bichir owners wanted for questioning... ;)

[iheartmyfish]

hello! im hoping to talk to a few bichir owners. ive recently become quite intrigued with these fish and started to research them thoroughly. i would like to hear personally from owners what they think about the care for these species, what sort of environment you've created for them, what foods they like best, where you purchased them from, and if you dont mind, the price of purchase.
feel free to ramble on, because im here to listen!!
~thanx guyz!

 

[Fruitbat]

iheartmyfish...

Over the years I've kept a number of individuals of various species of bichir (Polypterus and their very close relative the reed fish Erpetoichthys calabaricus). Right now I only have one Polypterid, a juvenile albino Polypterus senegalus but the purchase of a larger tank in the relatively near future will enable me to rebuild my collection.

I wrote a profile here on Aquarium Advice that you might find interesting: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=21833

In the past I've kept Erpetoichthys calabaricus, Polypterus delhezi, Polypterus senegalus, Polypterus retropinnis, Polypterus palmas and Polypterus ornatipinnis. Polypterus senegalus is the most commonly available bichir and, depending on size, the prices run between $10 - 30 US. I saw a couple of 10" long Polypterus enderlichi for sale at one of my local shops last weekend. They were asking $59.00 each for them. Polypterus ornatipinnis that show up in the shops around here usually go for $30 - $50 for a 6 - 8 inch specimen. Reed fish Erpetoichthys are by far the least expensive and most commonly available of all the Polypterids that I've seen.

 

[Christmasfish]

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=17613&highlight=polypterus
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=18253&highlight=polypterus
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=17851&highlight=polypterus
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=19326&highlight=polypterus
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=20294&highlight=polypterus

Small sample of past bichir posts from this season.... I am lazy..^_^

My bichir would have been over 20 bucks had I paid cash outright for him. They run between 18-40 bucks in this region. They are ravenous, congenial and amusing. They also grow at an alarming rate! They are strong and escape artists. My guy has a huge cave decoration that is to be his home for half his size range. He gets a large tank this summer, but is getting the SA communities hand me downs as they up size. his end tank wil be a 177 and he will only have dinner guests as company in my current layout. He has bamboo, moss, and a bare floor to keep cleaning easy.
I feed him: Baby sand gobies, pellets, scallop, shrimp, bloodworms, large flies and crickets. He also eats snails. He can gobble down 5-6 gobies (they are thawed from fresh frozen and between .5 and 1.0 in) without blinking. He is now about 10+inches. He is one of the house favorites.
he is out of place as my only african specie.
That's it in a nutshell.