Senegal Bichir... Dinasour Bichir?

[Starfishpower]

thank you so much Anne. thats the kind of information iv needed to hear. and seriously you should copy and paste that to the index for senegals or something. its kinda like "all you ever wanted to know about senegal bichirs but were afraid to ask". it was really good. you dont know how appreciative i am for that. thank you. i think my banjo is going to have a really hard time getting his fair share of food so iv decided to set up another tank and move all the occupants of the ten gallon into it when it gets done. i have an old 55 gallon in the attic and iv done the math on how much it will cost me to get it set up well enough to take care of the banjo, the cory and some other fish and i should be able to manage it pretty soon. with my DIY skills im gona build the stand to start out with. after i get the 55 running im gona turn my attention to the ten gallon and make it my project, get it ready for some senegals. i think i want to get 2. iv already designed the hood and am figuring out the specifics of what kind of lights i need and what not (iv got a thread going over in plants to help me out with that). are there any pitfalls i should know about with this species? things that should be avoided, like certain types of plants to put in their tanks, or to many, or too much lighting? i think i might turn the 55 into a breeding tank for feeder fish like guppies. idk. whats a good feeder fish? ya on second thought i think id like to use the big tank for fish i actually like, not silly feeders.

 

[Starfishpower]

imprtant question: how long do they live?

 

[geo7x]

I expect they would live for 10-15 years + if they weren't killed by something else first, but may I ask why lifespan is so important to you? Unless it's a killifish any fish has the capability of living for a fair few years at least.

 

[Starfishpower]

i just wanted to make sure i wasnt buying such a long term commitment that id still have them when im 108 years old! just making sure its not one of these really long lived fish ya know. its like ppl say on here all the time: "do your research first, then buy the fish" it would be very irresponsible of me otherwise. and by the way.... just how short lived are killifish?

 

[beblondie]

10-15 years is the avg. with some individuals living almost 30 years-Anne

 

[Starfishpower]

lol watch me be a good fish keeper and be one of those ppl that keeps them for thirty. oh and now im thinking im just gona set them up in the 55 gallon to begin with and leave the 10 as a litle comunity tank kinda like it is now.

 

[geo7x]

and by the way.... just how short lived are killifish?

Some species of killifish only live about a year in the wild, something to do with their natural habitat drying up at a certain time of year or something. In aquaria these fish can go up to about 18 months though, and not all killifish are like this.

 

[Starfishpower]

huh, ok. that is short lived. poor things. well iv pretty much decided this is the fish i want and iv even drawn up an "artists rendering" of what i want the tank to look like. i plan on putting them straight into the 55 gallon so it can be their final home. im not going to decorate it very much at first to assure that they have plenty of open space to find their food and not have to hunt for it so much, that and im on a budget and cant spend the money to turn a 55 into a lush planted tank overnight im reaserching certain speices of rainbow fish to put in there with them. any suggestions on them casue iv never really done much of any reading on them ever until today. they loook like good fish though.

 

[Starfishpower]

ok i need to know about how to tell the genders apart and in what ratios to buy them in respects to this. i know the index profile says males have a "large pocket like anal fin" but i dont know what that means. iv examined all the pics of them on here that i can find and they all look the same to me. please help me out here and is there a certain system to mixing the 2 genders in an aquarium? like should i have 2 females to every male, or some other combinations, or does it matter? since i have decided they are to go into my 55 gallon first amd remain there im thinking i might want to have it as a species tank. how many can i put in there in regards to adult sizes? i wasnt really thinking of getting any more than 4 (to avoid a large bioload) and to be perfectly honest 2 would be just fine. im not really in the mood to get a whole lot of fish right now, basically finish out my little community tank with 2 more corys and 1 more banjo and that can pretty much be it...that 10 gallon and the bichir 55 and im done getting any more fish for a good while, with the exception to my bettas of course but they have their own little tanks and dont really factor into the equation. getting back to my question though, what do i need to know about sexing?

 

[andyourblueblood]

Care of young
Young bichirs in this example P.senegalus, As they
breed in captivity and are now being farm raised
and are the most readily available subjuvenile of
the bichirs and the cheapest ( $5-10) range
and they are incerdibly small when we buy them
2''-3'' is about normal .
This is how I raise them certainly there are other
ways. I use the step up system in other words
small fish small tank as it grows I move it up
to bigger tank. Its a three step process I use
they start off in a 10 gallon tank with the water
level reduced to about half the tanks volume
fine gravel or sand for the substrate and silk
plants for cover and to float in.I use a sponge filter At this stage
they are fed bloodworms and baby brine shrimp
chopped squid and very small silversides
I feed small portions a few times a day.This
isn't possible for many but try feeding morning
and again at night, between now and 7" they
are undergoing their greatest growth and are
hungry constantly
When they reach approx. 5'' i add a small
power filter and raise the water level to approx
2 inches under the trim frame.At this size they are
bigger foods small feeder, ghostshrimp,bloodworms
earthworms etc .They stay in this tank till 7-8'' at which point
I move them to a 20 gallon long for final growout
These steps allow the bichir room to exercise
but still small enough so its easy to find/catch
food. Of course if I get a bigger specime
5-6'' they would go into the 10 gallon then move
up to the 20 long this gives me time to watch
for any signs of illness.-Anne

i love anne!

just a note nelly, i would be quite careful with bichirs on gravel. i've lost one too many to gravel choking.

i lost my first sen. to gravel today. he was 8 3/4". sad day...

 

[geo7x]

ok i need to know about how to tell the genders apart and in what ratios to buy them in respects to this. i know the index profile says males have a "large pocket like anal fin" but i dont know what that means. iv examined all the pics of them on here that i can find and they all look the same to me. please help me out here and is there a certain system to mixing the 2 genders in an aquarium? like should i have 2 females to every male, or some other combinations, or does it matter? since i have decided they are to go into my 55 gallon first amd remain there im thinking i might want to have it as a species tank. how many can i put in there in regards to adult sizes? i wasnt really thinking of getting any more than 4 (to avoid a large bioload) and to be perfectly honest 2 would be just fine. im not really in the mood to get a whole lot of fish right now, basically finish out my little community tank with 2 more corys and 1 more banjo and that can pretty much be it...that 10 gallon and the bichir 55 and im done getting any more fish for a good while, with the exception to my bettas of course but they have their own little tanks and dont really factor into the equation. getting back to my question though, what do i need to know about sexing?

Well basically the male has a broader anal fin than the females, it's described as pocket like because when breeding the male stretches it into a cup-shape, however this is not the usual shape of it, I've only seen mine stretch his a couple of times. It's just worth remembering that the anal fin of a male is broader.

However at 4" it will be difficult to tell the sexes apart, 4" is the borderline between it being impossible to sex them and being able to, so it may be difficult, and any if you get them any smaller than 4" it may not be possible at all.

Sorry I don't know what the ratios should be.

 

[beblondie]

ok i need to know about how to tell the genders apart and in what ratios to buy them in respects to this. i know the index profile says males have a "large pocket like anal fin" but i dont know what that means. iv examined all the pics of them on here that i can find and they all look the same to me. please help me out here and is there a certain system to mixing the 2 genders in an aquarium? like should i have 2 females to every male, or some other combinations, or does it matter? since i have decided they are to go into my 55 gallon first amd remain there im thinking i might want to have it as a species tank. how many can i put in there in regards to adult sizes? i wasnt really thinking of getting any more than 4 (to avoid a large bioload) and to be perfectly honest 2 would be just fine. im not really in the mood to get a whole lot of fish right now, basically finish out my little community tank with 2 more corys and 1 more banjo and that can pretty much be it...that 10 gallon and the bichir 55 and im done getting any more fish for a good while, with the exception to my bettas of course but they have their own little tanks and dont really factor into the equation. getting back to my question though, what do i need to know about sexing?

1 male and one female would be fine no the problem unless you're really good its almost impossible to sex upper jaw Polypterids like senegals till they reach 7-8 inchs with any certinty.Sexing the males anal fin is approx. twice as wide as the females and more muscular.-Anne

 

[Starfishpower]

ok, so i shouldnt really worry about it since i cant tell the difference anyway. ill be sure to keep an eye out just in case one is more prominent thatn the other but basically i should just pick any 2 i like. thanks

 

[Tobigara]

Quick question if i may. How long does it take for a senegal to reach 7 months?

 

[Starfishpower]

Quick question if i may. How long does it take for a senegal to reach 7 months?

good question. what exactly is the growth rate for these fish? do they grow fast to a certain length and then slow until there full lenght or is there some other pattern? what can be expected?