Bryan T - 2012-04-26 I had a South American Lungfish for about 2 years, grew to about 2 feet long but it died because it got stuck in one of those log tank decorations and drowned. It was horrible waking up early that morning and seeing his lifeless body stuck in that log. I have to say that if you get one make sure you have nothing they can get stuck it. But if it's already a foot and a half then you need at least a 55gal (probably more then a 100gallon).
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Clarice Brough - 2012-05-06 It would be so cool to have one of these fish. Thanks for the tip on keeping them safe.
Laura - 2012-02-06 I got my South American lungfish in 1998, so it is about 14 years old now. He has been living in a 20 gallon tank very happily the entire time and is about 1 1/2 feet long. His or her diet is varied. He will eat tetra food if you run out. He loves night crawlers. He used to eat live pinky rats when I was breeding them. I have fed him a chunk of raw deer meat before as well as salmon and pork(only when I am out of worms). I've bought frozen fish food for him before. He likes to eat goldfish. I have always kept him with an air bubbler. I'm not sure if it is needed or not. He is 14 years old, so I must be doing something right. He lets you hold him in the water sometimes, but he will bite you if you get close to his mouth. OUCH!
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Alex Burleson - 2012-02-06 Congratulations on your 14 year success with your lung fish. However, I would never recommend housing a lungfish in a 20 gallon aquarium. The fish itself is almost as large as the aquarium it's housed in. Lungfish, are quite the hardy fish, but are not meant for 20 gallon aquariums.
Laura - 2009-06-30 My lungfish is 12 yrs old now. He/she is about 1 1/2 ft. long in a 20 gallon tank. She still eats newborn rats and earthworms regularly. I got a tank divider and separated a small corner of the tank off and put in a couple of orange cichlids, two albino corys and a plecostamous. My 2 and 3 year old, whom are facinated and respectful to the fish and who help feed him, messed up the divider. I am left with one cichlid and the plecostamous. I just wanted another creature to look at. I've put bullfrog tadpoles in there for fun, but they can't handle the warm temperature that my lungfish enjoys. She has so much personality. She likes stalking the cichlid in the corner by staring at it even though they say he's blind. She also likes to rearrange the furniture in the tank sometimes by sucking up the quartz gravel in her mouth and piling it up in different locations. I use slate to make tunnels for her, but she knocks them down a lot.
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Reggie - 2011-05-29 I wonder how do you know the age of your lungfish as they are not captive produced and there's not much demand for them to be farmed . But lets say it's 12 yrs old , it should be 4 ft + . If you recieved it as a baby , lets say 4 inches , it should be 1 1/2 ft at 2 yrs or sooner. As far as a 20 gallon tank , at 1 1/2 ft , it should be in a 75 gallon tank without a divider . I would recommend changing the gravel out to put Pool Filter sand or very fine course Crush Coral . I do not want to come across trying to offend you . I am trying to be informal so that you would have a much happier lungfish . One day these will not be available in the trade . I have two , a small one and a 3 footer , I love both more than any cichlid or catfish by far . Enjoy your fish !!!!
krissy - 2007-04-30 i just got one of these awesome creatures and i must say i have never seen anything like it before. it is slowly cruising around the bottom of it's tank and 'climbs' up the side every so often to grab a breath of fresh air. he likes shrimp pellets because he's pretty lazy and doesn't want to hunt the feeder fish i got him. his fins are thin and he spins them around like legs to push himself across the bottom. he's lots of fun to watch and is extremely friendly. he even lets me pet him.
Turtle Girl - 2009-05-22 I just recently got a new lungfish. It is only a little baby it's name is Baxy (pronounced Baa z eye)I like him/her alot. They have such a cool life style and the way they eat is soo amazing. My lungfish eats soft krill pellets and very much enjoys them. The only thing I am keeping him/her with is a marble bristle nose plecostomus and a snail. He/she is in a ten gallon right now because of how small he/she is. It is also a low current tank with alot of live plants that he/she loves to hide in.
joe - 2009-02-09 I've had my Lungfish for about 4 years. He's about 2ft long now. I feed him large night crawlers. I have been bitten by him before but it was a miss when he was going for food and he immediately went to the back corner; he knew he'd been bad. He's in a relatively small tank (30L) with two large angelfish. The angels are about 4 inches tall without the fins, much larger than the mouth of the Lungfish. This turned out to be a bad idea... I'm short one angel now and have a very dirty aquarium. Probably gonna keep him in his own tank. These are very easy creatures to keep and have alot of personality but best kept alone!
Laura - 2008-07-25 I have had mine for almost 11 years! He ate all of my tropical fish when I first got him or her from the pet store. He has killed a giant catfish as well as another lungfish over the years. He mostly eats live baby rats. Sometimes he eats nightcrawlers, grubs, goldfish, frozen or dry fish food if I am out of stuff, and has had chunks of fresh caught salmon. He lets me hold him. He drew blood in my finger as well as my 2 year old son's finger--scary more than painful. He got out of the tank once for maybe a half an hour and was okay. My 2 toddlers let me know.
Atkin - 2008-03-18 Ive had one of these for a few years. He was named Jeremy by a friend of mine who worked with me at the aquatics.
He is just over 2 feet long and right now lives happily in a Juwel Rio 180 with an oscar, a golden severum and a couple of plecs.
I may move him to a larger tank with perhaps some tinfoils and silver shark since they are mostly surface feeders and move too quickly for him but for now he's happy with the misfits.
The South American Lungfish may not be pretty, but it is a pretty amazing fish nonetheless!
I had a South American Lungfish for about 2 years, grew to about 2 feet long but it died because it got stuck in one of those log tank decorations and drowned. It was horrible waking up early that morning and seeing his lifeless body stuck in that log. I have to say that if you get one make sure you have nothing they can get stuck it. But if it's already a foot and a half then you need at least a 55gal (probably more then a 100gallon).
It would be so cool to have one of these fish. Thanks for the tip on keeping them safe.
I got my South American lungfish in 1998, so it is about 14 years old now. He has been living in a 20 gallon tank very happily the entire time and is about 1 1/2 feet long. His or her diet is varied. He will eat tetra food if you run out. He loves night crawlers. He used to eat live pinky rats when I was breeding them. I have fed him a chunk of raw deer meat before as well as salmon and pork(only when I am out of worms). I've bought frozen fish food for him before. He likes to eat goldfish. I have always kept him with an air bubbler. I'm not sure if it is needed or not. He is 14 years old, so I must be doing something right. He lets you hold him in the water sometimes, but he will bite you if you get close to his mouth. OUCH!
Congratulations on your 14 year success with your lung fish. However, I would never recommend housing a lungfish in a 20 gallon aquarium. The fish itself is almost as large as the aquarium it's housed in. Lungfish, are quite the hardy fish, but are not meant for 20 gallon aquariums.
My lungfish is 12 yrs old now. He/she is about 1 1/2 ft. long in a 20 gallon tank. She still eats newborn rats and earthworms regularly. I got a tank divider and separated a small corner of the tank off and put in a couple of orange cichlids, two albino corys and a plecostamous. My 2 and 3 year old, whom are facinated and respectful to the fish and who help feed him, messed up the divider. I am left with one cichlid and the plecostamous. I just wanted another creature to look at. I've put bullfrog tadpoles in there for fun, but they can't handle the warm temperature that my lungfish enjoys. She has so much personality. She likes stalking the cichlid in the corner by staring at it even though they say he's blind. She also likes to rearrange the furniture in the tank sometimes by sucking up the quartz gravel in her mouth and piling it up in different locations. I use slate to make tunnels for her, but she knocks them down a lot.
I wonder how do you know the age of your lungfish as they are not captive produced and there's not much demand for them to be farmed . But lets say it's 12 yrs old , it should be 4 ft + . If you recieved it as a baby , lets say 4 inches , it should be 1 1/2 ft at 2 yrs or sooner. As far as a 20 gallon tank , at 1 1/2 ft , it should be in a 75 gallon tank without a divider . I would recommend changing the gravel out to put Pool Filter sand or very fine course Crush Coral . I do not want to come across trying to offend you . I am trying to be informal so that you would have a much happier lungfish . One day these will not be available in the trade . I have two , a small one and a 3 footer , I love both more than any cichlid or catfish by far . Enjoy your fish !!!!
i just got one of these awesome creatures and i must say i have never seen anything like it before. it is slowly cruising around the bottom of it's tank and 'climbs' up the side every so often to grab a breath of fresh air. he likes shrimp pellets because he's pretty lazy and doesn't want to hunt the feeder fish i got him. his fins are thin and he spins them around like legs to push himself across the bottom. he's lots of fun to watch and is extremely friendly. he even lets me pet him.
Laura, you have a 1 1/2 foot SA Lungfish in a divided 20 gallon tank? I pray to god that was a typo....
Yeah I'd get a 75 for that fish if not bigger!
My lungfish has gotten huge! btw...it's favorite food is snails, watch out!
I just recently got a new lungfish. It is only a little baby it's name is Baxy (pronounced Baa z eye)I like him/her alot. They have such a cool life style and the way they eat is soo amazing. My lungfish eats soft krill pellets and very much enjoys them. The only thing I am keeping him/her with is a marble bristle nose plecostomus and a snail. He/she is in a ten gallon right now because of how small he/she is. It is also a low current tank with alot of live plants that he/she loves to hide in.
I've had my Lungfish for about 4 years. He's about 2ft long now. I feed him large night crawlers. I have been bitten by him before but it was a miss when he was going for food and he immediately went to the back corner; he knew he'd been bad. He's in a relatively small tank (30L) with two large angelfish. The angels are about 4 inches tall without the fins, much larger than the mouth of the Lungfish. This turned out to be a bad idea... I'm short one angel now and have a very dirty aquarium. Probably gonna keep him in his own tank. These are very easy creatures to keep and have alot of personality but best kept alone!
I have had mine for almost 11 years! He ate all of my tropical fish when I first got him or her from the pet store. He has killed a giant catfish as well as another lungfish over the years. He mostly eats live baby rats. Sometimes he eats nightcrawlers, grubs, goldfish, frozen or dry fish food if I am out of stuff, and has had chunks of fresh caught salmon. He lets me hold him. He drew blood in my finger as well as my 2 year old son's finger--scary more than painful. He got out of the tank once for maybe a half an hour and was okay. My 2 toddlers let me know.
Ive had one of these for a few years. He was named Jeremy by a friend of mine who worked with me at the aquatics.
He is just over 2 feet long and right now lives happily in a Juwel Rio 180 with an oscar, a golden severum and a couple of plecs.
I may move him to a larger tank with perhaps some tinfoils and silver shark since they are mostly surface feeders and move too quickly for him but for now he's happy with the misfits.