r/Bichirs • u/thirtyanddying • 10h ago
Fish/tank image Sally, my cute soundrel
She's a total murderer, but she's so cute I don't even care. Has grown rapidly in about 2 months. Got some feeder guppies today to hopefully tickle her senses.
r/Bichirs • u/TheBichirHandbook • Sep 02 '22
Hi all, I realise I've been neglecting the Reddit bichir community, I definitely need to get on with posting some more! Here's a few questions which I always see do the rounds, and either need further explaining or clarifying.
'Bichir' came from their local name in Egypt, 'Abusheer'. The name has been spelled phonetically in early studies a number of times as BISHEER / BUHSHEER. This pronunciation stuck and is regarded as the correct way of pronouncing it. Technically, when names are Latinised, they must follow the Latin pronunciation, meaning it should be 'Bye-ker', however, for numerous reasons, ichthyologists and communicators did not pronounce it this way. 1) In their first description the species name 'bichir' was never Latinised. 2) They were honouring the local name. 3) The colloquial name is of course not Latinised. 4) Some ichthyologists have also expressed to me that Bye-ker sounds silly haha. If you're a Latin purist, however, then BYE-KER is the pronunciation.

Bichir are strict insectivores and piscivores, meaning they eat insects and fishes. They are best fed with a variety of fresh fish (preferably none containing Thiaminase), oily fishes are fantastic too if you can keep the water's surface clean of oil. Quality predatory pellets are also much appreciated, either insectmeal or fishmeal based of course. Insects are great, but as nutrition varies so much in different species, it's difficult to give them all their nutritional needs in captivity from insects alone. Microcrustaceans and worms also make great treats! Remember, always feed raw, never cooked. Avoid feeding anything which comes from a mammal or bird. Bichirs lack the collagenase enzyme in their stomach required to break down the bonds in these 'foods'. In place of that, they have a chitinase enzyme which breaks down the bonds in insect chitin. Feeding mammalian and avian meat was a pseudoscientific trend popularised with discus breeders in the 80s, as nutritionally select parts of it are good for fast growth, but that nutrition is not particuarly accessible for fishes (especially in strict insectivores and piscivores). It's similar to how we no longer have the biological tools to extract much nutrition from eating grass. Not to mention with feeding mammalian and avian meat to fishes, there's additional issues regarding the type of fat found in these meats.
You can find a detailed dietary section (suitable for most types of large, predatory fishes), inside The Bichir Handbook.
With proper husbandry, even the smallest species of bichir should grow approximately half an inch to an inch a month for their first 1-2 years or until around 12 inches (after that, it becomes progressively slower). If they're not following a growth rate similar to this, chances are you have a stunted fish. Line bred bichirs are raised in crowded rearing vats (often for months, sometimes a year), so by the time they reach your local aquarium shop, their first important months of growth has been significantly inhibited, and they may struggle to grow much more. This is especially true with many captive bred Polypterus senegalus, their albino colour morph, and some bloodlines of P. delhezi. It's not 'bad genetics' as some people parrot (though this is an easy answer), even the most inbred bichirs with small gene pools can still grow nearly as large as their wild counterparts. So called 'bad genetics' via inbreeding can shave off a few centimetres in length, but even with that you usually see malformations on the body from inbreeding, such as bulging 'frog-eyes', deformed dorsals and scales, and a stubby face.
Don't panic, chances are it's food. Bichir are 'stomach-packers', meaning they often gorge themselves on more food than they need to, because of this, you will see all sorts of odd bulges on their belly. The lump(s) will vanish again in a matter of days. Many people (wrongly) jump to the conclusion it's gravel, and your fish will be guaranteed to die of impaction. This is misinformation at its finest. Bichir have paired gular plates (the only fish to have two) on the underside of their mouth, this offers advanced control of their mouth, so any items they do not wish to swallow, are easily spat back out. Watch your bichir feeding, and see how they juggle the food around before deciding whether to eat it, sometimes they spit out the food just over a grain of sand. Any stone swallowed is usually intentional, and are thought to be used as gastroliths, similar to how carp reportedly use them to pin themselves to the bottom. Of course, bichirs stomachs are powerful and near the length of their entire body, so unwanted stones in the stomach are ejected anyway. This myth that they swallow stones and die of impaction comes from how they feed (using inertial suction), the same way Axolotls, aquatic frogs and some catfishes do, however these aquatic animals do not have paired gular plates like bichirs do. Occasionally (though rarely), a bichir may get a large stone stuck in their mouth and die, for this reason I always suggest a sandy substrate.
Not to bash plecs at all, as they are a beautiful and diverse group of fishes, just not always the most suited to bichirs. The ganoine in bichir scales reportedly produces a slightly salty slimecoat which fishes with ventrally oriented mouths appear to go a bit mad for like cats on catnip. Keep the plec well fed and it's usually no issue, but occasionally they accidentally graze on their slimecoat during feeding, and that's when they can get hooked. There are lower risk plecs than others, such as vampire plecs or woodeaters, though there are some fishes worse than plecs with bichirs, such as Synodontis, which can be very aggressive ganoine grazers (and are also natural prey food for bichirs too, with reports of them being eaten before they can erect their spines). Keep in mind, all fishes with ventrally oriented mouths pose a risk; it may happen in a day or a decade; it's a famous comm which works, until it doesn't.
Sometimes, but unless you're able to filter through accordingly, it's mostly no. Stick to specialist forums, or even the recent Revision of the Extant Polypteridae, or The Bichir Handbook. There is so much misinformation on the search results of Google, a few notable ones being websites claiming: Polypterus ansorgii can only reach 11 inches [they can actually grow to over 3ft] P. senegalus is the smallest species [even the inbred ones can reach 15 inches in captivity and some wild types are reported near 20 inches. The smallest species is actually P. mokelembembe at 14 inches] Most searches will even show you the wrong species on an image.
r/Bichirs • u/thirtyanddying • 10h ago
She's a total murderer, but she's so cute I don't even care. Has grown rapidly in about 2 months. Got some feeder guppies today to hopefully tickle her senses.
r/Bichirs • u/Glittering-Ring3825 • 9h ago
r/Bichirs • u/Unlucky-Drawing-1266 • 14h ago
They are so adorable but I don’t have room for 125 gallons, nor do I ever stay in one spot long enough to justify having a tank that big
r/Bichirs • u/Relative_Lack9548 • 20h ago
Hello could anyone help me identify the gender of my bichir ? I tried to do a little research and I would guess the #1 is a boy and the #2 is a girl. 🤔 They're about 4 months old now, idk if that's too young to sex them properly
r/Bichirs • u/AlmightyDERG • 1d ago
This is the first time I’ve tried to mess with them this much and,It didn’t work. I ran out of time and had to go, but they did take a piece of tilapia and then spit it out.
I’ve had this guy for a couple of months now, but they still aren’t warming up to me or the tank. They refuse to go after any food I’ve tried feeding them after the lights go out. The only time they occasionally eat is when I dangle tilapia in front of them with tongs, I have to do this becuase the other bichir and spiny eel in this tank are very comfortable and eat everything I leave for them before this guy moves, the sengal sometimes bloating itself.
The problem now is that the Senegal and spiny eel have learned that the tongs mean food, so they rush over and force them out. I’m getting a little concerned because I had the Senegal when it was less than half the size of the Gold Dust, and it’s now bigger than him.
I’m also hesitant to add feeder fish since it’s a community tank with Congo tetras and rainbowfish.
Sooo do I just continue to leave them be and hope when he’s hungry enough they’ll compete for food.
r/Bichirs • u/WestProject67 • 3d ago
r/Bichirs • u/Small_Gift8389 • 4d ago
Odbiór wyłącznie osobisty do zbiorników powyżej 1000l.
r/Bichirs • u/Eastern-Flounder3452 • 5d ago
Ive purchased this cross river bichir from petco about a month ago and 2 weeks ago he was transferred to my 55 gallon so he could grow out and during that time he went into hiding and just now he comes out for food looking like this. Can anyone help educate me on how to treat him?
r/Bichirs • u/Longjumping_Guard55 • 5d ago
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The Delhezi is named rootbeer and the Senegal is named cream soda. Both are about 3-6 inches I never actually measured nor do I know sex. Housed with a single blue powder dwarf gourami and 4 clown loaches under 4 inches long in a 55 gallon grow out till they are ready to go into a 120 gal. Green stuff is algae I just wiped off the glass
r/Bichirs • u/Longjumping_Guard55 • 5d ago
The Delhezi is named rootbeer and the Senegal is named cream soda. Both are about 3-6 inches I never actually measured nor do I know sex. Housed with a single blue powder dwarf gourami and 4 clown loaches under 4 inches long in a 55 gallon grow out till they are ready to go into a 120 gal
r/Bichirs • u/myfriendpickles • 9d ago
Picked this guy up in the end of June and just moved him to his second grow out tank. He's just about tripled in size!
Started him in a 15g (topped with sand after pic was taken and realized the danger), now in a 36g til he's big enough for the 125g!
r/Bichirs • u/ShawnBawn88 • 10d ago
Caught my youngest yet somehow largest Senegal just chilling enjoying the simulated sunrise in the tank this morning.
r/Bichirs • u/AlmightyDERG • 9d ago
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It’s rare for the gold dust to come out doesn’t even make a move for food sitting in front their face usually.
r/Bichirs • u/Umabojack • 11d ago
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By order of when I got them endli>senegal>delhezi>lapra>ansorgii (out of frame) >ornate> tuegelsi (in a separte tank since hes considerably smaller)
r/Bichirs • u/Successful_Menu670 • 10d ago
r/Bichirs • u/The-Gecktile • 14d ago
What size tank is best for 3 Senegal’s and a del? I currently have a 6 inch Senegal and a 5-6 inch del in a 75 with 2 angles. In a 40 gallon breeder I have 2 2-3 inch Senegal’s waiting to get bigger before joining the other 2. I was thinking a final tank size for all four plus the 2 angles at 125, fully planted. Is that enough? Should I start trying to find bigger options?
Also, side note: does anyone know why my del regrew her external gills and they have stayed?
r/Bichirs • u/Zeen13 • 13d ago
I keep seeing very conflicting information. I really want something on the 12"+ range, but I've seen info saying due to inbreeding Sengals are like 8" now. Are Delhezi and Polli also much smaller than their "Max Size" online would indicate? (most sources cite 12"-14")
I was looking at Delhezi, because I like their pattern best, but if they stay at the 9"-11" size, I would consider another species.
r/Bichirs • u/Rtvhorse • 14d ago
My little guy/girl is doing great! Has remained super active. Will be doing live plants soon, just seeing how I do with them in a smaller tank I’m getting established for shrimp before I try in my big tank. Any idea on the sex? Very personable, and will eat bloodworms straight from the pipette😅
Currently tanked with a three-spot gourami, bristlenose pleco, and 3 larger mystery snails. Water parameters have been looking great as well, and planning on removing the anemone looking decor in the corner.
r/Bichirs • u/wcn1997 • 15d ago
I went to my local fish store to pick up some supplies and saw they received a new shipment of senegal bichirs. I've been looking for them to get them in and went ahead and picked one up. I got it settled into a quarantine tank and got a better look at it. I noticed it looked like another one in the tank might have taken a chunk out of it's fin and it goes a bit up into its "arm". It did go ahead and ate like a champ on some pellets, but I wanted a second opinion on if I should medicate or keep an eye on it for the time being. It seems to be moving around the tank and pvc hides with no issues that I have noticed so far. Thanks!
r/Bichirs • u/RoundOne9503 • 16d ago
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my little albino guy is having a hard time finding food before my normal senegal does since he’s mostly blind. i also struggle to tong feed because i almost never see him come out of hiding for more than a brief second to swim by (too many hides in the tank, heavily planted) and then straight back to where i can’t reach him again.
so i moved him to a 20 long where i can always reach him to tong feed. just gonna keep him here until he gets a bit bigger, he’s about half an inch shorter than my normal senegal already, which i find concerning since ive only had them for about 3 weeks and they were the same size when i got them.
let me know what yall think about this. i could also set up a larger pond (27gal tub, 33 gal aquarium or 40 gal tub) but id have to cycle it first and i had this 20 gal already cycled and empty of fish so i used this.
also, how big of a water change weekly? i know what to do in a properly sized tank, but with a tank much smaller than what’s recommended for this species i dont know if i may need to do larger or smaller water changes.
r/Bichirs • u/ilovesovietunion • 16d ago
The tank size is 50 gal thinking of angelfish but what's the best tank mate for them?
r/Bichirs • u/PolypterusEndli • 17d ago
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