Small Bichir

[Zeno]

I was just wondering what is the smallest species of Bichir and how hardy is it?

 

[OohFeeshy]

Methinks it is the Senegal bichir, luckilly the most common, that maxes out at between 8 and 12" (opinions vary). Quite hardy.

 

[Phantom Thief]

Yep, polypterus senegalus is the smallest and hardiest of the bichirs, to my knowledge at least. Very hardy fishes, they'll thrive in almost any conditions bar extremes.

P.T.

 

[beblondie]

Size range for upper jaw Polypterids tend to be in the 10-12'' range.The P.senegalus is the most commonly available species and usually the cheepest.Its a great interductory species to the Polypterid family,its active
during the day,mine have all been very curious about goings on in the tank and were very easy to train to hand feed.
As for hardiness clean warmish water and a good balanced diet they should live 10-15 years minimum-Anne

 

[nmonks]

According to Fishbase, the smallest species is something called Polypterus ansorgii, at a mere 28 cm long.

http/www.fishbase.org/identification/spe...de=31&areacode=

Of the commonly traded species, I'd have said Polypterus palmas, which gets to 30 cm according to Fishbase, compared with P. senegalus, which they report at up to 50 cm. But I bow to Anne's better knowledge of these fish _in captivity_ rather than the wild (often fishes are bigger or smaller in captivity than in the wild).

I kept a P. palmas for many years before giving it away when I moved to the US; it grew from about 10 cm to 25 cm or so, and then seemed to stop growing. Seemed very hardy and easy to keep. A nice, friendly fish.

Cheers,

Neale

 

[beblondie]

Polypterus ansorgii was thought to be extinct as none have appeared in the hobby and the only specimens
were preserved n museums.A Polypterus ansorgii has turned up in Japan the price tag for it was and or is
$8,910.67 USD

I and many others have some issues with fishbase.Heres an example of the hundreds of Polypterid keepers I have talked to none have ever seen a Polypterus senegalus much over 12''.

Until the last couple of years most Polypterid species were wild caught and the costs reflected in the prices.This is changing slowly a P.senegalus is now offered between $5-6.00 for the normal version and $20.00 for the albino variants this is due to farming and mass production.Other species being farm bred are
P.ornatipinnis price$60.00,P.delhezi price$20.00 andP.endlicheri price $30.00+

Polypterids in the 10-12'' captive size range
sizes behind the species name are known wild caught sizes.
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. 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 14''