Name: Ornate Bichir (Polypterus ornatipinnis) - Tank-Bred!
Brand: Aquatic Arts
SKU: FISHBCHRORNATE1
Price: 49.99 USD
Availability: OutOfStock

$ 49.99

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* For the safety of our animals, we now ship live fish exclusively via UPS Next Day Air. If your order contains this item, you will only see UPS Next Day Air as a shipping option during checkout *

The Ornate Bichir is possibly the most beautifully-marked bichir species and is a marvelous fish for the large predator aquarium!

The Ornate Bichir (Polypterus ornatipinnis) is a very popular bichir species among large ornamental fish enthusiasts, largely due to its black and gold coloration. This fish is very eel-like in appearance and is sometimes referred to as a "dinosaur eel," although it is not a true eel. It is an extremely hardy species that is very versatile. All bichirs posess a modified swim bladder that allows them to breathe atmospheric air and live in water that is very low in oxygen. In fact, they are often able to live out of water for extended periods of time as long as they remain moist.

The Ornate Bichir is primarily nocturnal, but will often become active during daytime hours once established in an aquarium with plenty of driftwood, rockwork, and other hiding places. It is not a particularly aggressive fish, but it will eat fish and invertebrates that are small enough to be considered prey. It will generally ignore all other tankmates. Adult bichirs can sometimes be territorial with one another, but they just as often will share hiding places and be completely peaceful with one another. While it is an extraordinarily hardy species, the Ornate Bichir requires a large aquarium with plenty of floor space and powerful filtration.

Bichirs are not afraid to jump or leave the water, so a tight-fitting lid is necessary to prevent them from escaping the aquarium. They also must be able to come to the surface to breathe occasionally.

Feeding is very easy for the unfussy Ornate Bichir. It requires a varied diet for optimal health, but will readily accept virtually all high-quality live, frozen, and dry foods of appropriate size.

What We Like About This Fish:

Stunning black and gold coloration
Exceptionally hardy and adaptable.
Unfussy regarding diet
Ideal "community" large fish/predator
Will not eat plants

RECOMMENDED TANK PARAMETERS:

Temperature: 77° - 82° F (25° - 28° C)
pH: 6.2 - 7.8
KH: 5 - 20 dKH
Minimum tank size: 180 gallons

CARE GUIDELINES:

Diet: Carnivorous. Requires a variety of meaty live, frozen, and dry foods
Social behavior: Generally solitary, peaceful with species too large to be considered prey
Origin: Tank-bred, but indigenous throughout much of Western Africa
Average adult size: Up to 24 inches (61 cm), but a maximum of 18 inches (46 cm) is more typical in the aquarium
Average purchase size: 2 - 3 inches (5 - 7.5 cm)

All Aquatic Arts brand plants and animals come with a 100% live arrival guarantee, plus free email support!

For the safety of our animals, we only ship live fish, crabs, and select other inverts exclusively via UPS 1 Day Air. If your order contains this item, you will only see UPS 1 Day Air as a shipping option during checkout. If other items are in your cart that can ship with 2 day or standard shipping options the only shipping method you can still select is UPS 1 Day Air.

UPS 1 Day is a description of the duration of time a shipment will spend in transit once it has been shipped. This does not guarantee the package will be shipped the same or next day from which the order was placed.

Shipping Schedule for this service

UPS 1 Day: Monday through Thursday

Current Handling Time:

1-9 business days

Here at Aquatic Arts, we consider the welfare of the live animals we are shipping to be of the foremost importance. This process is much more involved than simply creating a shipping label and affixing it to a box. Depending on the order, it takes from 4 to 7 people to complete this process properly. We check the weather conditions here where they fly out of the Indianapolis UPS facility and the destination for each shipment. We start early each morning and go through a multi-step process to have the day's shipments prepared in time for the UPS pickup. The volume of orders in our system also affects the processing time. Therefore our stated handling time is 1-9 business days.

Shipping Rate

Pricing is by size of package needed to fill entire order and distance it must travel. It will be calculated at checkout.