As many of you know, hobbyist breeding Bichirs can be difficult, but raising them can be even harder.
I hope this thread can be a collection of information on breeding requirements for them.
How do you sex them?
Males have a wide, muscular/fat anal fin and sometimes a pointed tailfin tip.
Females have a smaller, thinner anal fin and sometimes a rounded tailfin tip. Females tend grow faster, get larger and thicker-bodied than males.
When can they breed?
Males (upper jaws) as young as 1 year.
Males (lower jaws) 3 years.
All females, 5-6 years.
Young females can still carry undeveloped eggs, but successful breeding will be difficult until 5-6.
This may stress out already mature males in the tank, causing them to become very aggressive, biting fins and finlets. I had a P. senegalus senegalus do this and kill one of my wild caught Nigerian P. bichir lapradei by breaking the hard dorsal spines.
The ritual
Males will approach the female and shake their heads, twitch their tails and follow the female until she accepts. Once she has, they will find a hiding spot and later she will release her eggs for the male to catch in his anal fin. He will then fertilize the eggs in his cupped anal fin and scatter them.
(The anal fin flexing [Cupping] can also occur when he is just "excited".)
See video (below) for the pre-mating ritual.
Male Polypterus bichir lapradei (Nigeria) "Cupping".
Breeding triggers
It is thought one of the breeding triggers for P. senegalus senegalus is a grassy substrate, so the eggs can be scattered inside the grass without risk of being eaten.
This may also apply to the rest of the Senegalus group (not to be confused with the Senegalus complex)
The Senegalus group includes:
P. senegalus senegalus,
P. senegalus meridionales,
P. delhezi,
P. polli,
P. palmas palmas,
P. palmas buettikoferi.
This specimen here was a hybrid of a P. bichir lapradei (female) and a P. ornatipinnis (male) - Bred by Richard Brown, to my knowledge, the first recorded hobbyist Bichir breeding in the UK.
Just the one specimen was found which likely hatched in the external filter. Sadly it died shortly after.
I have noticed juvenile Polypterus around this size, all have a dark black/purple body, with white/yellow stripes on its head with spots towards the tail. Interested if this is true for every species? Thoughts?
If you know of anymore triggers or have anything else to contribute, post below
Love to see some successful breeding!
(Sorry for the repost, I think I posted it in the wrong thread before)
I hope this thread can be a collection of information on breeding requirements for them.
How do you sex them?
Males have a wide, muscular/fat anal fin and sometimes a pointed tailfin tip.
Females have a smaller, thinner anal fin and sometimes a rounded tailfin tip. Females tend grow faster, get larger and thicker-bodied than males.
When can they breed?
Males (upper jaws) as young as 1 year.
Males (lower jaws) 3 years.
All females, 5-6 years.
Young females can still carry undeveloped eggs, but successful breeding will be difficult until 5-6.
This may stress out already mature males in the tank, causing them to become very aggressive, biting fins and finlets. I had a P. senegalus senegalus do this and kill one of my wild caught Nigerian P. bichir lapradei by breaking the hard dorsal spines.
The ritual
Males will approach the female and shake their heads, twitch their tails and follow the female until she accepts. Once she has, they will find a hiding spot and later she will release her eggs for the male to catch in his anal fin. He will then fertilize the eggs in his cupped anal fin and scatter them.
(The anal fin flexing [Cupping] can also occur when he is just "excited".)
See video (below) for the pre-mating ritual.
Male Polypterus bichir lapradei (Nigeria) "Cupping".
Breeding triggers
It is thought one of the breeding triggers for P. senegalus senegalus is a grassy substrate, so the eggs can be scattered inside the grass without risk of being eaten.
This may also apply to the rest of the Senegalus group (not to be confused with the Senegalus complex)
The Senegalus group includes:
P. senegalus senegalus,
P. senegalus meridionales,
P. delhezi,
P. polli,
P. palmas palmas,
P. palmas buettikoferi.
This specimen here was a hybrid of a P. bichir lapradei (female) and a P. ornatipinnis (male) - Bred by Richard Brown, to my knowledge, the first recorded hobbyist Bichir breeding in the UK.
Just the one specimen was found which likely hatched in the external filter. Sadly it died shortly after.
I have noticed juvenile Polypterus around this size, all have a dark black/purple body, with white/yellow stripes on its head with spots towards the tail. Interested if this is true for every species? Thoughts?
If you know of anymore triggers or have anything else to contribute, post below
Love to see some successful breeding!
(Sorry for the repost, I think I posted it in the wrong thread before)
