Hello everyone it's Pierre and welcome back!

This video shows my male Ornate Bichir (Polypterus ornatipinnis) attempting to mate with other bichirs in the 210 gallon tank.

He displays typical behaviors associated with spawning / breeding including going up to a female (or what he thinks is a female, as you will see in the video) and engaging in head twitching and jerking movements. This is presumably to indicate to a potential mate that he would like to breed. If the mate is receptive, the male will cup the anal fin and the female deposits eggs which the male fertilizes and scatters on to moss or similar vegetation.

Unfortunately as the aquarium is a community tank without the proper conditions and space, I have not seen evidence of any successful spawning. At times I would see nonviable/fungused eggs scattered about but have not seen any fry.

Hope this video was helpful in showing one of the behaviors of this fascinating group of fish. Bichirs are among my favorite fish. Do you keep bichirs?

Feel free to leave a comment below. I'm also happy to answer any questions you might have. Thanks for watching and happy fishkeeping!

#polypterus #breeding #ornate