Polypterus Senegalus

[steady]

hi everyone i just came from the local petshop and i noticed some senegals at 6cm they looked great and i have read some things for them and i think they are great for me!
i have now a 30g tank with sand and some mangroove roots and it is empty do u think i can have only one senegalus in 30g?and if i can have only one is there any other fish that are combined well with him?

 

[Esfa]

Yep, only one.

Some good fish that can be kept with it are bn plecs, congo tetras, african butterly fish etc..

 

[steady]

any alternatives for surface dwellers? <except from butterfly>

 

[nmonks]

The larger hatchetfish would work well, but they're quite delicate animals that need a bit of care. Rainbowfish are an obvious choice. If you have hard, alkaline water, swordtails could work well. But the most authentic tankmates are large characins, such as Congo tetras. I kept those with P. palmas and they looked really good together. If you planted the tank with Nuphar and Nymphaea spp, such that the top of the tank was covered in big leaves, Synodontis nigriventris would look very nifty in there. They'd hide at the top of the tank, upside down.

Cheers, Neale

any alternatives for surface dwellers? <except from butterfly>

 

[steady]

The larger hatchetfish would work well, but they're quite delicate animals that need a bit of care. Rainbowfish are an obvious choice. If you have hard, alkaline water, swordtails could work well. But the most authentic tankmates are large characins, such as Congo tetras. I kept those with P. palmas and they looked really good together. If you planted the tank with Nuphar and Nymphaea spp, such that the top of the tank was covered in big leaves, Synodontis nigriventris would look very nifty in there. They'd hide at the top of the tank, upside down.

Cheers, Neale

any alternatives for surface dwellers? <except from butterfly>

synodontis is a good idea!

if i get 2 senegalus at 6 cm for how long can i keep them in a 30g?because i plan a new 60g tank but not sooner than a year...

 

[rixy]

as neale said really.i'd suggest congo tetras(approx £4 each) or you could add some rainbow fish.there are plenty of different rainbow fish so have a search on the site and find out which you like.rainbows again arent cheap with them usually costing £5 each plus.the only rainbows that are cheaper are praecox,but they are usually very small when for sale so could be a senegals supper.

the main thing to think of when adding some tankmates in with a senegal is its potentailly full grown size.people will say 14" for a full grown senegal,but ive never seen one that big.mine is 10" and doesnt seem to be growing anymore.if it is,its growing really slowly.a senegal may reach approx 12" fully grown.it could easily grow from a 3" worm to a 10" adult in 18months.2"-3" fish will be easy for a 10" senegal to catch and eat.

tankmates shoud be larger than 3" in my opinion,but with you having a 30 gallon tank,you wouldnt be able to add too many tankmates.what are the dimensions of your tank???

thanks mark.

 

[nmonks]

By way of mitigation, while rixy is right, rainbows tend to be expensive, they are also much better value than a lot of cheaper fish. They live a long time (5+ years); they get more colourful the older they get (in fact the juveniles sold in shops look very drab); they are utterly indifferent to water chemistry (anything from soft to low-end brackish); and they are generally very hardy. So while people sometimes balk at the price of angels, and reckon some tetra for half the price is "better", the other way of looking at it is that so often tetras end up dying for one reason or another, but rainbows are altogether more reliable.

Like rixy says, you probably want to avoid the M. praceox "dwarf neon" rainbows. Go for your standard issue M. fluviatilis sized thing. Get to about 8-10 cm, making them ideal tankmates for small bichirs and catfish.

Cheers, Neale

rainbows again arent cheap with them usually costing £5 each plus.the only rainbows that are cheaper are praecox,but they are usually very small when for sale so could be a senegals supper.

 

[steady]

so i cant have 2* 3'' senegals together for 1 year since i get a biger tank?
i was thinking about a tankmate that would be predatory like african butterfly fish any suggestion for some other predatory tankmates?


guys thanx for your help

 

[indigoj]

Hi, are you in Manchester by any chance?

I have just got 3 6cm Senegal Bichir and am keeping them together at the moment in a 30g tank with plenty of hiding places. they are getting on fine but I do have space to separate them when they grow a bit. I also plan on getting a 6ft tank withing the next 12 months.

At the moment I have got a pair of Kribensis, a spiney eel and a juvenile bristlenose ples with them and am looking at adding Bosemani Rainbows soon.

If you are in Manchester or near by then I can let you know a place that does Rainbows at decent prices.

 

[steady]

sorry my friend but i am from greece not from uk

 

[steady]

do u i think i can have a Black Ghost Knifefish with my senegal in my 30g tank?

 

[nmonks]

No. Apteronotus is far too big, and generally difficult to keep in anything other than a large, generously filtered aquarium.

Cheers, Neale

do u i think i can have a Black Ghost Knifefish with my senegal in my 30g tank?

 

[steady]

ok i will go to a butterfly for sure what do u think about a kind of eel?

 

[nmonks]

Butterflies are among my favourite fish -- but research them first. They are VERY difficult to feed if you don't know what you're doing. You need access to live foods of the right type to begin with. Fruit flies and other small insects are ideal. Collecting these yourself is clearly an option, but some people just buy them from reptile stores. Small crickets can work, too. Live mosquito larvae are ideal. But forget any ideas about just giving them flake; they'll sooner starve that eat flake (at least to begin with). Once settled they'll eat dried food, but they need to learn its edible.

As for eels, don't mix with bichirs. The only viable eel in terms of water chemistry and aquarium size is one of the spiny eels, such as M. siamensis. But seriously, spiny eels are such b*astards when it comes to getting them onto frozen foods you don't want any competition in the aquarium. A bichir would likely steal the food too quickly, and the spiny eel would starve.

Frankly, bichirs are best kept either alone or with zero-hassle midwater schooling fish like rainbows, Congo tetras, or one of the medium sized barbs like the ticto barb. Add some sort of loricariid catfish, perhaps some sort of Ancistrus sp., and you'll have a nice, relatively easy to keep and very well stocked 30 gallon tank.

Cheers, Neale

ok i will go to a butterfly for sure what do u think about a kind of eel?

 

[Esfa]

Frankly, bichirs are best kept either alone or with zero-hassle midwater schooling fish like rainbows, Congo tetras, or one of the medium sized barbs like the ticto barb. Add some sort of loricariid catfish, perhaps some sort of Ancistrus sp., and you'll have a nice, relatively easy to keep and very well stocked 30 gallon tank.

Cheers, Neale

Could they not be kept with reedfish as well?