Was looking at petsmart...(question about senegal bichirs)

[Puriti]

And I saw the Dinosaur eels -- Senegal Bichirs-- and I had been reading up a bit on them because I thought they were neat. I know they can get to be a foot long but how fast do they grow? I'm just curious .__.

 

[nomadofthehills]

I second this, are we talking A. citrinellous or oscar fast, or are we talking clown loach fast lol? How many inches/month?

 

[TCTFish]

Depending on average life span, fish will typically get half their adult size within the first three years. Fish growth then slows down and may take several years to obtain full adult size. From what I've observed for a couple of decades with animals in general, not just fish, the longer the life span the slower the growth rate under optimum care conditions. Bad water quality and poor nutrition can stunt growth.

So if a fish has an average life span of say 5 years, it's going to grow up fast. If a fish has an average life span of 20 years or more, it will take much longer for it to reach full adult size. Bala sharks have an average life span of 10 years and they can reach an average length of 12". They can reach 6" within the first few years, but will take them the rest of their lives to reach 12". I remember someone trading in a full grown bala shark. It was the biggest I've ever seen in any aquarium and was 9 years old.

So growth rate depends on life span, water quality, and nutrition. With such variables, it's hard to accurately measure.

 

[nomadofthehills]

Well, I just know that on average, for example, a Midas cichlid will grow 1-2" a month, until it hits about 7", after which it will slow down. They also grow to about 16" max, average around 12". I understand what your saying, so whats the life expectancy of a senegal bichir? Does anyone have any expereince with monthly growth?

 

[spring007]

I have had 2 of them for a month now...
They were about 4" when I got them but now they are around 5"....
I feed them catfish pellets.....

 

[beblondie]

I had a senegal go from 3'' to 11'' in 6 months a inch to an inch and a half per month is not uncommon.Growth starts to slow at 7-8 inches-Anne

Of course other things figure into the growth rate also like genetics,qualtiy of food and water

 

[Japola44]

My bigger one in the 55gal grew about an inch per a month if not more , he is 7" now, and seems to be slowing down on how fast he is growing. I know that after having a live meal (ie my crayfish) it seemed like he grew almost a whole inch over night.

 

[Puriti]

Oh neato ^^ Cool! I wanna get one though, they're so coooooollllllll

 

[anythingscales]

They will grow quickly if you have alot of feeder fishes for them. I grew mine on pellets and frozen foods, they grew about 4" a year on that diet. I know they can grow much faster on a feeder diet. Never trust a polypterus with a fish that will fit inside it's mouth.

 

[Fruitbat]

As Anne (beblondie) says.....they'll grow very quickly up to a length of about 7-8 inches and then their growth rate slows a bit.

Personally, I avoid using feeder fish as anything but a rare treat for my bichirs and then I only use them after I've quarantined them for a minimum of two weeks. I get good growth rates using primarily appropriately sized frozen foods (bloodworms, krill, beef heart, etc.), Hikari Sinking Carnivore Pellets, and the occasional earthworm.

-Joe

 

[anythingscales]

Senegal Bichirs will eat almost anything, they are one of the more active polypterus. I grew 2 inchers to 8 inches in a year, but thats on a steady diet of guppies, beefheart, pellets, and shrimp.