The armoured bichir or banded bichir (Polypterus delhezi) is a snake-like fish that ranges from the Congo River

Congo River

The Congo River is a river in Africa, and is the deepest river in the world, with measured depths in excess of . It is the second largest river in the world by volume of water discharged, though it has only one-fifth the volume of the world's largest river, the Amazon...

, specifically in the upper and middle portions. This species is one of the more commonly available in commercial pet stores.
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Description

P. delhezi have greyish backs and sides, with specks of yellow or green coloration. The ventral surface tends to be lighter, closer to cream than grey. P. delhezi has a smaller mouth compared to its body and to other fish in its family, and is distinguishable from other species by the 7 to 8 dark vertical bands, which can vary in thickness between individuals. It has 13 to 13 dorsal fin

Dorsal fin

A dorsal fin is a fin located on the backs of various unrelated marine and freshwater vertebrates, including most fishes, marine mammals , and the ichthyosaurs...

lets.

Diet

Like most polypterids, P. delhezi will readily eat silversides, krill

Krill

Krill is the common name given to the order Euphausiacea of shrimp-like marine crustaceans. Also known as euphausiids, these small invertebrates are found in all oceans of the world...

, mysis shrimp, and commercially available carnivore fish pellets in captivity.