Do you have any bichir to share? My polycule has one and he's still growing. It's very fun to watch!
OK, so this is one of my absolute favorite groups of fishes! I love these little dragons...
Barred Bichir (Polypterus delhezi), family Polypteridae, family Playpteriformes, found in the Congo River System of West Africa
photograph by Hampus Hertzman
Ornate Bichir (Polypterus ornatipinnis), family Polypteridae, family Playpteriformes, found in Lake Tanganyika and the Congo River basin in Central and East Africa
photograph by The Wet Spot
Saddled Bichir (Polypterus endlicherii), family Polypteridae, family Playpteriformes, found in lakes and rivers systems across central Africa
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Anatomy: elongated, cylindrical body; series of dorsal finlets which vary in number from 7 to 18, instead of a single dorsal fin; body is covered in thick, bonelike, rhombic scales; jaw structure resembles that of tetrapods; fleshy pectoral fins; a pair of slit-like spiracles on the top of their heads are used to breathe air, rather than gills; smooth, paired ventral lungs
Diet: small vertebrates, crustaceans, and insects
Habitat/Range: freshwater habitats in tropical Africa and the Nile River system; mainly swampy, shallow floodplains and estuaries
Evolved in: Late Cretaceous; a closely related group, the Scanilepiformes, are known from the later Permian to the Triassic, and are likely ancestral to polypterids
Do you have a favorite in Polypteriformes?
One or more of my favorite animals is in Polypteriformes
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Voting ended onJun 16, 2025
Propaganda under the cut:
Body elongation in fishes, such as eels, usually happens through the addition of caudal (tail) vertebrae, but in bichirs (genus Polypterus) it has happened through the addition of precaudal vertebrae. Reedfish (Erpetoichthys calabaricus) (image 2) have evolved a more snakelike body by having twice as many precaudal vertebrae as bichirs, despite having the same number of tail vertebrae.
Reedfish are known to explore land both in the wild and in captivity if given the opportunity, slithering like a snake and also taking food items on land. Prey captured on land is brought back to the water to be eaten.
The Reedfish is considered near threatened, due to habitat loss from palm oil plantations, other agriculture, deforestation, and urban development.
Bichirs are the only known vertebrates to have lungs but no trachea. In shallow water, they inhale primarily through a spiracle (blowhole). Exhalation is powered by muscles in the torso.
Polypterids are popular animals for both public and home aquariums. Bichirs are sometimes called “dragon bichir” or “dragon fins” in pet shops as a more appealing name. Though predatory, they are otherwise peaceful, preferring to lie on the bottom (but will swim more when there are large plants present). They make good tankmates with other species large enough to not be prey but small enough to not be predators. Polypterids in captivity have life expectancies of 10–30+ years. They do well in heavily planted tanks that mimic their natural habitat.
Order Polypteriformes are the bichirs and reedfish, a somewhat bizarre-looking, primitive group of ray-finned fishes found only in Africa.This group is most obviously characterized by its several unconnnected, spiny dorsal fins. Although they are considered ray-finned fishes, they actually have lobed pectoral fins (meaning that there is some extension of bone into the fin ray). They also feature several primitve traits, such as ganoid scales, a spiral valve intestine, and a heterocercal (bone extends into fin ray) tail. Interestingly, these species have lungs, but they are attached to the gut.
Also known as the gray bichir or Cuiver's bichir, the Senegal bichir is a species of bichir that is distrusted throughout the Nile basin and Western Africa. Senegal bichirs usually inhabit freshwater swamps and lagoons and typically resign in muddy regions on the sides. Their diet consists mostly of fish, frogs, molluscs, crustaceans and insects.
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Also known as the ropefish or snake fish, the reedfish is an ancient species of fish related to bichir native to western Africa. Reefish usually inhabit slow-moving brackish/fresh water but can also survive in water with low dissolved oxygen content, due to a pair of lungs. These lungs allow them to survive for a small amount of time outside of the water. When they are in the water they feed nocturnally on worms, crustaceans and insects. Their peaceful and inquisitive nature and unique appearance have made the ropefish a popular fish in the aquarium trade.
