# bowfin



## lemmywinks (Jan 25, 2004)

i just saw some of these at my lfs and have no idea what they are. any body have any info on these guys?


----------



## piranha45 (Apr 8, 2003)

North America's version of the snakehead/wolf fish

very similar to wolf fish in behavior --- fairly inactive ambush predator

large males can be quite territorial/aggressive

they get 2-3 feet in length. Can do well in warm water

They are wanted for the same reasons snakeheads/wolf fish are wanted by hobbiests. Granted though, there is only one specie of bowfin, so there are no 'dwarf' species.


----------



## lemmywinks (Jan 25, 2004)

so is it like a snakehead? snakeheads are illigal here so i cant get one







i would love to get a fish that is like a snakehead. thanx p45


----------



## Polypterus (May 4, 2003)

lemmywinks said:


> so is it like a snakehead? snakeheads are illigal here so i cant get one
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 Bowfin are nothing like snakeheads beyond superficial appearence
and habit of breathing air.

(Poly pet peeve "Bowfin are like Snakeheads")

Bowfin, Amia calva, are the sole remaing species of a once widespread
group of ganoid fishes, These are a very ancient fish loosly related to gars.

Bowfin are easy to keep in captivity, in fact they are truly one of the few fish
I would say can be viewed almost as a pet. they become quite tame and show a
number of anthropormorphic traits.

Captive fish tend to not get very large, but they are very longlived,
These fish can be very rewarding to someone that is willing to keep one fish for 
a long time, housing them with anyother fish is impossable, They will kill 
anything in the tank with them. Keeping one is definitly worth the tankspace
though.

One of my personal favorite fish, both in the aquarium and on Hook and line.


----------



## acestro (Jul 7, 2003)

Yes, snakeheads are much more "derived" than bowfin (have evolved and been around much more recently).



> Bowfin, Amia calva, are the sole remaing species of a once widespread
> group of ganoid fishes, These are a very ancient fish loosly related to gars.


Getting a little scientific. Taking biology of fishes a while back and looked at some bowfin scales, they didn't look ganoid at all. I realize the old grouping had them and gar together but I think they must be considerable closer to teleosts. Any thoughts/experiences?

Nice pic, by the way, p45.


----------



## lemmywinks (Jan 25, 2004)

what do they eat? the more i hear about these guys the more i want to get one







. any other info? like min tank size? what they eat? how fast do they grow? about how old can they get? that is about it. and also is 20$ a good price on one that is about 6" long?


----------



## Innes (Jan 13, 2003)

heres a handy link
heres another handy link


----------



## NTcaribe (Apr 8, 2004)

13 years fishing and have never caught one,specie of fish from the great lakes
good luck with the bowfin

oh..im sure bowfin will eat anything feederfish,worms,shrimp, etc


----------



## lemmywinks (Jan 25, 2004)

do you think i could get one on large cichlid pellets? this would be a hell of a lot cheaper than shrimp and stuff like that.


----------



## NTcaribe (Apr 8, 2004)

hey like i say it doesn't hurt to try,i would think they would eat cichlid pellets because i think they are the fish that swim along the bottom


----------



## piranha45 (Apr 8, 2003)

personally I'm not sure. If snakeheads take pellets though then I dont see why bowfin can't either. If noone else can give you a positive confirmation then hit up Predfish, there are bowfin keepers there


----------



## Polypterus (May 4, 2003)

lemmywinks said:


> do you think i could get one on large cichlid pellets? this would be a hell of a lot cheaper than shrimp and stuff like that.


 Yes they will in fact there are few things these fish will not eat.


----------



## Polypterus (May 4, 2003)

acestro said:


> Yes, snakeheads are much more "derived" than bowfin (have evolved and been around much more recently).
> 
> 
> 
> ...


 Thats why I say only loosly related, Then flopped








Ganoid was a bad term to use, I should have caught myself on that








Big mistake thats easy to accidently parrot when your tired and trying to be
overly simplistic.

Bowfin are definitly closly allied to the teleosts,
But They are very different from them in some aspects,
perticularly in the structure of the jaws,

this is what keeps them in the intermediate between "older" types such as
Bichir and "newer" types such as cichlids.

Relation to the gars is superficial and really only merited through 
small skeletal similiaritys, Minor anatomical traits, and that jaw structure.

I could go on this for hours, but will kept this short and quick,
Would be a good topic on it's own.


----------

