I just wanted to confirm that they are a freshwater species? The salesperson at petsmart told me that they were brackish so I had to hold out on buying one yesterday. [Specifically Polypterus Senegalus]
Stupid Question (bichirs)
- Thread starter Druu
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Lupin
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- Sep 21, 2006
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- Paul
i think the problem here is common names - the dragon eel or dragon goby is a brackish fish, but the bichir, commonly called a dinosaur eel, is fresh. the person most likely just got confused on which fish he was talking about.
just for clarity's sake:
If he looks like this
http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Tanks/Tankpics/p_senegalus-juv1.jpg
Then you have a bichir aka dinosaur eel this is one of the most common Polypterus senegalus but there are many different bichir eels
if he looks like this
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/Brackish... PIX/GobioidPIX/Gobioides_broussonenti_AQ.jpg
then you have a violet goby aka dragon fish
hope that helps 8)
If he looks like this
http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Tanks/Tankpics/p_senegalus-juv1.jpg
Then you have a bichir aka dinosaur eel this is one of the most common Polypterus senegalus but there are many different bichir eels
if he looks like this
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/Brackish... PIX/GobioidPIX/Gobioides_broussonenti_AQ.jpg
then you have a violet goby aka dragon fish
hope that helps 8)
leave it to petsmart to try to confuse people, sort of like the minimum tank size for oscars is 29 gallon according to those geniuses.
no need for that ^. every store is different, and plenty of stores have very good and knowledgeable employees.
Thanks for the responses everyone. I'm sure it's a birchir- the dragon gobies were about three times the length and in a diff part of the display!
I wasn't criticizing the employees, I'm talking about the fish ID/care cards that the company uses under each display tank.
ah, i see. thankfully they are improving their tags bit by bit, thanks to the people at noclownsinacube.com
Brackish bichirs?
Bichirs are freshwater fish and, though some are found in rivers near where they empty into the ocean, the water they inhabit is fully fresh.
Polypterus ornatipinnis and Polypterus e.congicus are sometimes found in Lake Tanganyika which has hard, alkaline water but are rarely, if ever, found in the lake itself. Instead, they inhabit the swampy areas where river water empties into the lake proper.
Bichirs are freshwater fish and, though some are found in rivers near where they empty into the ocean, the water they inhabit is fully fresh.
Polypterus ornatipinnis and Polypterus e.congicus are sometimes found in Lake Tanganyika which has hard, alkaline water but are rarely, if ever, found in the lake itself. Instead, they inhabit the swampy areas where river water empties into the lake proper.