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Bichir Breeding


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#1 Rodders02

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  • Location: Freo

Posted 07 November 2017 - 05:52 PM

Hi all, thought Id document on my success in breeding tiger bichirs (polypterus endlicheri).

The pair consists of a male and a female (duh) with the female being roughly 45cm and 3.5 years old, and the male being 35-40cm and 3.5 years old.

I added grass mats which are key to breeding lower jaw species such as senegals, but I dont believe that they had much of an impact with the tigers as the eggs were scattered all over the tank. As you do with most species, I tried to re-create their natural environment by adding lots of real plants and cover.

The breeding was then simulated after heavy and varied feeding and a big cold water change. The breeding period lasted for around 4 days where they were continuously laying eggs with a total of 900+ eggs being laid in total.

I collected as many eggs as I could and separated them from the parents (the parents will eat the eggs). I placed the eggs in a small breeding box right near the a wavemaker so that there was water flowing over them continuously to prevent the growth of fungus.

Around 25 of the 900+ eggs hatched, this was most likely due to the male being inexperienced with fertilising the eggs so hopefully next time I get a larger number to hatch. The fry then hatched after 3 days and they were approximately 5-7mm long. They fed off their yolksack for the next week. After this week had passed I began feeding baby brine shrimp. However it became too hard for me too hatch enough brine for 3+ feedings a day as I am too busy (only just found out that aquotix sold frozen bb), so I switched to feeding crushed up (under the mortar and pestle) blood worms and daphnia. Quite a few of them started eating instantly and the ones that didnt eat died at around 6-7 day mark. I had approximately 12 fry that were readily taking the food and had grown a considerable amount. The fry were around 2cm and 2 weeks old when I had a power outage overnight which unfortunately killed all of them.
e2801c56a0e36b319bdd6dfd3c57cb35.jpg23daa7fbe04aa5a0321482b9764c6482.jpg198f8d1a1c3059132589359d0f90b053.jpg7bbfcb2abd06b783b413d376c020c198.jpg361ea338c7dd1b4e96e1f3f407790e93.jpg


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#2 Hood

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  • Joined: 06-February 08
  • Location: Clarkson, WA

Posted 07 November 2017 - 05:56 PM

Hi all, thought Id document on my success in breeding tiger bichirs (polypterus endlicheri).

The pair consists of a male and a female (duh) with the female being roughly 45cm and 3.5 years old, and the male being 35-40cm and 3.5 years old.

I added grass mats which are key to breeding lower jaw species such as senegals, but I dont believe that they had much of an impact with the tigers as the eggs were scattered all over the tank. As you do with most species, I tried to re-create their natural environment by adding lots of real plants and cover.

The breeding was then simulated after heavy and varied feeding and a big cold water change. The breeding period lasted for around 4 days where they were continuously laying eggs with a total of 900+ eggs being laid in total.

I collected as many eggs as I could and separated them from the parents (the parents will eat the eggs). I placed the eggs in a small breeding box right near the a wavemaker so that there was water flowing over them continuously to prevent the growth of fungus.

Around 25 of the 900+ eggs hatched, this was most likely due to the male being inexperienced with fertilising the eggs so hopefully next time I get a larger number to hatch. The fry then hatched after 3 days and they were approximately 5-7mm long. They fed off their yolksack for the next week. After this week had passed I began feeding baby brine shrimp. However it became too hard for me too hatch enough brine for 3+ feedings a day as I am too busy (only just found out that aquotix sold frozen bb), so I switched to feeding crushed up (under the mortar and pestle) blood worms and daphnia. Quite a few of them started eating instantly and the ones that didnt eat died at around 6-7 day mark. I had approximately 12 fry that were readily taking the food and had grown a considerable amount. The fry were around 2cm and 2 weeks old when I had a power outage overnight which unfortunately killed all of them.
e2801c56a0e36b319bdd6dfd3c57cb35.jpg23daa7fbe04aa5a0321482b9764c6482.jpg198f8d1a1c3059132589359d0f90b053.jpg7bbfcb2abd06b783b413d376c020c198.jpg361ea338c7dd1b4e96e1f3f407790e93.jpg


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Woah congrats my friend. Nice work. :)

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Edited by Hood, 07 November 2017 - 05:59 PM.


#3 Chopstick_mike

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  • Location: Tapping

Posted 07 November 2017 - 06:26 PM

That is awesome mate now

#4 litigator666

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  • Location: Brisbane QLD

Posted 07 November 2017 - 09:05 PM

Congrats and good luck on future batches.

#5 bigjohnnofish

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  • Location: Banjo Country aka just past Mundaring

Posted 08 November 2017 - 02:16 AM

Nice

#6 zach16

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  • Location: Westminister

Posted 08 November 2017 - 09:00 AM

Nice work Tom



#7 Delapool

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  • Location: Swan View

Posted 08 November 2017 - 05:33 PM

Best of luck also on future batches. Great to read (except the ending - hope all goes well next time).

#8 Aiden

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  • Location: Baldivis

Posted 12 November 2017 - 01:01 PM

Nice work man, the babies look so cute!

#9 ice

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  • Location: Huntingdale, WA

Posted 17 November 2017 - 08:20 AM

Awesome work mate, hopefully you get another batch soon. Do yourself a favor and decapsulate some brine shrimp eggs for yourself, makes hatching them so much quicker and easier and increases the hatch rate. Some fry will eat the decapsulated eggs without the need to hatch them too.



#10 Jules

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  • Location: Treeby

Posted 18 November 2017 - 09:51 AM

Are they still spawning? Be great to be producing them locally, heard they are one of the harder bichir species to spawn so well done! Definetly a pair of fish worth locking away and keeping now they are a viable mating pair!




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