Filipinos are familiar with the Dragonfin. This is the widely used common name in the Philippines for Polypterus senegalus. Surprisingly, this name is used only in our country.
Those who care for Fishes in other parts of the world never use the word Dragonfin to refer to P. senegalus. They are more popularly known worldwide by the common names Senegal Bichir, Cuvier’s Bichir, and Gray Bichir.
You could say that the term “Dragonfin” is as Pinoy as our very own “adobo.”
ENTER THE DRAGONFIN
It was probably in the early 1970s when I was introduced to the Dragonfin. With the Philippine ornamental Fish industry offering very limited species like Goldfishes, Swordtails, Guppies, Mollies, Angelfishes, Tiger Barbs, Carps, a few Cichlid species, and some Tetras, a newcomer like the Dragonfin was an instant hit.
For one, they do not resemble Fishes. They were long and slender, almost serpentine in appearance. They had a row of finlets on their dorsal side, which no other Fish had. They appeared to crawl at the bottom using their pectoral fins yet can swim all over the tank when they wanted to.
The Dragonfin did not look like any other Fish at the time. They were a bizarre creature from the deep who found their way to the home aquarium. Personally, I thought the name Dragonfin was perfect. With the imagination of an eight-year-old kid, I easily associated this creature with spike-like fins on their back to the mythical creature that breathed fire. They were indeed Dragons with fins.
Dragonfins were easily my favorite back then, because they stood out from the other Fishes I cared for. I would like to believe that the Dragonfin, together with the Knifefish, Hammerhead Catfish, Oscar, Kissing Gourami, and Janitor Fish, among others, probably paved the way to the popularity of exotic Fishes in the Philippines today.
THE POLYPTERUS SENEGALUS
In today’s taxonomy, there are 13 described and recognized species under the genus Polypterus: P. senegalus, P. delhezi, P. mokelembembe, P. ornatipinnis, P. palmas, P. polli, P. retropinnis, P. teugelsi, P. weeksii, P. ansorgii, P. bichir, P. congicus, and P. endlicheri. This does not include undescribed species, local phenotypic variations, and man-made variants of Polypterus.
Collectively, these Fishes, including the lone species Erpetoichthys calabaricus, are called Bichirs.
I easily associated this creature with spike-like fins on their back to the mythical creature that breathed fire. They were indeed Dragons with fins.
P. SENEGALUS FEATURES
The Dragonfin was first described by French naturalist and zoologist Jean Léopold Nicolas Frédéric Cuvier in 1829. In their natural form in the wild, P. senegalus is an elongated Fish with a long and cylindrical body, and is usually grey or beige in color. Their body is covered in rhomboid-shaped, multilayered, ganoid scales. The light-colored body may be adorned by tiny dots along the body length.
Their most distinct feature is the serrated dorsal fin that runs along most of the top part of their body until it meets the caudal fin or tail, numbering from 8 to 11. The caudal fin is pointed and flat. The anal fin is located below and just before the caudal fin. The males have big and wide anal fin compared to the small and narrow anal fin of the females. The Fish has a pair of ventral fins located before the anal fin. Two large, paddle-like pectoral fins are attached just behind and below the gill openings.
A pair of external nostrils is situated in the front of the smooth and rounded face just above the mouth. Eyes are black and located on either side of the head. It is said that Bichirs have poor eyesight and rely largely on their sense of smell and the subtle movements of prey.
P. senegalus is smaller than other Bichirs, generally reaching about 35.5 centimeters (14 inches) in length. However, there are reports of some subspecies,like those from the Turkana River, reaching 50 centimeters (20 inches).
DRAGONFIN VARIANTS
P. senegalus was the earliest species from the genus Polypterus to be introduced to the Philippines and probably the rest of the world.
It is not surprising therefore that since they have been the longest-tenured aquarium Fish among the Bichirs, they too were the first to be commercially farmed.
With the commercial farming of P. Senegalus in an upswing, farmers started to develop different variants of the P. senegalus aside from their natural color. Soon, the Albino variant started appearing in stores.
One day in the 1980s, a P. senegalus with cream yellow body color and pink to red eyes appeared in the market. This was known as the Albino Dragonfin. Many years later, other color variants started to appear, such as the Platinum and the Marble.
Selective breeding also resulted in Short Body and Longfin variants. As someone who avidly takes care of Bichirs in general, I have collected all the possible kinds of P. senegalus: Dragonfin in their natural form, Albino, Platinum, Marble, Short Body, Longfin, and the Albino Longfin variants of the Dragonfin.
It is said that Bichirs have poor eyesight and rely largely on their sense of smell and the subtle movements of prey.
A CLEAR FAVORITE
Among all the Dragonfin variants, my favorite is easily the Albino Longfin. I just find this Fish very elegant and extremely irresistible.
Having long, flowing fins simply adds grace to the long-finned variants, because the ones with ordinary fins tend to look plain. When Dragonfins with long fins move, their fins appear like pennants waving as they are blown by the wind.
There are two choices under the long-finned variants: the natural color and the albino. But why settle for a longfin Dragonfin with black eyes when everyone has them? Go for the red eyes— they are the cherry on top.
NOT ALWAYS PERFECT
While the Albino Longfin Dragonfin is my personal favorite, it must be noted that not all those with long fins are the same. With the extra length in the fins, there are more chances of imperfections.
Some specimens have uneven finnage, hence the fins are not symmetrical to each other. Some have damaged dorsal finlets. They can be bent or broken off. It is also quite common with Bichirs for the soft part of dorsal finlets to be missing, such that the spine is the only one left.
Some long-finned specimens are messy and unsightly. Previous injuries can also lead to fin and body damage.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR IN AN ALBINO LONGFIN
I would think that if you go to a store, of the generally nice specimens in the tank, maybe 7 out of 10 have some form of imperfection. However, three would probably be drop-dead gorgeous!
If you are to choose the best Albino Longfin Dragonfin, you must pay strict attention to the details.
A) LONG FINS
First and foremost, the finnage must be long. All the fins, namely the pectoral, dorsal, caudal, ventral, and anal fins, must be significantly longer than the fins of the common, short finned variant.
B) FINS WITHOUT TEARS
Full finnage should have no tears and should be equal in length. The Fish should also be able to display the fullness of the fins when they move.
C) EQUIDISTANT DORSAL FINLETS
The dorsal finlets should be equidistant from each other.
D) LONG NOSTRILS
The fish should possess a pair of long nostrils of equal length and with bell-shaped tips.
E) SYMMETRICAL PAIRED FINS
Paired fins, such as the pectoral and ventral fins, should be symmetrical in terms of length, girth, and size.
F) RED EYES
Since we opted for the Albino Longfin Dragonfin, their eyes must be red, not black.
G) YELLOW BODIES
The body must be cream yellow in color.
SOLITARY STATUS
Once you have found the best-looking Albino Longfin Dragonfin, I would recommend that you keep them alone in their tank. Bichirs are not very aggressive, but they are still predators and may take the chance of making a prey of smaller fellow Bichirs.
Even if they aren’t successful in eating their tankmate, they may cause some damage you might later regret. If they’re alone, you are assured that no fighting or biting will ever happen.
Tank decorations must be kept to a minimum to keep a low possibility of tearing the fins or injuring themselves. After you take great effort in selecting the best Albino Longfin Dragonfin, you might as well take all the precautions to keep them beautiful.
