The Congo Bichir (Polypterus endlicheri congicus) is found in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Congo Republic, along Lake Tanganyika, Tanzania and Zambia, Africa.   They are also known to tropical fish keeping enthusiasts as the Congicus Bichir. Congo Bichirs grow to a maximum length of about 39″ and are colored a yellowish brown to gray […]

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The Weeksii Bichir (Polypterus weeksii) is also known to tropical fish keeping enthusiasts as the Mottled or Fatheaded Bichir.    It is found in the Congo River basin in Central Africa and like others of the family Polypteridae, they have the ability to survive out of water for short periods of time provided they remain […]

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The Retropinnis Bichir (Polypterus retropinnis) is known to tropical fish keeping enthusiasts as the West African Bichir or Speckled Bichir and is found in the Congo River basin in Western Africa and has been recorded in Benin, Gaboon, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Ghana, and the Congo Republic. Retropinnis Bichirs frequent the swamps, marshes, […]

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The Ornate Bichir (Polypterus ornatipinnis) is found in the Africa’s Congo River, Lake Tanganyika, and Lake Rukwa and is considered by most tropical fish keeping enthusiasts to be the most attractive of the Bichirs. The Ornate Bichir has a protruding upper jaw and is the largest of the Polypterus species, reaching two feet in length. […]

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The Guinean bichir (Polypterus ansorgii)is native to West Africa (Guinea). It is believed to be found from the Ogun River in Nigeria to the Corbal River in Guinea Bissau, in Lake Kainji and in the Niger river basin near Kouroussa in Guinea however, its wider distribution is unconfirmed. The Guinean Bichir is considered rare by […]

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Ropefish (Erpetoichthys calabaricus) also called the Reedfish or Snakefish, is a primitive member of the Bichir family that is native to West and Middle Africa. Its natural habitat stretches from the Ogun River in Nigeria to the Chiloango River in the Republic of the Congo. The Ropefish lives in warm, slow moving or standing, brackish […]

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Bichirs (Polypteridae) are sometimes referred to by tropical fish keeping enthusiasts as the Dragon Bichir, Dragon Fin, Dinosaur Fish, or Dragon Fish.  The name has probably derived from their “dragon like” appearance. Bichirs are a primitive ray-finned fish that are found in the swampy, shallow floodplains and estuaries of the Nile River system in tropical Africa […]

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