BlueLineAquaticsSC Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 I recently purchased a Gilled Lungfish, protopterus amphibius, who I have named Tambi (Tahm-bee). No idea on gender or how to sex them, but I’ll refer to Tambi as a he just for convenience. He was under 3” when I got him on 12/19/2022. I have scoured the internet for information on this particular species of lungfish and found very little information on them, so I decided to do a growth journal and document what I’ve learned. As of today, 1/1/23, he is a little bigger than 4”. So far he is eating bloodworms, pellets, and I suspect the smaller ramshorn snails he is with, but I have not verified that yet. He has not been eating the cherry shrimp, but they are probably too quick for him right now. Tambi is very active and explorative, and doesn’t seem to mind when my 1 y/o runs up and starts banging on the glass. He isn’t she either and immediately swims up to my hand if I put it in the water. So far he is completely plant safe and uninterested in the pothos, Anubius, guppy grass, and duckweed in his tank. Currently in a 20L with a sponge filter, but since they have no real requirement for oxygen in the water since they breath atmospheric oxygen I’ll probably switch up the filtration to a canister once he is bigger and putting out a lot of bioload. 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSwissAquarist Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 Looks like a fun pet 😍! Do you have any idea about his adult size? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueLineAquaticsSC Posted January 2, 2023 Author Share Posted January 2, 2023 Most sources I find say 18” but some people say theirs got to be 24”+. Supposedly this is the smallest species of lungfish so I’m hoping he stays a manageable size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The endler guy Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 On 1/2/2023 at 2:53 AM, TheSwissAquarist said: Looks like a fun pet 😍! Do you have any idea about his adult size? They are the smallest lungfish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSwissAquarist Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 On 1/2/2023 at 1:34 PM, BlueLineAquaticsSC said: Most sources I find say 18” but some people say theirs got to be 24”+. Supposedly this is the smallest species of lungfish so I’m hoping he stays a manageable size. I think @Dean’s Fishroom has / had one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueLineAquaticsSC Posted January 2, 2023 Author Share Posted January 2, 2023 He has a South American lungfish, this is an African species. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSwissAquarist Posted January 2, 2023 Share Posted January 2, 2023 On 1/2/2023 at 2:19 PM, BlueLineAquaticsSC said: He has a South American lungfish, this is an African species. You've done your research 👍! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueLineAquaticsSC Posted January 3, 2023 Author Share Posted January 3, 2023 Tambi will also happily except flake and immediately swam to the surface to get some, albeit he is a little clumsy at eating food like this. 5 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OnlyGenusCaps Posted January 3, 2023 Share Posted January 3, 2023 I love everything about that fish! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy's Fish Den Posted January 3, 2023 Share Posted January 3, 2023 Cool looking little guy! Will he loose the external gills over time? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueLineAquaticsSC Posted January 3, 2023 Author Share Posted January 3, 2023 On 1/3/2023 at 9:43 AM, Andy's Fish Den said: Cool looking little guy! Will he loose the external gills over time? Not if he is really a gilled lungfish, I am a little hesitant to say 100% that he is this species since he was so cheap and the juveniles look very similar to the west African lungfish which is much more common. West African LF lose their gills after 3 months so I’ll be able to tell soon, I’m guessing Tambi is about 1 month old, but I can’t say for certain since I can’t find any pictures of fry and other juveniles to compare too. On 1/3/2023 at 8:36 AM, OnlyGenusCaps said: I love everything about that fish! Me as well, my first true wet pet 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The endler guy Posted January 3, 2023 Share Posted January 3, 2023 It’s your cousin removed by 1*10^200 generations! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colu Posted January 3, 2023 Share Posted January 3, 2023 Looks like your cats eyeing up his dinner 😸 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueLineAquaticsSC Posted January 3, 2023 Author Share Posted January 3, 2023 On 1/3/2023 at 3:24 PM, Colu said: Looks like your cats eyeing up his dinner 😸 Yes, the cat is very excited that the 90g is out of order so that she can sit on the stand next to the tank Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueLineAquaticsSC Posted January 4, 2023 Author Share Posted January 4, 2023 A bit of a surprise here. I got a new tank mate for Tambi, a large mystery snail, and I blanched some kale for the snail and Tambi started eating chunks off of it, which I did not expect since they are supposed to be carnivorous and not omnivorous, and he doesn’t bother plants. 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueLineAquaticsSC Posted January 10, 2023 Author Share Posted January 10, 2023 (edited) https://youtu.be/tZbtCdwBZhU video of Tambi eating some Tilapia Edited January 10, 2023 by BlueLineAquaticsSC 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueLineAquaticsSC Posted January 29, 2023 Author Share Posted January 29, 2023 Tambi eating some raw shrimp and blood worms. I’ve had him for around a month and a half now. He is about 6” long now. He’ll eat anything but his main diet is frozen bloodworms, raw seafood (shrimp, fish, etc) and ramshorn snails. I recently bought some clam shrimp that I’ll try and start breeding as a live food. The only issue so far was the home made gel food I tried with veggies and fish, caused him to projectile vomit hard enough that I could hear him throwing up across the room. I had never heard of a fish doing this before l, but he seemed fine after a day and had no problem eating again. His current tanks mates are a full grown female guppy and a rather large mystery snail, which I’m using as sort of measuring sticks to see what he will eat at what size. Also his marbled pattern is starting to come out more 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheSwissAquarist Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 Looking goooood! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The endler guy Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 On 1/3/2023 at 8:19 PM, BlueLineAquaticsSC said: A bit of a surprise here. I got a new tank mate for Tambi, a large mystery snail, and I blanched some kale for the snail and Tambi started eating chunks off of it, which I did not expect since they are supposed to be carnivorous and not omnivorous, and he doesn’t bother plants. I thought they were omnivorous, (primarily carnivorous, but then again you can find plenty of well documented cases of carnivores eating plants, as well as terrifyingly herbivores eating meat) also not sure if the mystery snail will be okay as Tambi gets bigger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueLineAquaticsSC Posted January 30, 2023 Author Share Posted January 30, 2023 (edited) On 1/30/2023 at 12:52 PM, The endler guy said: I thought they were omnivorous, (primarily carnivorous, but then again you can find plenty of well documented cases of carnivores eating plants, as well as terrifyingly herbivores eating meat) also not sure if the mystery snail will be okay as Tambi gets bigger There is not a lot about them documented, I’ve read omnivore and carnivore. As far as the mystery snail, I am confident he will be lunch one day, he is in there to be a somewhat “scientific”measure of how big Tambi needs to be to eat something that size. Edited January 30, 2023 by BlueLineAquaticsSC 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The endler guy Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 On 1/30/2023 at 1:04 PM, BlueLineAquaticsSC said: There is not a lot about them documented, I’ve read omnivore and carnivore. As far as the mystery snail, I am confident he will be lunch one day, he is in there to be a somewhat scientific measure of how big Tambi needs to be to eat something that size. I mean,in the wild you can’t be a picky eater! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueLineAquaticsSC Posted January 30, 2023 Author Share Posted January 30, 2023 On 1/30/2023 at 1:05 PM, The endler guy said: I mean,in the wild you can’t be a picky eater! That’s true, he isn’t picky at home either. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The endler guy Posted January 30, 2023 Share Posted January 30, 2023 On 1/30/2023 at 1:06 PM, BlueLineAquaticsSC said: That’s true, he isn’t picky at home either. Do they have bad eye sight? They just give off poor eyesight vibes (probably because they look like axolotls with noodle arms) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueLineAquaticsSC Posted January 31, 2023 Author Share Posted January 31, 2023 On 1/30/2023 at 1:08 PM, The endler guy said: Do they have bad eye sight? They just give off poor eyesight vibes (probably because they look like axolotls with noodle arms) From what I understand yes, they hunt mostly on smell. The guy at my LFS said they are natures D student 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlueLineAquaticsSC Posted February 18, 2023 Author Share Posted February 18, 2023 No picture, just a quick observation. Rambo’s tank has become overrun with duckweed, I saw him trying to surface to breathe and it seemed like he didn’t think he could go through the plants and was looking for an empty spot. Not sure if this is actually the case (lungfish are not the brightest fish) but just to be safe I’m making sure no more than 50% of the surface is covered from now on. Also Tambi is about to get his first official tank mate, a geophagus tapajos someone is rehoming because it was getting bullied. Hopefully these to get along. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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