Do I want an illegal Senegal bichir??

[zenkatydid]

I have been setting up a 2ft tank for an axolotl, but yesterday spotted a tiny senegal bichir at the lfs. I have never seen these guys here before! There's fricking adorable! I think I may need one to live. I also have a 4ft tank that is being set up as a community tank.

So, my question is, can I keep a bichir in a 2ft tank? It will be the sole inhabitant (apart from food ). If necessary, when it is full size I can move it to the larger tank, by which time the loaches and the plecos should be big enough to avoid getting eaten.

I have done some research and learnt about their escapism, eating habits, tameness, etc. Is there anything else I should know before getting one of these guys? Will one be ok in isolation, or do they prefer company?

EDIT:

so i've just called the shop back to try and reserve one (they wouldn't :/), and found out they are $275 (australian dollars). holy jebus! did some more research, and they are not legal to import into the country. so, these guys' ancestors must have been brought in illegally. i suppose some guy is breeding them and making a million.

i will be getting a bit of money soon, so i could technically afford one (and i really, really want one!), but...

a) do i want to spend that much on a fish? what if it dies?
b) i would be supporting the blackmarket of fish, which is bad

what should i do?

[mattrox]

You must find out if it is considered noxious. If it is then there will be heavy penalties. If it is not on any noxious list then you should be fine with it. If a LFS has it, and they do get audited, unless it slipped through customs, it should be fine to keep.... Do check NSW regulations though.
FWIW Firemouths are not permitted to be imported but are able to be kept.

[zenkatydid]

i'm pretty sure the lfs got it through a private breeder, who they haven't had contact with before. who knows where he got his stock. though, i suppose it's possible there was once a time when they were legal, and these descend from those original animals.

any idea how i find that? what department or listing is that?

[toddnbecka]

Bichers aren't often bred in captivity, more likely it was imported, possibly sent along with a shipment of other fish as a mistake, or an "extra". The price is outrageous, they generally sell for $10-20 (US, not AU). Actually, the price leads me to think it may have been smuggled in. It probably cost someone a bundle to get it into the country.

As far as the legal issue, are they illegal to import, or to own/keep, or both? I doubt the police will come with a search warrant to confiscate the fish, but you may want to find out what the potential penalty could be.

As far as dying, they are a hardy critter, more likely to kill (eat other fish) than be killed. I had an ornate bicher once that happily chowed down several small Synodontis catfish, spines and all. I saw one go down tail-first They're not particularly fussy about water conditions, though they like it clean of course. The Senegal is a smaller species, it will outgrow a 2' tank, and may be cramped in a 4' eventually. They do grow faster than most Botia's though, so don't count on them being large enough by the time the bicher outgrows the smaller tank.

[zenkatydid]

gah, i don't know what to do. i find it chafing to to spend such an amount of money on something that isn't "worth" that much... it's not a rare or special species, except that you don't normally get them here.

i have emailed the dept that does the importing laws, and asked them whether it's possible senegals will be available to import in the future (in which case i shall wait and get one then - this happened with yoyo loaches recently), or if they know if it's legal to at least own them. i will wait and see what they say.

[Mudfrog]

You can keep a Senegal Bichir in a 2ft tank for quite some time. Techinically you can keep one in a 30 gallon for life but that would be the absolute bare minimum. Largest captivity size is ~12" but usually smaller. If you can keep it in the 2 ft tank till it reaches around 9" or so then move it to the 4 ft tank then you should be fine.

[Puriti]

O_o; that's obsurd! I spent like $6.50 (US) for my senegal birchir at petsmart. Though she terrorized some of my fish and I "donated" her to my school for aquarium classes and the other students loved her.. though she just mysteriously died last week at 8". But I never thought they would be considered it would be illegal to get one O_o...good luck to you!

[zenkatydid]

insane, isn't it??

i am still waiting for a response from the government-type people, will keep you posted.

[trotty]

its not insane to spend alot of money on a fish.... i'm looking at spending in excess of $600 aus for a couple of adult discus.

[Toirtis]

It is possible that it was CB in Aus, but unlikely. As well, if it were locally captive-spawned, the founding stock would have had to have been smuggled in, as they have not been legal to import to Aus since 1951, if memory serves. $275 is not half bad...I understand that baby ornate bichirs go for $350-$500 down there.