That Fish Blog – Aquarium Advice and Information

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.  Capable of surviving up to 4 years without food and water and unchanged since the time of the dinosaurs – Lungfish facts read like fiction.   Please see Part 1 of this article for information on the natural history of African, Australian and South American Lungfishes.  Today we’ll review their care in the aquarium.

Lungfishes in the Aquarium

The West African Lungfish (Protopterus annectans annectans) is the species most commonly available in the trade.  It and the other African Lungfishes make excellent captives if you can provide the huge aquariums they require; longevities commonly exceed 30 years. Read More »

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.  I find it quite easy to imagine a Lungfish-like creature pulling itself from an ancient sea, setting off on land and, in the process, changing the course of life on earth.  Indeed, paleontologists believe that a fish very much like today’s Australian Lungfish (Neoceratodus fosteri) pulled off just such a feat during the Devonian Period, some 160 million years ago, and in doing so set the stage for the evolution of all terrestrial vertebrates that followed (talk about “leaving your mark”!).  Read More »

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.  If you stare long enough at a Lungfish or Mudskipper (as I have, often causing my co-workers to wonder…), it’s easy to picture a similar creature leaving an ancient sea and setting forth to explore the land in the distant past.  Indeed, evolutionary biologists tell us that a fish very much like today’s Australian Lungfish (Neoceratodus fosteri) did pull off such a feat some 360 million years ago, thereby setting the stage for the rise of the amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.  Read More »