polypterus in, the one I am interested in is the Polypterus Senegalus Senegalus.
I am looking to set the tank up with a sand substrate, and some bogwood. I'm not sure about planting, I may use artifical plants, to save my fingers from being eaten by the Senegalus when it gets older.

Is this tank big enough? I would also like to keep some catfish with it, as I'm a bit of a Catfish Nut when it comes to fish, lol.
I was thinking of maybe one of the larger sydontis, talking catfish, or something else?
I could keep it with Cichlids but I don't want to keep those. )

I've read on the net about feeding them live fish, which I will not do, as most of you I would expect to agree with. I've also read about cockles and mussles, and strips of fish. Is there anything that I can use which is prepared? which would no required coolage or freezing to keep?

I'm not going to rush out and buy the fish for a while yet, as there's a lot of work to be done with the tank, such as cleanhing it, and buying a stand for it, but hey a tank like I got was a few £100 in the shop, so for free it was great. lol, also any excuse for another tank

 

[Fishy412]

ive heard that they really like hikari bottom feeder pellets. i give mine tuffies 1-2 times a month but he also really likes beef heart. he doesnt bother my plants at all and i have some pretty small ones.

catfish should be fine with it. mine is in with a lima shovelnose, spotted raphael, and 4 pimelodus pictus. theyre all fine together. bichirs arent aggressive at all. basically they see food and not food. if it can fit in its mouth it will rpboly be eaten but if its too big than the bichir would leave it alone.

 

[beblondie]

What are the actual tank dimensions?Don't worry about getting bitten its more a pinch then anything.As for feeding Both Hakari food sticks(floating) and sinking carnivore pellets have been readily accepted by my bichirs-Anne

 

[§tudz]

off the top of my head (as I'm surrently at my GFs house not my own, ) it is:
31"(L) x 12"(W) x 24"(H)

as you see not very wide

I think is is a fluval tank, not sure as not had a lot of info' about it, and I don't have the stand (As said earlier)

 

[cashton]

off the top of my head (as I'm surrently at my GFs house not my own, ) it is:
31"(L) x 12"(W) x 24"(H)

as you see not very wide

I think is is a fluval tank, not sure as not had a lot of info' about it, and I don't have the stand (As said earlier)

I have two in a 65 gallon tank along with two suncats, two convicts and one brown knifw and they get along quite well. Remember, senegals get up to 12" so your current tank will be a very close fit for a full grown senegal. If you can possibly up-grade when the time comes, they make great fish and are very long lived, up to 20 years or even more. I feed mine a mixture that I make that includes beef heart, tropical flakes, blood worms and tubifex worms zapped in the food processer then frozen. Live fish or earthworms make a great treat now and then. Keep them with like sized tankmates.

 

[§tudz]

well i rang the not-so-LFS this morning and found that they only stock Delhezi and Ornatipinnis.
I know Ornatipinnis will grow TOO big for my tank, and that Delhezi will grow to around 14".

Are Delhezi of the same temprement as Senegalus? would I be able to keep other fish with it? and I would guess keeping a single fish along would be the best course.
I'm also looking at adding a plec or some sort to the tank, how fast do the Delhezi grow? will it grow so quick that the plec will become dinner? or not?

and suggestion of a tank mate or two for the Delhezi

 

[beblondie]

Are Delhezi of the same temprement as Senegalus?
Senegals tend to be the most personable and outgoing of the bichirs.But delhezis are are close to them

would I be able to keep other fish with it?suggestion of a tank mate or two for the Delhezi
heres 4 suggestions for possiblee tankmates
African butterfly-Pantondon bucholzi
Ctenopoma .acutirostre-Ctenopoma .acutirostre
Ctenopoma oxyrhynchus-Ctenopoma oxyrhynchus
Ctenopoma kingsleyae-Ctenopoma kingsleyae

I'm also looking at adding a plec or some sort to the tank,
many plecos develop a ''taste''for slimecoat so be careful about adding them if you
gotta have a pleco
Bristlenose-Ancistrus dolichopterus seem to be the best mannered

how fast do the Delhezi grow?
growth rates vary and depend on a number of factors including genetics,food quality,water quality

will it grow so quick that the plec will become dinner? or not?
probably not while bichirs are predatory they are not overly agressive in thier predation

What you need to realize is your tank isn't that big I'd suggest 1 delhezi and one other fish either a
African butterfly or one of the Ctenopomas listed-Anne

 

[§tudz]

Hi, and thanks,

I have an ancistrus in my community tank which I was planning on moving, as I also have a bulldog pleco in the same tank.
But.. it is only small

Would Brown Knife fish be a good choice? they grow to around 8" so I could have maybe 2 or three of them?

Or even an elephant nose fish (Gnathonemus pictus)?

Would large tetra such as Black Phantoms be viable?

 

[andywg]

I would be careful keeping two knife fish in a tank that small. Whether you can keep two knife fish together is a moot point but I would want to make sure they had plenty of room before putting two together.

 

[cashton]

I would be careful keeping two knife fish in a tank that small. Whether you can keep two knife fish together is a moot point but I would want to make sure they had plenty of room before putting two together.

I have one brown knife with my senegal and have no problems. Also, my bulldog plec was eaten by my senegal and it is only 6-7", so I would say that one is not a good idea. Pretty much a good rule of thumb, if it is too big to be eaten by the bichir and it is not aggressive towards the bichir, they will be okay together as most bichirs are not aggressive towards fish unless they are trying to eat it.

 

[§tudz]

Ok thanks,

I have a clown loach in one of my tanks at the moment, I think I will put it in the tank along with a talking Catfish, if I can get one from the Not-So-LFS.
I rang them to find out and the guy on the phone said yes, but I'm not sure he knew what I was tlaking about, he mentioned summit about a cory lol.

If they don't have one of those I may look at the syondontis that they have, or their knife fish. As the Not-So-LFS has a massive range of fish.

I've spent the last two days doing nothing much apart from setting the tank up, and getting it ready, and researching Delhezi's and suitable tank mates, I think this is gonna be really nice, although my mum does seem to like the look of the fish, hehehe, and its going in my tank in the living room. lol

I may just put my Ancistrus in the Hex tank I have then, when I get the Bichir, oooh! looking forward to getting the little beauty now.

Thanks for all the advice, anything else would be appreciated,

 

[Fruitbat]

Here's a link to an article I wrote on the Armored Bichir (Polypterus delhezi). You might find some useful information in it.

Armored Bichir article

-Joe

 

[§tudz]

Thanks for the link, but on my travels around the net, I already found that articial, nice to talk to the suthor though

just one last question on the tank mates, you said you kept them with congo Tetra, I have two fully grown tiger barbs (one albino & one normal) will these be ok with the fish, as I would imagine they are too big to be eaten (well sorta)

I have also read that frozen sea food from the super market it also a good source of food for them, what are your views on this?

Thanks again,

 

[Fruitbat]

Studz

A fully grown (16 inch) Polypterus delhezi would have no problem eating a fully grown (2.7 inch) Tiger Barb. That being said....I have kept Tiger Barbs (Puntius tetrazona) with bichirs of appropriate size without any problems. I personally wouldn't keep Tiger Barbs with any bichir that was over 8 inches or so. Congo Tetras (Phenacogrammus interruptus) get only slightly larger than Tiger Barbs when fully grown and I don't keep them with large bichirs either unless they're in a VERY large tank and you're willing to accept the occasional tetra disappearance. This is what happens when you mis-judge your bichir's eating capacity.

The fish in the above picture are a Yellow-tailed Congo Tetra (Alestopetersius caudalis) that is (or was) about 1 1/2 inches long and a Polypterus delhezi that is about 6 inches long.

As for frozen seafood from your grocery store....as long as there is no added salt or other flavorings or preservatives then they should be acceptable. I often treat my bichirs with bits of clam/scallop from the grocery store...though I usually buy the fresh stuff and freeze what I don't use immediately. Make sure that any frozen food you offer your bichirs is completely thawed before feeding it to them. A lump of ice in the belly isn't particularly healthy for any fish.

-Joe