Delhezi Bichir Identification Guide

Key identification features

• Elongated, eel-like body covered in thick, armored ganoid scales
• A row of separate spiny finlets along the back forming a detached, comb-like dorsal fin
• Bold, irregular dark saddle-like blotches or bands over an olive-tan body
• Large, fringed pectoral fins used to prop the body up along the bottom and "walk" over the substrate
• Relatively short, compact body compared to other bichir species
• Large eyes and a somewhat flattened head typical of the bichir family
• Reaches about 12-14 inches, one of the smaller commonly seen bichirs

Common look-alikes

• Ornate bichir: shows a much finer, net-like reticulated pattern rather than bold blotches, and grows considerably larger
• Senegal bichir: plain tan or olive body with faint or no blotching, appearing far more uniform in color

Where you'll see one

Delhezi bichirs inhabit slow, vegetated backwaters and swamps of the Congo River basin in Central Africa. Like other bichirs, they surface periodically to gulp air using a pair of primitive lungs, allowing them to tolerate stagnant, low-oxygen water where few other fish can survive.