Polypterus

[jblake]

Hi, i just recently set up an aquarium in my bedroom, i have all my filters heaters and everything i need and i just bought a polypterus but i'm not too sure how to care for it.. i bought some brine shrimp for it but it won't eat it. the guy at the fish store said he would eat it, and i've also read up that they may only eat every few days? and also my water temp is 80 right now which i also researched and hoping it's right. i have a log, castle and a big rock for it to hide under, that's all that i have in the tank currently and i was thinking maybe i could buy some little fish for it to eat? maybe some neon tetras? if it will eat them.. it's just a baby still only about 4" or so and i'm not really sure what to feed it, i've had it for 2 days now and it hasn't aten the brine shrimp so i'm not sure on what to feed it could someone please help me out on how to care for these? thanks a lot

 

[jblake]

oh and also my tank is a 35 galon if that will make a difference, not sure or not

 

[Curiosity101]

Could really do with knowing exactly what type of fish it is...
Is it a bichir?
Or a ropefish?

Any chance of a pic?

Once it's got a firm ID people will be able to tell you exactly what to feed it.

 

[jblake]

ill get a pic of it tonight cause i'm not too sure of the exact species it is, and i'll post it on here

 

[indigoj]

Also, how did you set up and cycle the tank? What filter do you have? The only time I've known a poly not to eat is either in a new tank (don't worry if he eats only a little the first week or 2 if everything else is ok) or if there is a water quality issue - this sounds likely.

What are your stats for ammonia and nitrIte?

 

[jblake]

uhmm the filter i'm not really too sure about cause my brother bought it a while ago for when he had the tank setup, and when i set it up i put in my new rocks and all my decos: i got a log, castle, big rock for him to hide in, and then put in somewhat warm water then put in water treatment stuff, i can't remember what that was cause there was only a little bit left in the bottle from when my brother had it so i tossed the bottle out, and i let the tank sit with the heater for a few days before i put him in it, i set it up i think wednesday last week and i bought the fish on saturday so it was all setup to temperature and filtered and everything like that. here's the picture of him too
http/img13.imageshack.us/img13/2149/1010252s.jpg i'll get back to you on the make of the filter too

ok i checked my filter, on the lid of it it says aqua tech 20-40, pretty sure that would be it

 

[Davo86]

Hi i'm afraid the tank hasn't been cycled and this could be a reasonable explanation of why the bichir isn't easting (its a senegal btw) Is it active at all?

If your brother has a mature aquarium can you ask him if he would give some of the media out of his filter so that you can put it into yours, atm your tank has very little bacteria and as the tank isn't cycled the bichir is likely to become very ill very quickly if you don't act fast.

If mature media isn't an option then your only other options are to rehome the bichir to another tank whilst you fishless cycle the tank Or, get yourself a decent test kit and be prepared to do large daily waterchanges when required to keep the toxins at a safe level.

 

[jblake]

well, that was his tank and then he didn't want it any more so i took it, but what do you mean by media? and yeah he has been pretty active and how would i cycle it? like i said i'm new to all of this so yeah gotta explain some things thanks for all the help

 

[indigoj]

How long was it running with no fish in?

Have a read in the beginners section there are some great topics there about cycling.

Media is the foam etc inside the filter - where the bacteria colony grows.

Do you have a liquid test kit? If not you will definitely need one asap as water quality is key to healthy fish.

 

[jblake]

i don't have one yet, but i was going to get one on my next pay, the poly has been really active today swimming around pretty much every time i look at him. so should i get a sponge with the bacteria stuff already in it? i think the lfs sells them with it already in it. i was looking at them online earlier