Lungfish in aquarium

Lungfish can survive in poorly aerated waters since they have
lungs which make its possible for them to obtain oxygen directly
from the air. The lungs are related to those in primitive
amphibian animals. Today, there are six known Lungfish species
in world, but they used to be much more common. Lungfish have
been around since the Lower Devonian era and during earlier
stages of the planets history there existed much more than six
lungfish species. Those species that have survived have changed
little since the Lower Devonian age. The Australian lungfish
have for instance looked pretty much the same during the last
100 million years.

Today, you will find wild Lungfish in Africa, South America and
Australia. The African and South American Lungfish species all
belong to the family Lepidosirenidae, while the Australian
Lungfish has its own family – the Ceratodidae. As mentioned
earlier, all Lungfish species are capable of breathing oxygen
from the air. Other shared features are their large, elongated
and snakelike bodies. They are also predators and will eat
pretty much anything that they manage to catch. Fish is their
staple food, but they will happily also gulp down crustaceans,
larger insects and other aquatic creatures. They are very robust
and can survive in waters shunned by most other fish species. If
you want to keep Lungfish in your aquarium you should however
avoid the highest pH-values. Before you buy a Lungfish for your
aquarium should consider their size. The largest Lungfish is one
of the African lungfish species, a fish which can reach a
maximal size of 2 metres / 6 feet which makes it unsuitable for
hobbyist aquariums. Even the smaller Lungfish species grow very
large and should only be housed in huge tanks.

In Africa, you will find four different Lungfish species.
Protopterus annectens is the most popular species among
aquarists. The three other ones are Protopterus aethiopicus,
Protopterus amphibious and Protopterus dolloi. You should never
get an African lungfish unless your aquarium is very large,
since they grow rapidly. As long as you can provide them with
enough space, they are however though fishes that will tolerate
a wide range of water conditions. They will eat all sorts of
food. Even though they are predatory fish, it is not very hard
to make them accept dry and frozen foods. When kept on a diet of
prepared food they will still appreciate occasional live treats.
This means that your African lungfish should ideally be housed
alone since it will happily devour any tank mates. If the other
fish is too large to swallow, the African lungfish will simply
bite chunks out of it until it is fully consumed.

On the South American continent you will only find one Lungfish,
Lepidosiren paradoxa. This Lungfish can also be kept in
aquariums and its requirements are very similar to the African
lungfish species. Just like its African cousins, it must be
given plenty of room. Lepidosiren paradoxa can reach a maximal
size of 1.2 meters / 4 feet.

The Australian Lungfish, Neoceratodus forsteri, can also be kept
in aquariums but you should be aware of the fact that they are
CITES listed. You are only allowed to by Australian Lungfish
from licensed breeders and if you live anywhere outside
Australia it can be hard to get exportation and importation
licenses. The Australian Lungfish is also known as Queensland
Lungfish.