I found a dead lungfish in the Burnett River yesterday. It was in the Claude Warton Weir, just upstream of the Mount Debateable bridge. It was floating belly up near the bank. I've never seen a dead one before, except for below weirs after flooding. It was a fairly young one.

Just posting it here in case there are other cases and someone is searching for it.

I think I might have a couple.  I rescued them from a pet shop about 12 years ago and they were tiny.  They're on the verandah in a 3' tank which is full of green weed and algae and they live in the debris at the bottom of the tank.

They are disgusting and remind me of giant slugs.  These 2 are only about 12" long & maybe it's because their growth is restricted by the size of the tank.

It's probably too late to release them now - although I'd like to get rid of them.

When they're hungry they'll press up against the tank and stare at me.  On a couple of rare occasions I've seen them in tanks - but they always end up dying.  They must thrive in a murky environment.

The dead lungfish you found FD is probably someone's pet they've released into the river.

Sounds like a good idea.  If I could tolerate touching these revolting creatures - I'd let them go in a creek somewhere too.

http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk114/Mantra_2008/lungfish-info0.gif

After looking at more information - mine are African lungfish - which live for about 25 years (OMG).  I only feed them every few days - sometimes not even that, but there are lots of live snails and weed and the tank is partially open - so they probably get insects as well.

The water is so murky - although I top it up occasionally and have probably only cleaned the tank a dozen times in all those years.

I always wondered what they were and assumed they were some sort of eel, although they looked like long fish when they were babies.

There is about 2 inches of debris in the bottom of the tank & they burrow into that and hide under old rotten driftwood and rocks.  Very strange creatures and very, very hardy to have survived for so long under such appalling conditions.

Whatever you do, don't release them. Bury them in your backyard if you want to get rid of them, but kill them first. Or you could probably sell them to a zoo or something.

I doubt the one I saw was a pet.

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Whatever you do, don't release them. Bury them in your backyard if you want to get rid of them, but kill them first. Or you could probably sell them to a zoo or something.

Is it because they're exotic - you shouldn't release them?  I couldn't kill them because I couldn't touch them for a start, but even if I could - it would be impossible for me to kill a healthy animal.


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I doubt the one I saw was a pet.

If it wasn't a pet - why would someone be searching for it?

Sorry, I meant 'googling' it, in case there was some wierd fish kill that only affected a few lungfish or something like that, and someone wanted to check if it was happening elsewhere.

Yes, it is because they are exotic. They could become a pest species if they were ever released. There would probably be some people interested in taking them off your hands, but you should make sure they are reputable and aren't going to stick them in a farm dam or backyard fish pond. Those fish would be more than capable of escaping.

Mantra your fish sound cute and soulful.

I mean, they look at you and press on the glass when they are hungry!

Don't judge a book by its' cover.

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Bury them in your backyard if you want to get rid of them, but kill them first.

I reckon if you don't kill them first, they'd dig themselves out and come knocking on your door in the middle of the night saying "feed me".

I hear they'll eat dead rats and stuff and they'll dig themselves into the mud during the dry season, covering themselves with a mucus membrane until the rains come again. They sound like interesting fish.

Maybe you could sell them as exotic fish and get a good price for them if you don't want them.

I wouldn't sell them Amadd - I'd give them away.  I thought of putting them in a pond - but they might grow too big and if they evolved into something more terrifying they might just decide to come looking for me for a feed.

I thought I saw a very similar creature a few years ago by the side of one of the ponds, but it had little back legs - it looked at me then dived straight into the water and there was too much debris to find it again.  

Easel - yes they've got cute little faces - but if I put my finger near their mouth - they would probably bite it off.

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I wouldn't sell them Amadd - I'd give them away.  I thought of putting them in a pond - but they might grow too big and if they evolved into something more terrifying they might just decide to come looking for me for a feed.

;D Yeah maybe.
But sometimes it's easier to sell something than give it away.
..Like the guy who put his discard wood pile on the naturestrip with a "free wood" sign. After 3 weeks it was still there so he put a sign up saying $5 per length, and it was gone the next day.

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But sometimes it's easier to sell something than give it away. ..Like the guy who put his discard wood pile on the naturestrip with a "free wood" sign. After 3 weeks it was still there so he put a sign up saying $5 per length, and it was gone the next day.

Yes you're probably right.  They are neglected - sometimes I don't see them for a month or so and imagine they're dead and turned to mush - but they'll resurface when I least expect it.  It's difficult even looking in the tank.

I'll ask the pet shop what they might be worth and put a for sale sign up in the window.

If you put them in a pond they could escape during rain and enter a local waterway to wreak ecological havoc.

Facinating creatures, and living fossils.

The Queensland lungfish is a beautiful animal I think, off hand not as familiar with the African animal but thought they were nearly identical.

It has been thrilling the very few times I have seen them in the wild. Largely due to me being an extremely lazy person who enjoys sitting very quietly beside waterways etc.

When the river used to flood they would congregate below the wier and we could pick them up, briefly.