has anyone actually seen a melanistic poly...i mean not one thats just dark,from substrate or has been blinded and turned dark..seen lots of photos of people who claim theirs is melanistic ,but it seems the the two above reason seem to be the factor..saw a photo of a melanistic gar and it was pretty gnarley..a florida gar i think it was.
They were born blind as a genetic or birth defect, normal bichirs will normally blend with their surrounding, his brain is telling him that everything is all black, hence its color.
blinding a previously normal sighted bichirs does not produce the same result, although they will be darker than normal, but not as black as those that were born blind.
Sort of guessed it ever since you posted your collection thread. Quite a pair of popular name here in Asia.
I'm planning on naming my silver aro and black aro Ying and Yang too.