Please id these loaches

captmicha

captmicha

Le tired.
Dec 6, 2006
2,052
0
36
40
Maryland, USA
My dad brought home some fish and these loaches were amongst them. Also some other fish, including a baby pleco.

I came downstairs last night and peered in the quarantine tank and saw one of the loaches attacking the pleco! So I took the loaches out and put the pleco in a hospital tank and treated it but it died some time last night.

I can't find these loaches when I tried to id them and they look a bit like snakeheads to me.

I took the best pics I could @ 5 in the morning. Okay, who am I kidding. This is the best I could do.

loach.JPG best.JPG
 
Those are birchirs (sp?), not loaches. They aren't related at all, and are predators. Very cool, ancient fish, though.

Sorry about the loss of the pleco, and hopefully someone who knows more about birchirs than me can identify the species.
 
I agree it's a polypterus sengalus. They're predatory fish and get to about 12" long and need access to air. They are known to jump out of the aquarium so make sure to cover it well. You can find more info on www.monsterfishkeepers.com.
 
Yep, sen bichirs... Feed em shrimp pellets, don't keep them with bottom dwelling slow fish. Or small fish for that matter. Avid predators, they can even emerge from the water to hunt on land for brief periods of time, using a modified swim bladder for a lung. Fun fish to keep though, I have two just like that, but bigger. And fatter.

Best way to reduce agression on this fish is to stuff them and keep them stuffed. They will eat untill their bellies swell, then hopefully, not nibble other fish.
 
Another agreement here, definately polypterus senegalus, or Senegal Bichir. Those guys are pretty decent predators, and will eat anything small enough to fit into their mouths. Ours has doubled in size since he started getting feeder fish, thanks to the needlefish, and he's now about 7 inches long and as fat as my thumb (although I'm only 5'2").
 
what size tank do you have, i honestly have never come across these fish before (only heard the legends....) but anyways i would say you would probably wanna take them back if your tank is any less than around 50g, am i right?
 
I have 3 sengals and one ornate that are all about 6 inches and are currently living quite comfy in a 33 gallon. As they get bigger they will be moved to a larger tank. If I only had the two sengels though I would say they would be fine in the 33 for quite a while. As everyone else said they are highly predatory and can eat fish that you wouldn't think would fit in their mouths, they just tear them apart.
 
I'm not sure in grams but the tank is a 29g. We have small peaceful fish so they're going to have to go.

My dad wouldn't listen to me and didn't do his home work before buying random fish. I remember seeing at least 12" ones @ my favorite fish store and asked about them. I thought I recognized these. But my memory is bad and I didn't remember the name.
 
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