Do Bichir Have Poor Eye Sight?

[Dany]

do all bichirs have poor eyesight?
can anyone tell me "in detail" how those tentacles work on there head? does it work simular to the lateral line picking up chemical signals in the water?
anyone?

 

[Anthony!]

bichirs do have terrible eyesight, which is why when you feed them you see them "bumbling around", knocking their head on things, sometimes passing right over food. I believe they mostly use their sense of smell to find food, other fish, etc. But what the "tentacles" do is also a mystery to me sorry I couldn't help much

 

[Flashfire]

The 'tentacles' are actually nostrils I believe.

 

[beblondie]

do all bichirs have poor eyesight?
Its not the greatest eyesight and even scientific papers disagree on the visual accruity.I have noticed mine seem to notice movving objects better than stationary objects.


can anyone tell me "in detail" how those tentacles work on there head?
Bichirs like most fish have paired nostrils the visible ''tubes'' are called nares there is a second set of paired nostrils hard to see are called choanae.The water is drawn in thru the nares and passes thru the olfactory cells in the nasal sac detect tiny amounts of chemicals in solution.it is then pumped out by muscle action thru the choanes.there is no connection to the throat.
Hope this answers your question-Anne

 

[Dany]

thanks blondi, you obviously know your stuff, can you tell me what the water conditions are around there natural habitat in general, not chemistry but dark murky waters?
you know?
thanks
dany
(sorry for the stupid questions)

 

[beblondie]

thanks blondi, you obviously know your stuff, can you tell me what the water conditions are around there natural habitat in general, not chemistry but dark murky waters?
you know?
thanks
dany
(sorry for the stupid questions)

Polypterids are shallow water species often swimming in the weeds and plants near shores and banks of Central and West African freshwater lakes and rivers.The turbidity of these waters will vary from season to
season.They tend to vary from dinural to nocturnal in the wild and prefer low lighting conditions.What were you thinking of?-Anne

 

[Dany]

just doing a little something about how polypteridae hunt and locate food and why the function of the eye is poor.

 

[beblondie]

just doing a little something about how polypteridae hunt and locate food and why the function of the eye is poor.

Let me what you conclude -Anne

 

[JohnFM]

I've noticed in half light conditions that bichirs have a reflective surface like a cats at the back of their eye.

I'd imagine they have reasonable vision, particularly in murky water, but that a sense of smell is their primary means of finding food. It certainly seems like mine sniff out food rather than see it, especially if its not moving.