This is the star of our aquarium project. We have several Polypterus senegalus individuals that voraciously hunt and eat anything they can fit into their mouths, including small Jack Dempsey cichlids. This one is a large female at about 11" long.
These fish have been an enormous aid in class. I've used them primarily to help with the teaching of cladograms but, they've proven indispensable when teaching behavior too. It is the excited caused by these fish that my student started an aquarium club, this absorbed as the BioClub.
Daniel
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Your fish sound very interesting. How did you obtain them? Are they able to reproduce in your tanks?
Thanks!
Unfortunately, the P. senegalus have not been reproducing. The Jack Dempsey cichlids have been reproducing like mad. Ironically, I found the P. senegalus at PetSmart, not really known for its interesting fish selection. A friend I have in the aquarium business was able to find a Ropefish, a member of the same family Polypteridae but not genus Polypterus. Very interesting fish! She measures around 15" long but very thin like a pencil.
Daniel
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