Expert
Datnioides qadrifasciatus
24–30°C · pH 6–7.5 · 900L
£47.99
A giant, air-breathing African lungfish with striking marbled patterning and a truly prehistoric presence. Expert care, semi-aggressive. 24-30C, pH 6.0-7.5.
Adult size is the maximum length this species reaches at full maturity (scientific sources). The livestock you receive will be younger and smaller — pick a size variant above for the actual shipping size. Product-photo provenance and any image-specific limitations are stated on the listing.
Protopterus aethiopicus
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A giant, air-breathing African lungfish with striking marbled patterning and a truly prehistoric presence. Expert care, semi-aggressive. 24-30C, pH 6.0-7.5.
Adult size is the maximum length this species reaches at full maturity (scientific sources). The livestock you receive will be younger and smaller — pick a size variant above for the actual shipping size. Product-photo provenance and any image-specific limitations are stated on the listing.
Maintain these water conditions for optimal health and vibrant colors
The African Lungfish (Protopterus aethiopicus) is a living fossil — an air-breathing, eel-bodied giant whose lineage predates the dinosaurs. Intelligent, long-lived and genuinely interactive, it is one of the most extraordinary fish in the hobby, but its enormous adult size and powerful bite make it strictly a project for the experienced, well-equipped specialist.
Elongate and smooth-skinned with thread-like paired fins, the African Lungfish can reach an immense 150cm and live for decades. It possesses true lungs and must breathe air at the surface to survive. Colour is a marbled grey-brown that pales on the belly, and adults develop a heavy, muscular body.
This species needs an aquarium measured in thousands of litres — 3000 litres or more — with a soft substrate, minimal sharp décor and, crucially, a heavy, securely-clamped lid. Warm water (24–30°C) at pH 6.0–7.5 and powerful, robust filtration are essential. It must always be able to reach the surface to breathe.
The African Lungfish reaches around 1.5 metres, has a powerful, bone-crushing bite and is best considered a single-specimen animal for expert keepers with pond-scale housing. It is not suitable for a normal home aquarium or a community setting.
Semi-aggressive to outright predatory, it will attempt to eat or bite almost any tankmate and can injure careless hands. For these reasons it is nearly always kept alone. It is, however, remarkably aware of its surroundings and often learns to recognise and respond to its keeper.
| Great tank mates | Best avoided |
|---|---|
| Best kept alone | Any tankmate small enough to eat |
| Fish that could be bitten | |
| Delicate or slow companions |
A carnivore, it takes large meaty foods such as whole mussel, prawn, earthworm, fish fillet and quality carnivore pellets. Feed adults a few times a week rather than daily, using tongs to avoid its powerful bite, and never overfeed a fish that produces this much waste.
Always feed with long tongs and keep the lid firmly secured — a lungfish is deceptively fast at the surface and both its bite and its escape attempts should never be underestimated.
Every African Lungfish is hand-selected and quarantined before sale, then packed in oxygenated bags with insulation and heat packs when needed and sent by tracked, live-animal courier. Your order is covered by our Live Arrival Guarantee, so it reaches you safely anywhere in the UK.
