Looking for bichirs to fit a 72g bow

I think I am finally going to get a bichir. Looking for small 3-4" fish to grow out and live for life in the 72g bowfront. Any one seen any good albino sens? I know they had some dels in sumner....

So what have you fishbox members seen out there?

There were two diff types around 5 inches at a.p. I want to say selhizi or something like that.... I have zero knowledge in them so you may want to call for type and price point ... I do know they were smaller than the awesome looking ones people have posted on here

lloyd378 wrote:selhizi or something like that.... I have zero knowledge in them

most likely a delhezi, which is one I am interested in. Thanks for the heads up.

Yeah probably and maybe also one called a Senegal ????? Maybe

Yep the sen is the basic one you can find at Petsmart. I want one of those but an albino. Wet spot had them but seemed to be short bodied. The sen is the basic most active from what I have been reading.

midway has had a lot of bichirs lately. Sierra also has been having alot I have seen albinos at both of those stores. I have an 8" regular sengal for $10 if your coming from Tacoma. I believe fishbox member jay has some half grown albino sengals on C.L. CAREFUL ONCE YOU GET ONE BICHIR YOU WILL WANT MORE

anthony wrote:CAREFUL ONCE YOU GET ONE BICHIR YOU WILL WANT MORE

  Thats what I hear.

I really want an Albino Sen, and want it small so I can grow it out. Thanks for the leads...

look for the bigger fin by the vent. the fatter vent fin will be male = better eater,faster grower,dosen't hide in the back of the tank,monster

The Sen's do reach in excess of 20", while the Delhezi stays around 12-13".

As for Sierra, dont waste your time. I was there last week and it was the biggest waste of 2 hours in my life. The tanks were clean, really clean, but there was nothing there, and what was there looked horrible.

I have a text into Alex at Midway to see what they have there. I want a Teugelsi.

I have 2 teugelsi that originated from midway they are both good eaters one at 6" the other at 9" they were very small when purchased and have both had an explosive growth rate the quality of both is fantastic. I don't know if you saw the prices they were asking for them on aquabid (THOSE ONES MUST COME FROM FANTASY ISLAND)

In regard the Sen size, the captive bred usually only hit about 13" max. Only the WC tend to get that big.

So last time I was at Sumner I saw the dels but was not impressed with the banding. With the captive bred dels its hard to find a cool one. So I decided to order one online from Petsolutions.com. They had a $19.99 next day air shipping deal so I ordered one with a nice little note to please pick out the one with the most banding.... really I did say it.   Cant hurt to try and they cant be any worse than Sumner. Along with it I ordered a tank raised 'Nigerian Senegalus'. So for both fish including shipping I paid $58.47.

Still on the lookout for one more. Either an albino sen, a marbled or gold dust. I will get pics up when I get the little guys. Scheduled for Friday 7/26

Now your on the right track!!! after you get these you will want bichir bichir or endli next !!! just food for thought when collecting bichirs craigslist is great . bigger, cheaper, and you know they are healthy. A lot of times when bichirs are imported they are either very hardy or on their last breath. I bought a koliba before that ate for 6 days then went belly up with a bacterial infection. If you want to blow em up fast give em tilapia even if there small just dice it up. Good luck with your order lets see some pics when it lands

I saw some awesome bichirs at the wet spot last weekend. They had a nice 6" Koliba and 3" endlicheri. I almost came home with a 4" marbled but decided to wait till I moved some fish out before I got anything. I need to move the rhino pleco and giraffe cat into the 210. Then the bichirs only have to deal with a super friendly hopplo cat in the 56g. That will probably be only for a week and then they get their 72g home.

I still need ideas for other tankmates.... I want 3 bichirs, my hopplo cat and something for the top areas? What to get?

African arro, butteryfly fish, Hey if you go to youtube and type in wildlife of polypterus bbc edited .There is a brittish show on some of the African lakes. 3/4 of the way through the video it gets to the polypterus. Some facts one of the oldest fish on the planet, all relatives of polypterus died out millions of years before the dinosaurs even walked the earth, species 400 million years old.

The arro is too big for the 72g bow. I do like the butterfly fish, and was thinking a school of Congo tetras (possibly food   ), maybe a brown knife, still looking for ideas.

I will check out the video, sounds cool!

I got a Fed Ex tracking number for the fish, so thats a good sign. I have never ordered live fish from petsolutions before, just supplies. Always been happy with them and they are on my list of online companies I order from. The fish selection is kind of on the more common side but the fact I found my del on there was impressive. Im super excited to see what I get. Will keep you guys informed.

I also have to say, for those who have read my comments about bichirs before.... I still believe they look like Mr. Hankey from South Park.
See the resemblance?
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There here!  
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Here is the Sen:
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And the del? After my nice asking for a well patterned one? Well here it is:
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Could not be happier! The del is exactly what I was looking for.

They are getting ready to be released into the 56g, so I got to go. Just thought I would share with you guys. Now I need to find my third and final bichir for the 72g..... gold dust? marbled?

VERY Nice!! Happy to hear u r satisfied!  

Thanks, was not sure what to expect with a sight unseen purchase. They even circled my note on the packing slip showing that they paid attention to detail about picking the fish.

Very nice.

Nice, they look good. Miss my Del i used to have..

Thanks guys. I look forward to see what these guys turn out like.

How big are they?

The Del is about 3.5" to 4" the sen a bit smaller at about 3". The Sen looked so small I thought the hopplo would think it was a worm and try to eat it. I will find out when I get home.

DMD123 wrote:Thanks guys. I look forward to see what these guys turn out like.

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What fatties!

The one on the left definitely is. lol  The other 2 are normal.

I have Hikari sinking carnivore to feed them, so Im sure mine will be little fatties too.

WHAT THE @!#$ YOU BUY FISH AND THEY ARRIVE THE NEXT DAY!!!! IT'S THAT EASY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's a nice delhezi. Those are nice bichirs madness I like the royal, that's what I've got with mine . If you can get the bichirs on the pellets and fresh fish they will blow up fast. Nice score sir .I guess I'm gonna have to try the online thing if I can get another big tank soon . Thanks for bichir pics guys

anthony wrote:I guess I'm gonna have to try the online thing

Truthfully I was scared what I would get, but I asked nicely and thanked them for the particular thing I was looking for and that I knew they would do their best. Very happy with what they caught and sent.

Well not satisfied with just the two I decided to order a couple more. This time from The Wet Spot in Portland. They should be in next week. I decided on a Gold Dust Polypterus buettikoferi and an Albino Senegalus. I only plan on keeping three in the 72g. So I have to pick which sen I will like better. My original idea was for an albino anyway but most are a bit on the short side. If you count finlets on top they usually seem 1 or 2 short of a normal sen. So I will see what I get, and post some pics when they come in.

  Tomorrow is the day my little guys ship out from The Wet Spot. I should have them on Wednesday.

My del is kind of bully to the sen, I hope having two more will spread the aggression out a bit. I should have asked for a sen closer in size to the del. It just funny to watch, not really biting or anything like that. More of a put its body in the way so the sen cant get to the food.

New fish day!  

These are from The Wet Spot

Fish acclimating in bucket
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Albino Sen checking out his tankmate (hoplo cat)
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Gold Dust Polypterus buettikoferi
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The new guys sparked the interest from the del who came out to see what was going on. They are his size so it should be very interesting how it plays out because he kind of picked on the smaller sen by blocking access to food with his body. These new guys are his size and maybe slightly bigger...

I got some night crawlers for my bichir. He can actually eat one longer than he is, so I occasionally cut the worm in half.

That is one of my favorite things to feed my fish. Right now its been so dry that I have no worms in the yard. (I do not use chemicals or pesticides so I feel its safe) I will probably buy some bait worms for fun.

I have been feeding Hikari Sinking Carnivore Pellets, frozen bloodworms, some squid and shrimp from a frozen seafod mix (for people) and that is it for now. I do have NLS and frozen brine shrimp which I have not tried yet.

I dont want to try larger worms just yet.... the smallest sen might get mistakenly ate, because he is about 1/2 the size of the others!

Soon they will look like this.

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Except my pile would have an albino in it.

Yep a little zit in the middle.   Get it a zit (white head in the middle)              

Im picturing Animal House and a mouth full of mashed potato...
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