Skinny Bichir?

[Fishy412]

i have a senegal bichir in my 55 gallon tank. he is about 6 inches and still spends most of his time at the surface. i have 2 problems

1) hes not growing. not noticeably anyways. my ph is 8.5 and he was in 8.6 at the store. he hasnt grown and i bought him over the summer. nobody messes with him. i feed him feeders, beef heart, brine shrimp, and pellets but his favorite is the feeders as he doesnt always get a whole cube of frozen food.

2) hes very skinny. its not that hes underfed. he got down 6-7 tuffies the other day and had a bulge where they were in his stomach but thats it. i see all these other bichirs who just look so much thicker. i'll try and get some pictures.

it would be greatly appreciated if anyone had any helpful info on whats going on

 

[Dangerousdan]

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[TigerMan]

you need to lower that ph quick!! sengal bichirs cant handle that they need a ph around 6.5 -7.8. for your skinny issue try shrimp pellets and give him frozen blood worm as a treat once a week and give him ghost shrimp or feeder fish once a month. hope that helps

 

[Fishy412]

yeah uve been using this ph down stuff i got at my LFS but last time i tested it was still pretty high. i guess i'll keep going with that. he's healthy in other ways. his fins are fine and no scratches or anything.

hes not skinny because hes underfed hes just skinny. like his belly is fat but hes just not as thick as most bichirs i see. i dunno if i can get whitebait but i'll get him some more feeders as it seems he likes those best.

 

[diademhill]

yeah uve been using this ph down stuff i got at my LFS but last time i tested it was still pretty high. i guess i'll keep going with that. he's healthy in other ways. his fins are fine and no scratches or anything.

hes not skinny because hes underfed hes just skinny. like his belly is fat but hes just not as thick as most bichirs i see. i dunno if i can get whitebait but i'll get him some more feeders as it seems he likes those best.

Stop using the pH down - it only tricks the test kits & doesn't help the fish.
Your feeders could be bringing disease. How about lance fish? - frozen irradiated ones are disease free.

 

[Fruitbat]

Severum....

At six inches or so you're going to begin to see a slow-down in a Senegal Bichir's growth rate. As for yours not putting on any weight....you might consider dropping the brine shrimp and feeders from its diet and replacing them with frozen 'krill' and frozen 'silversides'. Of course you need to be sure that you're thawing the frozen foods before you feed them to your bichir. For variety you can toss in some earthworms (available at many sporting goods stores as fish bait and in some pet stores as food for lizards). Hikari brand Sinking Carnivore Pellets are excellent as a primary food if your bichir will eat them - and most will.

Regarding the pH at 8.5, while it isn't the optimum pH level for a Senegal Bichir, I wouldn't be in a real hurry to change it. Bichirs are remarkably adaptable as far as water parameters are concerned as long as the water is clean and I seriously doubt that any problems you're having are due to pH level.

There is always the possibility that your bichir has internal parasites which could certainly have a great deal to do with it not gaining weight. That is one of the major hazards of feeding live feeder fish to any predatory fish. What I suggest is that you try some of the foods I've recommended (feed once a day). If you don't begin to see some weight gain after a few weeks then it might be time to try a remedy for internal parasites.

Dangerousdan.......3 inches in one week??? I find that exceptionally difficult to believe...regardless of what you're feeding your bichir.

-Joe

 

[Fishy412]

yeah uve been using this ph down stuff i got at my LFS but last time i tested it was still pretty high. i guess i'll keep going with that. he's healthy in other ways. his fins are fine and no scratches or anything.

hes not skinny because hes underfed hes just skinny. like his belly is fat but hes just not as thick as most bichirs i see. i dunno if i can get whitebait but i'll get him some more feeders as it seems he likes those best.

Stop using the pH down - it only tricks the test kits & doesn't help the fish.
Your feeders could be bringing disease. How about lance fish? - frozen irradiated ones are disease free.

if that wont work than how do i bring down the ph?

Fruitbat- I'll try that. how can you tell if he has internal parasites? ive had him since the summer and he seems to be healthy aside from being skinny. he almost looks like a small ropefish.he spends a lot of time at the surface but after he eats he stays around the bottom

 

[Fruitbat]

Severum....

Feed your bichir some of the things I've recommended for a couple of weeks and if it still hasn't put on any weight then I'd go ahead and treat for internal parasites. One common sign is whitish-colored fecal matter from your fish.

As far as your pH is concerned.....I personally wouldn't do anything to try to change it. I'm assuming (always a dangerous thing to do) that the water from your tap is at or about pH 8.5. If not, then you might check the substrate you're using and any decorative rocks you have in your aquarium. Any limestone-based rocks or a substrate that contains crushed coral or limestone can raise your pH considerably. If you're truly worried about the pH of your tank then you might try replacing half of the water with distilled water and see what happens.

-Joe

 

[Fishy412]

ok i'll do that. im not too worried about the ph because my fish are all very tolerant of water conditions. i'll try silversides and krill along with hikari pellets. i may be able to get my parents to take me out for some today

 

[Dangerousdan]

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[Fishy412]

well im out of beef heart so ill be going out today to get some new food. i'll go for hikari pellets and silversides along with some more beef heart as he seems to like it. he'll take down a whole pellet which is pretty big for him and then i'll see his stomach bulging but he digests it pretty quick. i think he might have grown a little but not too much

 

[Fruitbat]

Sounds like your bichir is being a happy camper! Glad to hear that it is eating heartily and perhaps even growing a bit!

-Joe

 

[Fishy412]

yup. he just seems to like food a lot better lately. he used to just watch the food but as of recently hes starting to REALLY like beef heart. he'll grab a whole pellet (bigger than his head) and then give it the death roll for a while. i'll take some pictures today

 

[Ami]

Dangerousdan.......3 inches in one week??? I find that exceptionally difficult to believe...regardless of what you're feeding your bichir.

-Joe

I really have got to stop drinkin, and start reading my replys before I submit them )
I messed up pretty much the intire reply.
I have a habit (bad I know) of missing out loads of what Im writing, as when Im reading it back, Im not actually reading it Im reading what I think I put IE what Im thinkin and then it make little sense.
) Sorry if I missed lead anyone, and I wasnt trying to bulls*@t in the post about size and growth rate )
Just another famous Dangerousdan english litaracy c*ckup.

Dan

try going to bed earlier sweet