Lungfish Tank Size for Life

[BHA]

I was thinking the other day of when I upgrade what size tank I should upgrade to. I currently have an african lungfish that is about 2 foot and was wondering what tank would be good for him for life. I'm think his max size will top out at 30" so I was thinking about getting a 225 that has a wide base 6ft by 3ft. Thoughts?
thanks

 

[Wiggles92]

That should be more than big enough to house a West African lungfish (Protopterus annectens) for life.

 

[BHA]

cool thanks

 

[Oddball]

If it's a P. aethiopicus, you'll need slightly larger.

 

[BHA]

WOW Is that yours? It is P. annectes the most common lungfish correct?

 

[Wiggles92]

P. annectens is the most common lungfish, correct?

That's correct. Do you have a picture of it by chance?

 

[weston]

If it's a P. aethiopicus, you'll need slightly larger.

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This is beyond awesome!!! this is the post I had mentioned before I also have a P. aethiopicus and I was just wondering if you still had yours and how long it took you to grow it to this size? I'm feeding mine cut up talapia and market shrimp as that's all I can get locally for fresh foods and I'm also feeding some large sinking pellets and he occasionally swims up to snag some floating pellets I feed to the handful of large cichlids I keep him with my fish is currently approaching 30 inches and looks like a dwarf compared to the one pictured I can't believe this was actually your fish! Mine is sort of a rescue I've only had him for a few months but I was told he's 5-6 years he seems healthy however he was in extremely cramped conditions before I got him, "he was being kept in a 55 gallon." I'm just wondering what I can feed my fish and what time frame it takes for one to grow this large. He's by far my favorite fish in my collection. Any advice helps, also what size tank would you recommend I'm currently keeping mine in a 180 but I would like to upgrade to a 360 gallon (96x36x24) eventually.

 

[Oddball]

The LF in the pic was purchased as a jumbo for big $. Your LF will be fine for a few years in a 180. Once they hit the 3ft mark their growth really slows down.

My LF ate, primarily, crayfish (since I owned a crayfish hatchery). I also fed him earthworms, ramshorn snails, and FW mussels. When I could find them he also received grass shrimp. During winter (when bait supplies are low and crayfish young are scarce, I fed him a variety of Kensfish sinking sticks and catfish nuggets. I never fed him feeder goldfish or tilapia due to the conditions these species are raised in.

Unfortunately, I no longer have my albino. He died during a relocation when my company transferred me from one state to another.

 

[weston]

The LF in the pic was purchased as a jumbo for big $. Your LF will be fine for a few years in a 180. Once they hit the 3ft mark their growth really slows down.

My LF ate, primarily, crayfish (since I owned a crayfish hatchery). I also fed him earthworms, ramshorn snails, and FW mussels. When I could find them he also received grass shrimp. During winter (when bait supplies are low and crayfish young are scarce, I fed him a variety of Kensfish sinking sticks and catfish nuggets. I never fed him feeder goldfish or tilapia due to the conditions these species are raised in.

Unfortunately, I no longer have my albino. He died during a relocation when my company transferred me from one state to another.

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That sounds horrible man. I would love to see a pic of your old lungfish if you have any. Also should I stop feeding my fish talapia? I purchased it as food prepared for humans so I assumed it was safe for my fish aswell I know I've seen people feed it to their tanks in the past. Oh and also if you know a lot about lungs in particular I was going to ask where you can find an accurate care chart as I'm stumped when it comes to research I can't even find any avaliable online and finding one for sale seems impossible, trust me I've tried I was also wanting to grow out a single WAL or a few SAL as I saw somewhere a guy was keeping a couple of these in a tank with no aggression anyways if you know of any places online it would help me out a lot. Thanks

 

[Oddball]

Tilapia was a good idea in the beginning. When the fish caught on as a cheap source of protein people started looking for ways to mass produce the species. Check out videos and news reports on tilapia farming conditions. Most are cage operations on the most polluted river systems known to man. Usually, the fish are fed effluent from human sewer lines. Others have chicken coops over their ponds and the fish feed on the droppings from the raised cages. Yet, others have pigs or other animals in cages over their ponds feeding only feces to the fish destined for out grocery shelves.
Tilapia in the US are not much better. While they're not (mainly not) raised on fecal matter, for the most part they're raised on cheap pellets with barely enough nutrition to stimulate growth. And, they're grown in such tight over-populations that they have to be constantly medicated to stem diseases associated with over-crowding.
IMO, my fish are better off without tilapia. I don't balk at paying a little more for coldwater species like cod, pollock, and halibut to provide fresh protein to my fish.