How do you take care of a bichir?

To keep your dinosaur bichir happy, maintain a tropical water temperature between 75-82° F (24-28° C), a pH between 6.2 and 7.8, and keep the water soft with a KH between 5 and 20 dKH.

What size tank does a bichir need?

Minimum aquarium size should be 29 gallons, but preferably 55 gallons or more. A good rule of thumb is one gallon of water for every one inch of full-grown fish. These fish prefer fine gravel or sand substrate on the bottom of the aquarium, as eels often burrow into the sand.

Do bichir fish need air pump?

One lesser known fact about Bichirs is that unlike most fish they can breathe air! Specifically, they are facultative air-breathers, meaning when oxygen levels get low in their environment they can take gulps of atmospheric air. In aquaria water is typically well oxygenated enough that they don’t bother breathing air.

What do saddled Bichirs eat?

Bichirs are nocturnal predators. They are carnivorous fish and enjoy eating small vertebrates, crustaceans, insects, and other small fishes. It is better to feed them with live food rather than pellets or artificial food.

Are Bichirs aggressive?

Behavior: Bottom-feeders; moderately aggressive, but relatively peaceful with larger tankmates; nocturnal predator; territorial and aggressive towards other Bichirs of the same species; may escape from aquarium, lid highly recommended.

Do Bichirs jump?

Bichirs are very good jumpers and they love doing so. This is queer since Bichirs spend 99% of their time resting at the bottom. Suddenly, the P weeksii contracted its body and jumped out of the water and through the 1-inch diameter hole!

Can a Bichir live with an Oscar?

While nowhere near as large as Peacock Bass, Oscars are still large predators so be careful when keeping them with smaller Bichirs. However any of the medium to large species are excellent tank mates.

Can a bichir live with an Oscar?

Are Bichirs Hardy?

Bichir are pretty hardy and can survive in a fairly wide range of water parameters. With that being said, there is a recommended window that you should aim for if you want them to be as healthy as possible.

How big does a Bichir get?

Most species grow to between 30 and 60 cm (11.8 and 23.6 inches) long. Some members of the largest two species, the saddled bichirs (P. endlicherii) and Congo bichirs (P. congicus), grow to lengths of 75 cm (29.5 inches) and 97 cm (38.2 inches) and weights of 3.3 kg (7.3 pounds) and 4.4 kg (9.7 pounds), respectively.

What is the most aggressive bichir?

Bichirs show moderately high aggression towards small fish and other bichir fish of their own species. The ornate bichir is considered to be the most aggressive in this Polypteridae family.

What makes an endlicheri Bichir different from other bichirs?

One different feature of the endlicheri bichir is their protruding lower jaw. It’s not very prominent but it’s definitely noticeable when you take a close look. The delhezi bichir has the typical shape and size of other bichirs.

How big does a Polypterus endlicheri Bichir get?

One of these monsters is the Polypterus endlicheri endlicheri (pronounced “poll-it-er-us end-lick-err-eye end-lick-err-eye”). Reports claim that these Bichirs grow up to 30 inches and girths as thick as a man’s leg in the wild.

What kind of animal is the saddled bichir?

In other countries it is known as the Saddled Bichir or the Red Bichir. In the Philippines, it is called the Giant Banded Dragonfin, Giant Tiger Dragonfin, or simply, Endli. As with all Polypterus species, the P. endlicheri endlicheri is found in Africa.

What to feed a saddled bichir in an aquarium?

The aquarium should have a tight-fitting cover as it is an excellent escape artist. To search for high quality aquarium heaters, click here. P. endlicheri endlicheri is carnivorous by nature and will not usually accept dried foods in aquaria, though some specimens have been known to take pelleted varieties.