Bichirs belong to the family Polypteridae and are mostly from
different regions of Africa. Temperament, activity, and size vary
greatly from species to species.

Carnivorous, bichirs will accept most meaty foods, as well as live
foods. Bare minimum for the Senegal Bichir would be a 30g, and this is
among the smallest bichirs out there. Most water conditions are
tolerable and they will not suffer adversely except from extremes of
pH and hardness.

A must for bichirs is a sand substrate, as they have been known to
choke on gravel and die.

Basic info for the common species:

1) Polypterus senegalus senegalus , senegal bichir - The easiest and
most active of the bichirs to keep, these guys are a joy to have. With
a minimum tank size of 30g, they do not require gigantic tanks like
some of its cousins which will be mentioned later Diets can be varied
from frozen fish to bloodworms, and it is not at all a fussy eater. It
can grow to about 20" in the wild, but only to a max of 12" in the
home aquarium, and it rarely reaches that. 8" is a far more common
size for it. Can be kept with many fish above 4-6"

2) Polypterus ornatipinnis, ornate bichir - One of the big boys, it
gets to abouyt 2', and needs a minimum 75g tank. Very nocturnal, they
are very inactive in the day, and feeding should be done at night.
Hiding spaces should also be made avaiblable for it to hide in the
day. All meaty foods accepted, live or frozen. Tankmates must be large
and active to avoid being eaten by this monster of a fish.

3) Polypterus delhezi, armoured bichir - 16" is its maximum size, so a
60g tank should be enough for life. Another nocturnal bichir, prepare
hiding spaces for it to hide in throughout the day. As with the
others, all meaty foods accepted. Tankmates should be at least half
its size.