Name: Polypterus Ornatapinnis

Common: Ornate Bichir

Size: 60 cm upwards

Origins: Africa, notedly Lake Tanganyika and Zaire basin

Diet: High protein and calcium based foods such as whole prawn/shrimp, feeder fish, lance fish, carnivore pellets etc.

Organization: Solitary

Tank: six foot by two foot minimum if you intend to grow one to its full potential

Sexing: Females are larger, stockier with a more fleshy anal fin than the male

Breeding: Extremely difficult, will write a special bichir breeding article later

This ancient species of fish is absolutely gorgeous to look at, their long black bodies with mottled yellow and cream spots make them perfect centre piece fish. P.Ornatapinnis is heavily armoured making it a hardy fish but not as flexible as one might think when first beholding them.

Bichirs are mostly nocturnal, but most can be persuaded to come out during the day to feed, and some will even hand feed although it is important that you be wary as they have really powerful jaws with hundreds of teeth! (I can vouch for that) They hunt mostly by smell, using their long nostril extensions to get a more acurate reading on the preys direction. They also use these extensions to explore new items and tank mates, leading me to reach the conclusion that they are also extremely sensitive to touch in the snout area.

In addition to these quirks, bichirs have two other traits, the first is that they have a secondary breathing organ that they can use to get a gulp of air to help them in poor water conditions. This is also used in day to day life so it is important to allow them to do this or the fish will drown. Interestingly enough they arent born with this organ, instead they have a pair of external gills which slowly degenerate as the secondary organ develops! This means that youngsters require extremely pure water and can NOT BE KEPT WITH FIN NIPPERS incase they attack the juvies gills.
Secondly birchirs are capable of land travel and can be found dragging themselves around on the shore to find a new body of water if food is scarce! SO remember TIGHT LIDS KIDS!

P.Ornatapinnis is one of the two species of polypterid to be bred in captivity, but this is rather rare due to their overall size!

Overall this is a lovely fish and i would recommend this to keep one:

120cm plus in length and about 80cm wide the larger the footprint the better, good filtration is a must as they are messy eaters. Decor can be just about anything, they are tough as old boots but they do appreciate a hidey hole here and there!
pH of between 6.5 through to 8, remember they are found in both pH conditions, very adaptable fish

Tank mates are difficult for this fish. Remember it is a predator and will eat small fish and anything it can (make) fit in its mouth. Also it is rather laid back and does not cope well with bullying. Furthermore to complicate things plecs can actually chews on the birchirs slime coat and stress them out. Oddballs' recommended tank mates include:
Large synodontis catfish
Large lake Tanganyika cichlids
Gar fish
Large loach
other Bichirs