The Bichir Handbook

Limited SIGNED copies available on eBay, *click here*

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The Bichir Handbook
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    With contributions from biologists, paleontologists, ecologists, veterinarians and fishers, The Bichir Handbook explores everything from the identification for all fourteen extant species of the ancient family of freshwater fishes, Polypteridae, the most comprehensive delve into their aquarium husbandry, and some of the first reconstructions of never-before-seen extinct species of bichir. Whether you’re an aquarist, scientist, or someone just interested in natural history, this book will keep you turning the pages. Illustrated by award winning paleoartist and ichthyologist, Dorian Noël, every illustration is hand-painted to define their most identifiable features, in the best full colour illustrations of Polypteridae to date. This beautifully crafted publication contains stunning images of these living fossils, and infographics which will have you referencing back to for years!  


    • Includes a free poster which features the family tree of all known Polypteriformes and how they relate to each other, and on the other side, an illustrated version of the size comparison chart which appears inside the book.
    • Includes a free bookmark also doubling up as a checklist for every living species of polypterid. Tick the species you have, photograph the bookmark and upload the photos to social media for us to see, using the hashtag: #thebichirhandbook 


    210x210mm, 138pp, 150gsm silk paper, Cover & jacket with an anti-scuff finish. 

    ISBN: 978-1789727708


    It varies, we post tracked and signed worldwide. Of course, mainland UK is cheaper, and outside of Europe being more expensive due to the pandemic affecting shipping prices, but we have reduced the price of the book to help, and even have retailers around the world which may save you money on postage. See them here!


    NOW SOLD OUT


    • United Kingdom - Typically, deliveries should take 2-5 working days but please allow 1 week. 
    • United States - Please allow 2 weeks
    • Europe - Please allow 1-2 weeks
    • Rest of World - Please allow 2-4 weeks (although sometimes it may arrive as soon as 3 days)


    UK, Europe and Rest of World are delivered from the United Kingdom.

    United States is delivered from North America to reduce postage prices slightly.


    Unfortunately we currently cannot ship single copies to some countries, however we are working on updating this. If you are from one of these countries we can't deliver to, please let us know and we will try to arrange something, alternatively,  please see our resellers situated around the world, as they may be local to your country.


    The Bichir Handbook is the first of a number of books within The Oddball Handbook series. Details to come in the near future.


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    TOP 20 'BEST EVER FISH BOOKS'

    TOP 20 'BEST EVER FISH BOOKS'

    TOP 20 'BEST EVER FISH BOOKS'

    Recgonised in the top 20 'Best ever fish books' by Practical Fishkeeping Magazine (March 2021).

    Multiple BIBA® Awards

    TOP 20 'BEST EVER FISH BOOKS'

    TOP 20 'BEST EVER FISH BOOKS'

    Winner of the 2021 Best Indie Book Awards (BIBA®) in the Non-Fiction (Ichthyology) and Illustration categories.

    NIEA Award

    TOP 20 'BEST EVER FISH BOOKS'

    FIIN 2020 Award

    Winner of the 15th Annual National Indie Excellence Awards (NIEA) in the Animals & Pets category.

    FIIN 2020 Award

    Bichir Sculpture Exhibition

    FIIN 2020 Award

    Award winner at the FIIN Biodiversity Drawing Competition 2020 in the Nature Drawing category

    Multiple NGIBA Awards

    Bichir Sculpture Exhibition

    Bichir Sculpture Exhibition

    Silver awards winner of the 2021 Next Generation Indie Book Awards (NGIBA) in the Best Overall Design and Animals/Pets categories.

    Bichir Sculpture Exhibition

    Bichir Sculpture Exhibition

    Bichir Sculpture Exhibition

    Giant scultpures created from The Bichir Handbook's illustrations are being built in Thailand's Dinosaur Valley at Nongnooch Garden Pattaya. The exhibit is called Polypterus Island!

    Illustrated by Dorian Noël

    Forewords by Olaf Weyl & Emily M. Standen

    Forewords by Olaf Weyl & Emily M. Standen

    Award winning illustrator and ichthyologist Dorian Noël has created some of the best full colour illustrations of Polypteriformes to date. 13 Polypterus, 1 Erpetoichthys and 4 extinct bichirs, 3 unseen before!

    Forewords by Olaf Weyl & Emily M. Standen

    Forewords by Olaf Weyl & Emily M. Standen

    Forewords by Olaf Weyl & Emily M. Standen

    Professor Olaf Weyl from the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity, former editor of the Journal of Fish Biology gives his thoughts in the foreword, alongside Professor Emily M. Standen from the Standen Lab, who raised bichirs on land!

    Biotope photos by Russell Tate

    Forewords by Olaf Weyl & Emily M. Standen

    Biotope photos by Russell Tate

    Water Resource Scientist and Eco-Toxicologist, Russell Tate, who explores and documents habitats and fishes throughout Africa, has provided many photos of the biotopes bichirs are found.

    A 'coffee and books' walkthrough of The Bichir Handbook by co-author of The 101 Best Freshwater Nano Species, conservationist, and popular YouTuber Rachel O'Leary. The book is also viewed alongside Ivan Mikolji's Fishes of the Orinoco in the Wild which I had also designed.

    Blake's Aquatics, has created a great video care guide for Polypterus senegalus using The Bichir Handbook as reference!

    Undecided on buying The Bichir Handbook?
    SEE INSIDE! Here's a helpful review by distinguished breeder Jiseok Jung. If you don't speak Korean, this review works as a nice visual walkthrough of some of the internal pages.

    Vlogger Bryan La gives his thoughts and opinions on his new copy of The Bichir Handbook, and what it means to him.

    The famous Chinese pet show, Xu Bo & Jian Zhi - Hamster People 許伯&簡芝—倉鼠人 introduce bichir to a broader audience, showing just how diverse they are, through different mediums, including The Bichir Handbook.

    Review by Practical Fishkeeping Magazine, March 2021

    Review by DATZ Magazine, May 2021 | Translated from german

    Prehistoric items in an elegant presentation

    It is not uncommon to find pike of the genus Polypterus in well-stocked specialist aquarium stores. The fossil-like fish, also called "Bichir" in English, are very impressive in many ways. In addition to their history, which is a little over 70 million years old, they are particularly noticeable as young animals, as their external gills make them resemble aquatic salamander larvae at this stage. The final size also makes you sit up and take notice, because some species, such as Polypterus congicus, can be a meter long and are then particularly impressive.


    In addition, bichir do not only breathe through their gills, they also take in atmospheric oxygen through their lungs and can therefore easily inhabit low-oxygen waters - one of the characteristics that have made them such successful fish, and one of the reasons that bichir are little changed in the course of evolution.


    While the internet provides a wide variety of sources, there is little or no information on bichir in the literature. Most of them are also out of date, imprecise and, in the rarest of cases, complete. Joshua Pickett, a young graphic designer and passionate aquarist from England, wanted to change that. At the end of 2020 he published “The Bichir Handbook”, an English-language book that he self-published that clears up outdated information and provides information about the Polypteridae. With contributions from biologists, paleontologists, ecologists, veterinarians and fishermen, its 138 pages represent comprehensive work presenting all existing species of this partly ancient family of fish.


    In order to provide extensive background knowledge, the author goes into the history and origin of the bichir after the preface and then, in a pleasantly entertaining way, throws himself into the topics of relationship, anatomy and physiology as well as reproduction. Knowing this in the back of your mind, you get to the largest section of the book that introduces species by species. In addition to numerous graphics (how fast the animals grow, how big they become and how active they are), the reader receives information on their reproduction and origin. The representations are rounded off with live images and, for each type, a hand-painted illustration by the ichthyologist Dorian Noël, which particularly emphasises features for identification.


    For only 29 € you can get more than an “ordinary” book on the author's website (www.thebichirhandbook.com), which contains the latest information about the bichir (including the Ropefish Erpetoichthys calabaricus). Thanks to the fabulous illustrations, this work is also a piece of art. When opening, a poster with all species comes out - in addition to a Polypterus bookmark. Whether you are an aquarist, scientist or simply a layperson, you will be interested in these animals: This book invites you to leaf through and is a must for everyone who is interested in these special fish.


    Markus Kaluza

    Review by DATZ Magazine May 2021

    Review by Dr. Timo Moritz, Journal of Fish Biology, Volume 98, Issue 5, May 2021 | Abstract

    Bichirs are very special fishes. The only remaining descendants of a lineage isolated for c. 400 million years from all other actinopterygians, bichirs unite a set of archaically appearing characters with features quite unique among fishes. Their (supposed) primeval body shape and behaviour make them popular aquarium fishes. And their phylogenetic position as the sister group to all other actinopterygians makes them an important taxon for evolutionary studies not just for ray-finned fishes but also for vertebrates, in general. Therefore, it seems surprising that there are so few books specialized on the family Polypteridae. Until recently there was only the book by Schäfer (2004) whose major focus was on presenting images of bichir species. Thus, The Bichir Handbook seems to be a long-overdue publication exclusively focusing on this fascinating taxon.


    Joshua Pickett has set his goal on providing an aquarist book replenished with state-of-the-art scientific knowledge. The renowned South African ichthyologist Olaf Weyl, a former editor for the Journal of Fish Biology, wrote the foreword for this book shortly before he died (Cowx et al., 2021) and said that the book does an “excellent job in bridging the gap between the popular and scientific literature, and in providing the reader with concise and accurate information on these fascinating fishes” (Cowx et al., 2021). The book principally is divided into four parts: first, a general introduction to the biology of bichirs; second, a general view on aquarist issues of bichirs; third, a section depicting each species separately; and finally, an insight into the extinct relatives of the polypterid lineage. Read more...

    Journal of Fish Biology, Volume 98, Issue 5, May 2021

    Review by Cybium, Journal of Ichthyology, May 2022

    North America, Europe, Australia

    Signed Copies - eBay

    Signed Copies - eBay

    Signed Copies - eBay

    Worldwide shipping from the United Kingdom
    On occasion the author gets hold of copies to sign, here is where you can buy them.

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    C.E. Fish Essentials

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    Signed Copies - eBay

    Worldwide

    Reguarly in stock, and usually restocks quickly when sold out. Both UK national and international delivery with good shipping rates.

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    Summerfield Books

    Signed Copies - eBay

    Summerfield Books

    Worldwide

    A specialist book store based in Canada, they are a regular importer of the book and ship worldwide with good shipping rates.

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    Atlas Aquarium

    Chimaira Buchhandelsgesellschaft mbH

    Summerfield Books

    Australia

    Ring 0478 123 061 to order, or contact via their Facebook page. 

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    Chimaira Buchhandelsgesellschaft mbH

    Chimaira Buchhandelsgesellschaft mbH

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    Germany

    2-3 days delivery within Germany.

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    Wharf Aquatics

    Chimaira Buchhandelsgesellschaft mbH

    Chimaira Buchhandelsgesellschaft mbH

    United Kingdom
    *If their website is experiencing issues.
    Go to 'Our Products' > 'Aquarium Books' and click on The Bichir Handbook.
    Alternatively you can ring 01773 861255

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    Cuddra Aquatics

    The Fish Factory [OOS]

    The Fish Factory [OOS]

    United Kingdom

    Signed copies in stock, collection only from Cuddra Aquatics, Holmbush Rd, Saint Austell PL25 3RQ
    You can ring 01726 76686

    Enquire

    The Fish Factory [OOS]

    The Fish Factory [OOS]

    The Fish Factory [OOS]

    United States

    Aquarium Literature Dealer based in Indiana, give Mike Schadle at The Fish Factory an email and he'll handle your order.

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    Rick Rego [OOS]

    The Fish Factory [OOS]

    Rick Rego [OOS]

    United States

    Private message Rick himself and he will happily ship copies out within the United States if in stock.

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    fiskliv [OOS]

    fiskliv [OOS]

    Rick Rego [OOS]

    Sweden

    *Limited copies

    Contact the shop direct to order a copy.

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    Asia

    Imperial Vows

    tOKOPEDIA [OOS]

    Imperial Vows

    Taiwan

    Fast postage or can be collected in-store. They are a regular importer of this book, so if out of stock, you may request they order in more copies.

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    Healing Aqua

    tOKOPEDIA [OOS]

    Imperial Vows

    South Korea

    If out of stock, you may request they order in more copies.

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    tOKOPEDIA [OOS]

    tOKOPEDIA [OOS]

    Crazy Shop [OOS]

    Indonesia
    Only a small number were imported. If out of stock, contact the seller, as they may restock on request.

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    Crazy Shop [OOS]

    Nonn Panitvong [OOS]

    Crazy Shop [OOS]

    Japan

    Limited copies available, order while stock lasts.

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    Nonn Panitvong [OOS]

    Nonn Panitvong [OOS]

    Nonn Panitvong [OOS]

    Thailand

    Nonn will ship within Thailand and to surrounding countries. Private message his Facebook page to find out about stock availability.

    Alternatively you can email npanitvong@gmail.com

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    Putting the mega into megafauna

    First appeared in Practical Fishkeeping Magazine, May 2022.

    Read the full article by buying the issue here.

    Download PDF

    Swimming with Dinosaurs

    First appeared in fish - A literary celebration of scale and fin, issue 1, 'Predators & Prey', Spring/Summer 2021.

    Read the full article by buying the issue here.

    Download PDF

    Bichir: Through the Ages

    First appeared in Amazonas Magazine, issue 'Fossil Fishes', Volume 10, Number 4, Jul/Aug 2021.

    Read the full article by buying the issue here.

    Download PDF

    Dragons of the Nile: The African Arowana

    First appeared in Amazonas Magazine, issue 'Fossil Fishes', Volume 10, Number 4, Jul/Aug 2021.

    Read the full article by buying the issue here.

    Download PDF

    Online articles

    Podcasts

    Pet Life Radio's Aquariumania, Episode #86 - Rediscovering the "Dragons of Gondwana"

    Among the most fascinating of aquarium fishes, the bichirs - including the “ropefish” and “dinosaur or dragon eel” – share primeval features with their ancestors, some of the earliest fishes on earth. My guest today, Josh Pickett, author of The Bichir Handbook, is obsessed with, and an expert of this group. Join us, as Josh digs up some ancient dirt on these prehistoric, yet modern fishes – and explains why you’ll want to keep them, too!

    Listen now

    The Aquarium Guys, Episode #54 - Bichirs Deep Dive

    Birchers, Bikers, B*tches, whatever you call em, here is your species deep dive with special guest Josh Pickett from his book "The Bichir Handbook" releasing soon. Preorder yours today at https://thebichirhandbook.com/ (its 100% worth it). *Explicit language.

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    The Bichir Handbook © 2020, 2021, 2022

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