(UK) Wanted! Polypterus senegalus

[JohnFM]

Does anyone in the UK (specifically the Oxfordshire area) have any mature Polypterus senegalus that they are willing to part with?

I am hoping to set up some breedings and so obviously need mature fish.

Any advice on shops that might be able to help will be appreciated....

 

[CFC]

I have a 4 year old male that is currently about 7 to 8 inch long that i may consider donating towards a breeding project, i had planned to breed them myself but lost the female when she jumped out of the tank one night. Let me know if you have any luck finding similar sized females and we may be able to sort something out.

 

[JohnFM]

Sounds good, I'm still trying all avenues to find other mature fish...

 

[BichirKeeper]

Gah, I have a mature male/female pair that i'd love to donate... But I'm in the states

 

[JohnFM]

Thanks anyway Bichirkeeper.
As well as looking for fish, I'm also after tips and hints on how to raise chances of successful breeding.
I've got various books and papers, but theres nothing quite like a bit of first-hand advice....

 

[CFC]

I have seen what i believe to be some kind of breeding behaviour between the male senegalus and a female ornatapinnis twice his size, they will on occassion swim around the tank side by side entwining their bodies before ending up in a tangled heap in the vallis, this always occurs after a large water change with cold water which drops the tank temperature by a couple of degrees. Of course nothing ever comes of it but i believe that if a suitable pair were found then heavy feedings (prehaps using small live fish as well although i am usually against the idea of live feeders) and large water changes would probably trigger a spawning as most predatory tropical fish will spawn when there is a abundance of small fry around for their young to prey on and the rainy season is well underway.

 

[JohnFM]

I had heard about water changes stimulating breeding. One of the other tips I've heard is to add a small amount of sea water - the theory being that it provides some minerals that might have been missing.

 

[JohnFM]

Just bumping this.

Anyone got any new ideas?
I didnt expect them to be this difficult to track down....

 

[beblondie]

Senegals are sexually mature at a year to two years of age.-Anne

 

[SirMinion]

They've got about 30 in Seapets in Colchester (Essex).. too far to go?

 

[JohnFM]

Lots of places were looking into this for me, but it seems that big Bichirs don't crop up very often - I guess everyone loves theirs too much to give it up!

I'm getting about half a dozen 6-8" Senegals now that I'll have to let grow through before breeding. Might be a bit of a time lag, but hopefully not too much.