Here are two extremes: A very small fish, and a very large one. Apologies for the blurriness. Ornate Bichir: Bichir are part of a fantastic group of fishes known collectively as the ancient fishes. Bichirs have retained an archaic “dinosaur” look. Lots of people think bichirs look creepy. Personally, I think they’re cute, but not everyone is as big of a fish geek as me. The Ornate bichirs is one of the largest and most expensive bichirs. Its scales are covered with fascinating designs, making it highly desirable. This specimen (a large 12-14″) probably sells for 80-100$. Don’t let the size put you off. This is about as big as the bichir gets. Keep Bichirs at the usual tropical water temperatures, and feed them a good variety of carnivore foods. They eat live fish, and enjoy it, so try and feed them live fish once every two weeks or more. While on vacation, put a variety of different sized feeder fish in the tank, so that the bichirs are prevented from eating all fish in one day. This brings me to the other part of the issue. Bichirs are slightly (notice I say slightly) amphibious. They are like snake heads: if their water source dries out, or food runs out, they will crawl to the nearest habitat. Also, being eel-like and surprisingly powerful, Bichirs can launch themselves through surprisingly tight spaces (get a tight fitting hood on the tank, seal up holes with cut-up milk cartons). If you aren’t careful, the bichir will hurl itself out of the tank, squirm around in …