Mokele-mbembe bichir

Polypterus mokelembembe

Also known as Mokelembembe bichir, Reticulated bichir

FreshwaterFish

Mokele-mbembe bichir (Polypterus mokelembembe) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 75–82°F (24–28°C)
pH: 5.5–7.0
Adult size: 10.6 in (27 cm)
Minimum tank: 79 gal (300 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Solitary
Tankmates: Tankmates with caution
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Central Congo basin
Family: Polypteridae

Overview

The mokele-mbembe bichir is the smallest of its family, giving keepers a dinosaur-like predator scaled to a large four-foot tank rather than a pond. It is a nocturnal, bottom-hugging ambusher, mostly peaceful but ready to eat any fish it can swallow, so keep it alone or with larger, robust tankmates only. Feed meaty foods such as earthworms, prawn, mussel and sinking carnivore pellets after dark. Give it a shaded tank of at least 300 liters with a soft sand floor, plenty of wood and cave cover, dim light, and a tight, weighted lid to stop it climbing out.

In the wild

It lives in shaded, soft, tannin-stained blackwater streams and tributaries of the central Congo basin. Recreate that with a sand bottom, driftwood tangles, leaf litter and dim light, with gentle flow. Keep the water soft and acidic to neutral, about pH 5.5 to 7.0, and warm at 24 to 28 C. Good cover makes this shy, nocturnal fish feel secure enough to come out and hunt.

Good to know

Polypterus mokelembembe is the smallest bichir in the family Polypteridae, reaching about 27 cm, and was the last to be described, named in 2006. It was once treated as a form of the closely related Polypterus retropinnis. Bichir young hatch with feathery external gills, like newt larvae, before growing into bottom-dwelling predators. Its home breeding is not recorded.

Did you know

Its name belongs to a monster. Polypterus mokelembembe is named for Mokele-mbembe, the sauropod-like creature of Congo legend, a fitting label for a living fossil drawn from the same rivers.