bichir

[stubbytheplecostomus]

hi everyone, i'm new to the forum up untill now i've been a solitary aquarium guy when i realized i bet there are forums on the web about aquariums!
anyways i was wondering if anyone has ever kept a bichir and if that bicher makes vocalizations. a strange sound has been coming from my community tank ever since i got him, the sound sounds like if you were to scratch your fingernails against your jeans. I do alot of research before buying a fish i've never heard of before, but i came up with nothing about it making noises. Just curious if there is more to this interesting fish then meets the eye!
oh and don't worry about it eating any of my other fish the bichir is still much to small, i heard they get about a foot! i'm not sure on the exact type of bichir but he is a solid tan color with 8 or 9(he won't sit still in the open so they are hard to count) spikes down his back. can anyone give me the scientific name?

[DemonShark]

hmm maybe you got a mystery fish! youll have to wait for william to see what kind of fish ya got

[William]

They can depending on the exact species grow to be much larger than 1 ft. P bichir bichir can for instance grow to be over 2 ft.

Sorry I can't help you with the question about noises but I'm guessing that reptileguy can once he comes around.

[DemonShark]

reptileguy is pretty good at that

[Fishguy2727]

since you mentioned it it reminded me that i have heard of the rare occuranc eof a noise produced by bichirs. it is very rare and nothing to worry about. if unknown, in all likelihood it is a Polypterus senegalus. they max out at about a foot. what size tank do you have? can you get another of at least 30-55 gallons if needed? bichirs ar efun and Barron's publishing needs to get a book out on these growingly popular species. what are you feeding the bichir?

[stubbytheplecostomus]

right now he is in a 40 gallon, but i will always have a tank big enough for him, i am always getting new and used equipment from everywhere.
as for his diet, he really seems to like froozen plankton, but i noticed he eats everything i feed my other fish including, shrimp pellets, blood worms, misquito larvea and flake food. i don't think he is quite big enough for live feeder fish but i plan on feeding him this as well. senegal is what the label said at the fish shop i remember now! thanks for all your imput!

[Fishguy2727]

dont feed live. it is the best way to introduce lethal parasites and diseases. there is no need for it with all the high quality prepared foods out there. it also increases their aggression and is nutritionally incomplete anyways. i recommend hikari sinking carnivore pellets as well as frozen beefheart and frozen squid. the diet you have now is pretty good. does he go to the surface to feed? if so you can feed him floating cichlid foods like hikari gold and biogold. move him sooner than later, no need for anyone in the tank to be eaten because you didnt think he could eat them yet. is he your favorite yet?

[stubbytheplecostomus]

stubby my plecustomus is my favorite, but spike the bichir is very personable, he is only 4 or 5 inches long right now and the next smallest fish is my bala shark which is about 5 inches, the bala is too fast and he is growing quickly so i'm not worried about spike eating anyone. i'm thinking that when i do my river tank i will provide a muddy land area for the bichir to crawl onto, how cool would that be! and as for him going to the surface he does but not for long, ussually he'll grab a flake or two then take a breathe of air and retreat to his cave, he really enjoys picking apart balls of frozen food on the bottom. Bichirs are so fascinating, they are the only fish i've seen that chew their food!

[DemonShark]

Glad your doing well

[Fre nchy]

Would that land area idea work? Because I have an empty 20g that I could put mine in (he's kinda small right now) with that idea. I think he would like it because he's always swimming at the top trying to get out.

[Fishguy2727]

For a bichir? The common ones hit about a foot, so a 20long would be too small to begin with, then not filling it gives it even less water.

[cocoa_pleco]

8 month old thread! lol