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Clown knife.... feeding, comp.
11/11/15 Nasty Clown Knife
Fish 2/29/12 Re: Xanthichthys auromarginatus/freshwater killer... feeding and Notopterus comp. 2/4/09 Thank you for the email, After sending it, I realized that blue throat triggers eat the smaller foods like Mysis shrimp and brine shrimp. (are those the same thing?). <Nope> Anyways I put some frozen brine shrimp in (enriched, I'm getting some Kent Zoë today) and he swam around eating it. <Ah good> To answer your question the two eels are echidna nebulosa and Gymnothorax richardsonii. they are small right now, at about eight inches, and I vary their diet with frozen silversides, live mussels, clams, and crabs, and frozen or raw crabs and frozen or raw shrimp. <Sounds good> On the freshwater topic, I was just curious if a protein skimmer would work on a freshwater tank, or if one would need a skimmer. <Mmm, not really and no...> I am not planning to ad one or anything, I am just curious. Also, when the clown knife gets bigger, would it be wise to separate him from the king tiger Pleco, and the black ghost knife? <Yes> Do you think the tire track eel and the silver dollars will be safe in the long run too or is it best to separate them when he gets to a certain length? <Could be inhaled with a big "Whomp" some evening...> thanks for all the info, will <Welcome. BobF> Mixing Apteronotids and Notopterids, Dempsey color, UGs... 9/10/07 ok a couple questions... <The beginning of sentences are capitalized...> could I house a black ghost knife and a clown knife together? <Not a good idea> my blue Dempsey is about 2 inches long , but he hasn't become blue yet. a little in the head and tail but not solid. rest of his body is just white. water quality is great so is there something wrong with him or does the color just come in time? <Likely> what's your opinion on undergravel filtration? <Tried and true. Can work in many applications. RMF> thank you. Clown Knife Fish Non-Live Food Training 06/28/07 Hello, Your website is great! Unfortunately I could not find anything about training a Clown Knife Fish to eat non-live food. I've tried even warming krill/shrimp, I've tried Shrimp Pellets, Freeze dried Bloodworms, and Flakes. My 6" clowns just don't eat it. I have to revert to Live Ghost Shrimp, but I do not want too. Please help me find a way to train the Clown Knife to eat other prepared foods? Step by Step, please. As you know, Feeding time for these guys is only at night when the lights are off. Hope you can help? Thanks <Greetings. Training Knifefish to accept dead food follows the same pattern as with any other opportunistic carnivore -- patience and a little starvation! As you realise, many people keep Knifefish by feeding them goldfish and minnows. This is very dangerous in the long term because of the risk of introducing parasites and the poor nutritional value (high fat and thiaminase content) of goldfish and minnows. So well done on doing the responsible, sensible thing by weaning your Knifefish onto safe alternatives. Small Knifefish are fond of (wet) frozen bloodworms, i.e., the kind you keep in the freezer. I have yet, in 20+ years of keeping fish, to find anything that likes freeze dried bloodworms or brine shrimp. I know people use them, but I've never had any luck with them. So get the wet frozen kind. These smell yummy and even difficult fish seem to accept them readily. If you train the baby Knifefish to take frozen foods, feeding the adults becomes very easy. Larger Knifefish in the wild eat fish, large insects, and crustaceans, so these are the things to concentrate on. One of the best ways to use frozen whitebait (or any other small, silvery fish) is to defrost it and then throw it into the current of water coming out of the filter. The flash of silver mimics the movement of small fish, and predatory fish will usually strike at the flash, and eat the food. I have personally found small pieces of oily fish (such as salmon or herring) extremely good for tempting predatory fish, presumably because of the smell, but be warned that oily fish *heavily* pollutes the aquarium and you will need to do a big (50%) water change afterwards. As well as fish, crustaceans like unshelled prawns and crayfish are excellent foods for adult Knifefish. If all else fails, alternate live foods, such as earthworms, mealworms, and crickets can also be used. Once the Knifefish learns to accept a variety of foods, tempting them onto floating pellets is not difficult. It helps if they share a tank with other fish that feed from the surface, like Tinfoil Barbs or Giant Gouramis. The Knifefish will see where the food is coming from, and take the floating pellets. Obviously, Knifefish are big and potentially aggressive, so don't mix with smaller fish or anything likely to pick a fight (like cichlids). Cheers, Neale>Re: Clown Knife Fish Non-Live Food Training 06/29/07 You guys are great! Thank you Neale for the information. <You're welcome. If you love Knifefish, keep an eye out for a book called "Jurassic Fishes" published by TFH. It's a beautiful book, sadly out of print, but filled with the loveliest photos of Knifefish as well as other "monsters" like Arowana and gar. One of my favourite books! Neale.> Feeding Clown Knife 03/17/07 Hi <Hello Ray, Brandon here.> Ive had a clown knife for a couple of months now, and during that span it has grown from 3 4 inches to 6 7 inches. At first, when he was smaller, I fed him a combination of brine shrimp and blood worms (frozen) along with small (not goldfish feeders) fish. However, I had to leave for college during that time (I got it during my winter break), but not without telling my parents what I would like them to feed it (e.g. continue feeding it brine shrimp and blood worms along with the occasional fish). However, they started to feed it the minnows that are commonly found in pet stores. <Mmmmm. Minnows are bad news. This is a really good way to introduce disease into the tank, and to your fish. Ever hear of hole in the head? This is one of the ways that your fish can get it.> So, upon coming home for spring break, I find that my clown knife refuses to eat anything other than brine shrimp and blood worms along with live fish. <Define anything. Have you tried any other crustaceans?> Given his size now, wouldnt brine shrimp and blood worms be too small and not nutritious enough for him? <Depends on how much you give it. It is never a good idea to stick to one variety of food though.> I went out and bought frozen krill in order to try to wean him off of live fish but he refuses to eat them. He just lets them drop to the bottom before proceeding to ignore them (the first time I put them in he ate one but then quickly spit it back out and since then has ignored them). <Seems that the Chitala chitala does not regard these as food.> I even tried cutting the individual krill into smaller bits in case they were too large for him. Thus, I have not been feeding him anything lately (this has gone on for about 3 days now). Just wondering, how long can I go without feeding him without starving him to death? <Three days is not going to starve him, but it will definitely stress him. I would say it might take a month or more before he starves to death.> Also, what is the best way to wean him off of live foods (save for an occasional snack) and what food should I use to do this (if not krill)? <Krill is not really a part of this fishs natural diet. It is quite possible that you will never wean him off of live food. I have had to come to this realization, with one of my saltwater fish. I would say that the best way to proceed when faced with this sort of thing, is to set up a 10 gallon tank, with some gravel, and a plant or two, and put about three dozen ghost shrimp in it. Feed them a high quality food (gut loading), and give the Chitala chitala about three - four a day. If it is taking blood worms, you might try mixing something that you want it to eat with them, eventually the fish will ingest the other food, and could start to recognize it. Another resort is to try a small piece of store bought fish attached to the end of a feeding stick, wiggle it around and see if the fish takes it.> Finally, I have one final question that has nothing to do with feeding him sorry. <No worries.> I plan on building a new tank him during spring break, but I have read conflicting reports as to how large they will get. While I know that they grow to 4 feet in the wild, I have read that they usually dont grow past two feet in captivity. <I dont usually show up late for work but it happens. I would plan on a four foot max length just to be on the safe side. There is no guarantee that this fish will get to four feet, but there is no guarantee that it wont either. Everywhere I have seen them sold, I have seen a sticker posted that stated that the max length was 48 inches.> However, I have also read in some places that they can grow up to 3 3 ½ feet in captivity. So my question is this how large can I expect my clown knife to get and based on this, what size tank should I make with what dimensions? <I would plan on four feet. I would also advise you to go and buy the tank. Shoot for 150 gallons. It will cost about the same to buy the tank, as it will to make it, and the store bought tank will most likely be (not to insult your abilities.) more well made. But since you asked, I will say that the dimensions should be something like, 72 ½ inches long, 18 ½ inches wide, and 28 ½ inches high.> Thanks for taking the time to read this long question and thanks for making such a great website (Ive read through many articles and FAQs just for fun. Wait, is that bad? :-) ). <You are most welcome. Thank you for the kind words. Good luck with the Chitala chitala. Brandon> -Raymond Clown Knife Fish 2/9/06 Hello, <Hi there> I am a recent aquarium addict (1 year) and need some information / help. I have 3 aquariums (started with 2 Betta bowls for decoration that never made it home before I rationalized purchasing an aquarium), one 30 gal (filtration - penguin 125) and a 55 gal (filtration - penguin 350). The very BEST purchase I've ever made!!!!! In my 55 I have a 7" clown knife, one Plecostomus, two 4" tinfoil barbs, two 2 1/2" albino tinfoil barbs and 4 giant Danios (did have four 1 1/2" but two of them weren't fast enough to duck the knife so I replaced them with two 3" ones) . <These will also be inhaled...> I plan to eventually get a 125 gal for all in the 55 gal, is this enough? <Not for the knife eventually> I plan to put filtration rated for 175, what do you recommend? <That you read WWM> Also, I started out feeding my knife pellets that it appears to not be eating - partly because of the greedy 6" Pacu (purchased in error due to bad information from LFS) I got rid of before adding the barbs and Danios. So I for obvious reasons (disease / filtration) reluctantly started feeding him 12 Rosies every 3-4 days and some ghost shrimp which he of course happily devours. He recently ate all 12 Rosies in about 2 hours, should I be concerned? <Re what? Going broke? Disease? Behavior modification?> He has no problems with his tankmates as he comes out of hiding from time to time throughout the day (unlike with the Pacu) but still ignores the pellets. How if at all possible can I get him to eat the shrimp pellets without starving him to death lacking live food? <Not likely to eat pellets...> Also, during the pellet spell he developed a 1/4" white stripe or spot which disappeared when he started eating live Rosies. Might that have been stress related because he was waiting for a real meal? <Yes, good way of putting this.> I'm sure part of it was the skittish and supper fast Pacu, <Heeee!> but it started going away while the Pacu was there and I fed live food. Although the tinfoil barbs are fast as well, they don't seem to bother him nearly as much because he comes out a lot more during the day. He looks to be in perfect condition on his new diet. My other question is once I get the 125 gal, what more colorful tankmates do you recommend for my clown knife? <... perhaps some easier-going Neotropical cichlids like Juraparoids... or large/r minnow sharks that hail from the same part of the world as the knife...> Also, my 30 gal....heh, heh...thought I was finished eh....*grin*? I have 4 tiger barbs, 3 albino tiger barbs, 2 albino rainbow sharks and a Plecostomus. My only concern is the sharks seem to fight from time to time. <Very common> Well really the bigger one (3 1/2") chases the smaller one (2 1/2"). Will putting all fish from the 30 into the 55 once I upgrade to the 125 help this problem with the sharks? <Likely will help> The Plec will be put in the 125 once it gets too big. What other algae eaters do you suggest for the tiger barb / rainbow shark tank, because I only want 2 Plecos in the 125 and I know they get too big for the 30 and 55? <See WWM...> Or will a common Pleco be ok in a 55 gal? My third tank....ok...ok...I'm wrapping it up. I kept an iguana in a 55 gal aquarium that I want to use for fish. Is it safe if it's cleaned and rinsed well? <Should be, yes> Yes....definitely an addict...how did I go from Betta bowls to wanting 125 gal setups? Are there any support groups out there? <Yep... Aquarium Clubs! And the Nets specialized BBs! Enjoy and keep sharing. Bob Fenner>Clown Knife, Cory Cat - 08/16/2005 Greetings Bob, <Hi, Richard; Sabrina here, this morning!> This morning I noticed my clown knife had something in it's mouth and it turned out to be a Cory cat. <Yikes!> I knew that the clown knife ate live fish but I didn't think it would until it was much bigger. My knife is about 6-7 inches long right now. <That's plenty big for any knife to start eating small fish.... These are very efficient predators.> The Cory seems to be stuck in his mouth. <Not good.... Chances are, he spread his dorsal and pectoral fins to prevent being eaten. I suppose it worked, sort of....> It has been in his mouth now for a few hours. Is this normal? <No, and yes. It's a normal reaction for the Cory to prevent himself being eaten, and it's normal for a clown knife to try to eat smaller fishes.... If the Cory is dead, and the knife is in obvious, extreme distress, I would try removing the Cory's pectoral fins with thin, VERY sharp scissors, then pull it out - GENTLY - or have a vet do so, if you've got a vet who would. If the Cory is alive, let 'em have some time to work this out. Watch the knife very closely for a while. This may work out fine on its own.> This is the first time I have seen my knife eat live food. Please advise. <Err, this is probably obvious, but whatever the outcome of this instance, remove all smallish catfish from the knife's tank, or you'll be sure to see this happen again!> Warm Regards, Richard D. Warren <Wishing you well, -Sabrina> Clown Knife, Cory Cat - II - 08/16/2005 Sabrina, <Hi, Rich> Thank you for your help. <Any time.> Unfortunately my knife didn't make it. <I am so sorry to hear this.... So sorry for your loss; they are such beautiful, interesting fish!> I appreciate all your help though. <I wish I could have been of more help. Perhaps in the future, you might look to Xenomystus nigri instead of the clown.... Though it might still have the same issue with small Corys and Otos, it would stay small enough to be safe with larger Corys and other catfishes.> Rich Warren <Wishing you well, -Sabrina Clown Knife and Algae Eater Hey, I just bought a large-size clown fish with 2 other medium-size tropical fish in a 55 tank. I've learned that the knife is a predator and will eat anything smaller than its mouth. I'm concerned that if I put an algae eater in, the knife might swallow it as food. Since my tank is full of plants and rocks, it'll be difficult to clean the algae. What should I do!? Thanks for your time. <<Hello. The best way to control algae is by doing water changes. Once your tank is established, test your nitrates regularly, and do the water changes accordingly. Algae thrives on organics in the water, and even the best filter will not prevent build-up of organics, you need to remove them by doing partial water changes. Especially with a large predator in your tank, weekly water changes will be necessary. Is this tank still cycling now? You must test your ammonia and nitrites as well, each week! And keep in mind that your clown knife will eventually outgrow a 55 gallon tank. You will need to upgrade if you want to keep him alive. -Gwen>> Knives, Spines, Rope and Fire. OK to add Claws? Hi, thanks
for the info that you've given me so far, but I've got another
question. I've got my 130 gallon tank set-up with a 10" clown
knifefish, 12" spiny eel, 6" fire eel, and 12"
Ropefish. Clown Knife Growing Pains 2/14/06 Well, I indeed messed up pretty badly. I was fascinated by a Clown Ghost Knife at Wal-Mart that was only 5 bucks, which is cheaper than I'd ever seen them before so I bought it. The disgruntled store employee so gratefully neglected to tell me how big they got. < Probably didn't know.> Right now I have in a 20 gallon tank with one Cory Catfish, 2 Black Mollies, and 1 White Mountain Cloud, and the name of a small silver fish I've forgotten. At this moment right now he is about 3 and a half to 4 inches long. How long will it take for him to outgrow this tank and when he does what size tank should I invest in? < They get up to three feet and will be full grown in a couple of years. You will need at least a 100 gallon tank and you will have a pretty hefty food bill too.> My folks I'm 14) will be none too happy with this news when I finally decide to tell them as I just bought a 55 gallon tank to start saltwater. So I would like to know a recommended size tank to buy if I were to put 1 or 2 other fish in with him. What fish get along with Clown Knives?? < Other fish that the knife cannot eat.> Contrary to what I've read over the internet my Clown Knife is very hardy. He's eaten just about everything I've given him except for flake food. That including frozen shrimp, common garden worms, meat from the table, and my ghost shrimp -.-' (which he wasn't supposed to eat). He also managed to survive a 45 minute ride home over not too smooth roads and being from a none too reputable petstore. He has earned what I find an appropriate name for him, Anvil. Quite frankly I've fallen in love with him as he just fascinates me. So after you recommend whatever size tank and how long till he needs it I'll probably be working all summer to earn it. I wouldn't be able to stand to give him away. Great thanks through my ramblings. < A 100 gallon+ tank will be expensive to set up and operate. Hope your parents are as understanding as mine were when I was you age.-Chuck> Clown Knife Fish 2/9/06 Hello, <Hi there> I am a recent aquarium addict (1 year) and need some information / help. I have 3 aquariums (started with 2 betta bowls for decoration that never made it home before I rationalized purchasing an aquarium), one 30 gal (filtration - penguin 125) and a 55 gal (filtration - penguin 350). The very BEST purchase I've ever made!!!!! In my 55 I have a 7" clown knife, one Plecostomus, two 4" tinfoil barbs, two 2 1/2" albino tinfoil barbs and 4 giant Danios (did have four 1 1/2" but two of them weren't fast enough to duck the knife so I replaced them with two 3" ones) . <These will also be inhaled...> I plan to eventually get a 125 gal for all in the 55 gal, is this enough? <Not for the knife eventually> I plan to put filtration rated for 175, what do you recommend? <That you read WWM> Also, I started out feeding my knife pellets that it appears to not be eating - partly because of the greedy 6" Pacu (purchased in error due to bad information from LFS) I got rid of before adding the barbs and Danios. So I for obvious reasons (disease / filtration) reluctantly started feeding him 12 Rosies every 3-4 days and some ghost shrimp which he of course happily devours. He recently ate all 12 Rosies in about 2 hours, should I be concerned? <Re what? Going broke? Disease? Behavior modification?> He has no problems with his tankmates as he comes out of hiding from time to time throughout the day (unlike with the Pacu) but still ignores the pellets. How if at all possible can I get him to eat the shrimp pellets without starving him to death lacking live food? <Not likely to eat pellets...> Also, during the pellet spell he developed a 1/4" white stripe or spot which disappeared when he started eating live Rosies. Might that have been stress related because he was waiting for a real meal? <Yes, good way of putting this.> I'm sure part of it was the skittish and supper fast Pacu, <Heeee!> but it started going away while the Pacu was there and I fed live food. Although the tinfoil barbs are fast as well, they don't seem to bother him nearly as much because he comes out a lot more during the day. He looks to be in perfect condition on his new diet. My other question is once I get the 125 gal, what more colorful tankmates do you recommend for my clown knife? <... perhaps some easier-going Neotropical cichlids like Juraparoids... or large/r minnow sharks that hail from the same part of the world as the knife...> Also, my 30 gal....heh, heh...thought I was finished eh....*grin*? I have 4 tiger barbs, 3 albino tiger barbs, 2 albino rainbow sharks and a Plecostomus. My only concern is the sharks seem to fight from time to time. <Very common> Well really the bigger one (3 1/2") chases the smaller one (2 1/2"). Will putting all fish from the 30 into the 55 once I upgrade to the 125 help this problem with the sharks? <Likely will help> The Plec will be put in the 125 once it gets too big. What other algae eaters do you suggest for the tiger barb / rainbow shark tank, because I only want 2 Plecos in the 125 and I know they get too big for the 30 and 55? <See WWM...> Or will a common Pleco be ok in a 55 gal? My third tank....ok...ok...I'm wrapping it up. I kept an iguana in a 55 gal aquarium that I want to use for fish. Is it safe if it's cleaned and rinsed well? <Should be, yes> Yes....definitely an addict...how did I go from Betta bowls to wanting 125 gal setups? Are there any support groups out there? <Yep... Aquarium Clubs! And the Nets specialized BBs! Enjoy and keep sharing. Bob Fenner> Re: Clown Knife Fish - 2/11/2006 Thank you for your reply Bob. I did read quite a few articles in WWM prior to my inquiry. Unfortunately, I was unable to obtain any specific information to my questions because WWM has comments from your staff stating the clown knife will get two feet in some articles and three or four in others. <All good "guesses" for genus Notopterus... see fishbase.org re... Have seen them near three feet in Thailand's public aquariums, though two feet is a good general maximum for captivity in the West... see this: http://fishbase.org/Summary/speciesSummary.php?ID=8765&genusname=Chitala&speciesname=lopis> Therefore I am unaware if a 125 gal aquarium will be large enough for the tinfoil barbs and clown knife. <Not "ultimately"> I understand the giant Danios will eventually be eaten, I got them so the knife would get some extra exercise chasing them. Is that a good idea? <Not IMO> Since it's not likely the clown knife will eat pellets, what can I do to limit disease from live Rosies? Thank you. Orlando <... Culture or quarantine them for weeks ahead of time... I'd train the knife to take cut meat... Bob Fenner> |
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