# A knife of a different colour :)



## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

I have always been enamoured by weakly electric fishes of Africa and South America.... today I was presented with a wonderful opportunity.
After walking around a fish store for an hour, trying to pick a school for my 20 long... I noticed a Brown Ghost Knife laying sideways under a rock.. I asked the owner to let me get a better look at him.. Beautiful. I asked for the scientific name and looked him up in the convenient Axelrod's encyclopedia they had (phone was dead of course). After spending another half hour sitting there thinking about it, I decided "ah, why not?" and told her to bag him up. 

So, my little Apteronotus leptorhynchus is making himself at home (I hope).
I've been at this long enough, but the notion that this little guy survived his trip from a South American river to my tank is just crazy to me, and frankly I fear for his life. ;-) I haven't tried to feed him yet but I'm praying he takes food from me. 

Some fun facts about him and his family:


He is mostly blind, he sees by emitting electrical impulses which reflect back and are read to produce an image (different from dolphins and bats that use sound, his is actually electric!)
Though many of his kind prefer a solitary existence, some of them actually do enjoy groups. In the wild groups of these fish adjust their electric currents to all be different- so they are able to identify individuals and that they don't confuse each other's signals for their own. In small aquaria however, they do better alone, likely because glass walls reflecting a ton of electric impulses would be very disorienting.
Groups of these fish have very complex socialization, they send out different signals depending on if they are the same or opposite sex as whoever they are talking to, and are able to convey dominance or submission with their communication.
Fish that see with electric currents have the largest brain-to-weight ratio of all fish! Some mormyrids (unrelated African electric fish) have brains that make up 20% of their mass.
His back is not very flexible (it curves a bit), but using electricity instead of eyes lets him see all around him, which is useful cause he is able to swim backwards if he wants!
Unlike an electric eel, his electricity is only strong enough to help him see, he cannot harm anything with it.
This species reaches between 5-10", making it much more suitable to aquaria, with males larger than females.


I think, judging by his face, that I have a male fish, but we will see. 


Now enough boring stuff... pics!




















Here is another photo, since my camera does not focus dark things with dark backgrounds very well. ;-)


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## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

Hope you didnt put it in a 20. They reach 20 inches plus. Just so you know ;-)
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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Uhm... did you read anything I said..? I think you are confused by a BLACK ghost knife.... (and even then 20 inches is incredibly rare)....
If you insist that he's gonna get 20 inches.... Well I'm going to choose to believe Axelrod with his tropical fish PhD, and fishbase.ca which is a renowned information base used by zoologists and scientists, over your claims.. 


Alrighty, so it turns out food MUST mean your new home is safe, as the addition of some blood worms coaxed him out to explore the entire tank.  From the safety of his hidey hole, he sucked up a few bloodworms, chewed them (hehe I saw his jaw chomping), then did a whole patrol of the tank! So here are some better pics!


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Yeah, Browns only get to around 8" max, on rare occasions a bit bigger but they generally stay much smaller.

Oli he's absolutely beautiful! I still love that little face of his! :-D


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## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

Knifefish Knowledge

BROWN GHOST KNIFE FISH | Tropical Care Sheet | Coburg Aquarium
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## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

Lil, would you keep an 8in fish in a 20 gallon tank?
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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

It says nothing in that article about the size of the Brown. Olympia is a very successful fish keeper and knows what she's doing. It's a 20 long so yes, I would, besides her knife isn't even full grown yet.


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## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

Ya im thinking about the future. I wouldnt though.
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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Same as stuffing 3 Pearl Gouramis or a pair of Angels in a 29, isn't it.

You're being quite hypocritical you know...


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## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

Im not going that. I asked you guys and took your advice. I thought it would of been a squeeze anyways. They were just ideas. 
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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

You have not produced anything stating they hit 20"... Do you know how much 40cm is? About 15". Do you know what percentage of fish would hit that length? Almost none, in fact it's unheard of currently. . . 
10.5" is the max size of a wild caught fish so far.. Predatory fish rarely if ever reach their wild lengths in captivity. I'd be surprised if he hit 10" in his first 3 years. He may somewhere down the line, because fish grow their entire lives... but after a juvenile stage growth slows down greatly. His general final size more or less will likely occur within half a year.


Information for home care for this species is pretty sparse. That leaves a lot up to the keeper. I have a red light which will allow me to observe his night time activity without bothering him... This will help me determine his general activity level. If he turns out to be the kind of animal that only comes out when he smells food, he would be quite alright in a 20 for life.. If he is more active then an upgrade would be in order..


You do have two female betta together though, that is a much more dire situation than my baby knife. What's that old saying my dad always bothered me with... Clean up your own yard before looking into your neighbours?


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## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

Ya two female bettas in a 29 until their other tanks get done cycling. Its not really a big issue. Ya for now he is fine I agree with you, and now that you said you will upgrade if you have to. Im happy with that 
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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

And that's why you don't give the best information, two females should NEVER be placed together under any circumstances unless they are siblings and even then you should have at least 3. 

I like what Oli's dad said! "Clean up your own yard before looking into your neighbours?"


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

lilnaugrim said:


> I like what Oli's dad said! "Clean up your own yard before looking into your neighbours?"


This saying tortured my childhood. -_- Anytime 6-year-old me said anything hypocritical..


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## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

Its a 29 they are fine for a little bit. There are plenty of hiding spots. 

Olympia, it is a nice fish though ;-)
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## Destinystar (May 26, 2012)

I think this forum is big enough to explore all options an opinions . 

“The only sure way to avoid making mistakes is to have no new ideas.” 
― Albert Einstein

Awesome fish Oly


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## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

True ;-)
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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

This is the video that sparked my interests in electrolocating fish a couple years ago...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kILqK3et8OQ

Thank you. :-D


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## tankman12 (Nov 13, 2012)

I saw that video before, its cool. It sort of sad to see those fish eating some 80 dollar cichlids lol.
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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

I got a curious nose poke on the hand... Soon he will be a cuddly friend...


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Adorable! :-D


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

My baby also needs a name. I'm thinking Spiegel right now...mostly cause I have a sudden urge to rewatch Cowboy Bebop... not sure if anything else comes to mind.

Right now he is being offered a cube of blood worms daily... half in the afternoon and half at night. I think the shrimp and cories eat more than he does. He's pretty dopey, I'm not sure if he'll ever manage to catch any shrimp. Who knows. I would love to get some blackworms in him. As much protein as possible to get some growth out of him... maybe if I can tame him down I could try giving him Meat Pie..

Today in the mess that is feeding a cory accidently bumped his tail. That's where his electric organ is. It must have been quite startling as he jumped out of the way really fast! He spent a couple minutes moving his head around a few cories, decided they didn't matter to him, and kept looking for food. Kind of like the guards with metal detectors at the airport I guess. :lol:
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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Ahaha! I feel bad for the cory but at the same time, I really don't XD


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## Olympia (Aug 25, 2011)

Sorry, bit confusing. The cory didn't get shocked. It was the knife that jumped in surprise.  I think the tail is really sensitive.
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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Oh okay, poor knife then! :-D


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