# Senegal Bichirs



## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

Has anyone ever kept these?

I'm beginning to really like them and would love if anyone had any information on them besides basic care.

Like are they shy? How active can they be?
Do they like tankmates that they cant eat?
Should I only have one or can two work together?
How well do they do in planted aquariums?
Should the tank be mostly covered or do they like sparser conditions?








baaaaw that face XD



Anyhelp would be appreciated, 
I've been scouring the internet for caresheets but would love to be able to talk to someone who has actually kept them ^^


----------



## ladayen (Jun 21, 2011)

Well I haven't kept them. I do know that they should grow to about 18" and therefore need a large tank, prolly 90g+ Have you seen the profile on Senegal Bichir?


----------



## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

ladayen said:


> Well I haven't kept them. I do know that they should grow to about 18" and therefore need a large tank, prolly 90g+ Have you seen the profile on Senegal Bichir?


I have checked it out, thank you.

Most sites say they only get about a foot long and keeping one in a 40 gallon breeder will be fine ^^


----------



## Badjer (Oct 25, 2011)

It's so cute! -adds to the list of fish she's getting win she has her own house and somehow wins the lottery- XD


----------



## Philnominal (Dec 22, 2011)

I had 2 of these for a little while in my 55 gallon. Great fish when they were little. I think i traded them in for 2 firemouths when they got a little bigger. From what i remember and what i have seen a 40B would probably be fine for one if its one of the only bottom dwellers. They will eat anything that fits in their mouth (trust me its bigger then it looks). What are you planning on keeping it with?


----------



## ladayen (Jun 21, 2011)

Well.. a 40g is only 18" wide not much longer then the bichir itself at full grown. 36" long is 3x(or less) the body length. I suspect the growth has been stunted and causing internal deformities not allowing it to fully grow. A 75g gives another 12" in length, which these guys really need.


----------



## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

Badjer said:


> It's so cute! -adds to the list of fish she's getting win she has her own house and somehow wins the lottery- XD


I KNOW
Theyre so adorable!
They made the puppy dog eyes at me at my LFS so now I need one )X





Philnominal said:


> I had 2 of these for a little while in my 55 gallon. Great fish when they were little. I think i traded them in for 2 firemouths when they got a little bigger. From what i remember and what i have seen a 40B would probably be fine for one if its one of the only bottom dwellers. They will eat anything that fits in their mouth (trust me its bigger then it looks). What are you planning on keeping it with?


Nothing else unless I get another one. I want a specimen tank of just senegals ^^





ladayen said:


> Well.. a 40g is only 18" wide not much longer then the bichir itself at full grown. 36" long is 3x(or less) the body length. I suspect the growth has been stunted and causing internal deformities not allowing it to fully grow. A 75g gives another 12" in length, which these guys really need.


They dont really get up to 18" though. Most everyone who owns them and has posted about them say they only get about 12" I think the largest Ive seen posted has been 15"

If I do end up getting them and I see that they get too big for my tank I have an LFS that can take them back and properly house them


----------



## ladayen (Jun 21, 2011)

Thats what I'm trying to explain though. If housed in an aquarium thats too small the fish will appear to stop growing, however the insides will continue to grow. It will not reach it's full potential and will die well before it's expected lifespan.


----------



## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

ladayen said:


> Thats what I'm trying to explain though. If housed in an aquarium thats too small the fish will appear to stop growing, however the insides will continue to grow. It will not reach it's full potential and will die well before it's expected lifespan.


ah, I see now what you were saying.

But even in larger aquariums, this species of Bichirs stay smaller.

P. senegalus senegalus ('Senegal' or 'Cuiver's' bichir)- 12"
Thats the one I'd be getting ^^


----------



## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

Here, Ill just repost the info from a different forum. ^^




Species and sizes 
maximum known sizes often smaller in captivity

Upper Jaw Species-Upper jaw protrudes past lower jaw
P. palmas palmas ('palmas' bichir)- 13"
(subspecies)P. palmas polli ('marbled bichir)- 14"
(subspecies) P. palmas buettikoferi ('buettikoferi' bichir)- 13"
P. ornatipinnis ('ornate' bichir)- 27"
P. delhezi ('armoured' or 'delhez's' bichir)- 14"
P. senegalus senegalus ('Senegal' or 'Cuiver's' bichir)- 12"
(possible subspecies)P. senegalus meridionalis- 12"+
There is, Also the possibility of a third member of the Polypterus senegalus
group that is found in the Nile River 
P. retropinnis ('retropinnis' bichir)- 14"
P .mokelembembe
P. weeksi ('week's' bichir)- 20"
P.teugelsi (found only in the Cross river)-16.75''
E. calabaricus ('Ropefish')- 15"-30" (Closer to 15''-20'' in captivity)

Lower Jaw Species-Lower protrudes past upper jaw
P. endlicheri endlicheri ('saddled' or 'red' bichir)- 32", possibly more
(subspecies)P. endlicheri congicus ('giant' or 'congo' bichir)- 39"
P. Bichir lapradei ('Lapradei' bichir)- 24"
P. bichir bichir-30+ ''
P.ansorgii-28-30+''


----------



## Philnominal (Dec 22, 2011)

I would not do 2 in a 40B. 1 should be fine if I remember correctly.


----------



## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

sounds good, i really only want one ^^


Theyll be fine by themselves and without tankmates they cant eat right?


----------



## Philnominal (Dec 22, 2011)

emeraldsky said:


> sounds good, i really only want one ^^
> 
> 
> Theyll be fine by themselves and without tankmates they cant eat right?


Yep, and to my understanding they can hold their own pretty well.


----------



## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

awesome, cant wait to get one then

thank you!


----------



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

These guys are awesome 
Post photos of him if you get one <3


----------



## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

Olympia said:


> These guys are awesome
> Post photos of him if you get one <3



I most certainly will, itll be some time next weekend if i do ^^


----------



## purplemuffin (Aug 12, 2010)

How cute!! Good luck with it!


----------



## Marlboroack (Jan 30, 2012)

Q:Like are they shy? How active can they be?
A: They are not shy fish at all. They are extremely active when hungry.

Qo they like tankmates that they cant eat?
A: YES

Q:Should I only have one or can two work together?
A: Put as many as you want together. I have a pond with a couple large adults in there.

Q: How well do they do in planted aquariums?
A: They do well but they will tear most live plants up over time.. 

Q:Should the tank be mostly covered or do they like sparser conditions?
A:Open top with medium lighting


----------



## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Bichirs, being narrow, are VERY good escape artists. The cover should be well-fitted with no spaces they can fit through (ie, gaps where the filter or heater are). They literally just slither on out, not realizing there's no water on the other side. However, they will survive a short time out of water so it's not a dire catastrophe if they do escape. They are also accomplished jumpers, another reason to have a tight-fitting hood.

Post pics when you get one.


----------



## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

Marlboroack said:


> Q:Like are they shy? How active can they be?
> A: They are not shy fish at all. They are extremely active when hungry.
> 
> Qo they like tankmates that they cant eat?
> ...


Thank you for the information!

What tankmates would you recommend? I only have a 40gallon breeder so im not sure I can have anything else in there...





Sakura8 said:


> Bichirs, being narrow, are VERY good escape artists. The cover should be well-fitted with no spaces they can fit through (ie, gaps where the filter or heater are). They literally just slither on out, not realizing there's no water on the other side. However, they will survive a short time out of water so it's not a dire catastrophe if they do escape. They are also accomplished jumpers, another reason to have a tight-fitting hood.
> 
> Post pics when you get one.


That seems to be what everyone says about them XD
I need to invest in a lid before I get one lol


----------



## elegantlyunsophisticated (Jul 13, 2011)

they can be jumpers, so get a lid! Mine also likes to race along the long side of my 55g  they're really inquisitive and he won't shy away from my hand when I'm in there doing stuff. They enjoy hanging out on the bottom and chilling out on the surface (mine will float around like a boat, then go explore the bottom for a while). They rarely hide and like to "walk" about the bottom with those big fins. They can survive out of water for a short period of time, as they have a primitive lung type thing. I'll attach a piccie of mine too, he's awesome! Very entertaining, always hungry, and absolutely BOMBPROOF. Mine went through a heater malfunction, an ich outbreak (not a spot on him), and a brief stint in a bucket (only like 2 days, but still).


----------



## elegantlyunsophisticated (Jul 13, 2011)

can you tell they were just fed in that pic? DX lol there's pellets EVERYWARR.
my little Omnom is a camera hog as you can clearly see, if you look at that bridge in the back you can see he's only 6.5 inches or so. He's been that size for months (with more than adequate housing and tons of noms) so I don't know how much bigger he'll get. He only seems to be getting wider rather than longer  post a pic when you get one! I love senegals XD


----------



## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

SO CUTE *A*

They slow down growth at about 6 inches i believe so he's probably still growing, just really slowly


I totally will, I found an LPS that is selling them for like 5$

Im thinking ill get an albino one, i love the light color 8D


----------



## elegantlyunsophisticated (Jul 13, 2011)

thanks! I really love the little guy, he's a troublemaker but it's worth it. The albinos are cute! Mine's not an albino but he's relatively light colored. He lives with African cichlids, a catfish, a loach, and bala shark. Everyone's getting along great, nothing smaller than a platy survives though. Mine gets a kick out of exploring the rocks I have piled up in the tank.


----------



## Sakura8 (May 12, 2011)

Elegantly, he's adorable! I love his little face.


----------



## Oscarfish789 (Jan 31, 2012)

hey i dont know if you got your senegal yet but its best to start it off in about a 29 gallon tank because mine could never find food in my 55 gallon and died as a result so best to start off in a smaller tank then move it to a bigger tank. and i kept mine with two baby oscar and two baby convicts so anything its size and temperment should be fine with it


----------



## emeraldsky (Oct 4, 2011)

Oscarfish789 said:


> hey i dont know if you got your senegal yet but its best to start it off in about a 29 gallon tank because mine could never find food in my 55 gallon and died as a result so best to start off in a smaller tank then move it to a bigger tank. and i kept mine with two baby oscar and two baby convicts so anything its size and temperment should be fine with it


Thanks for the heads up!
Ill actually only have him in the tank (Maybe one other fish that gets fairly decent sized) and I'll be dropping food in front of him so I dont think this will be a problem. Ill be careful to make sure though!


----------



## elegantlyunsophisticated (Jul 13, 2011)

thanks Sakura! He's a character :3 
Oscarfish: I'm surprised you had that problem, mine is a living alternative to a gravel vacuum even in the cavernous 55g. He gets his own shrimp pellets (which are quickly swallowed whole) and then he roots around for other guys' dinner. Also, he greatly appreciates the occasional frozen brine shrimp or chopped prawns. I've kept tons of different fish with mine and as long as they are bigger than his head, you'll be fine. Maybe some bigger rainbows? He also couldn't care less about plants, he loves loafing around on the bigger leaves but salad is just not part of his lifestyle XP


----------

