Elephantnose question/opinions

[nato435]

Looking for some input on this fish... saw it at a LFS today, looks like a fun fish. A little expensive, but would be a great addition if all goes well. I've been reading that it is a nocturnal.. but the LFS says that it is blind and a ghost tunnel will make it be less stressed if in a lit tank. Anyone have some experience with this fish to help me out??

Will be kept w/ 2 angels a common pleco, and 2 blackfin sharks in a 30G tank.

TIA
-Nato

[JamisonBWolsh]

There are some older threads that discusses the Elephant nose to death. Review the threads and you will fall in love with them.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=1934

here is a good thread of them.... near the end..it became more of I know more than you do match, but it does have some GREAT info!

They are nocturnal, but once they get to know their environment, they will come out alot. Provide a dark cave (not a "see through" tunnel")

[pinballqueen]

I agree, read the previous threads. Just look for the ones with locks on them, since they turned into screaming matches.

In response to its tank/tankmates, I don't think this is a great fish to put in that tank, unfortunately.

These fish can reach sizes of over a foot. They like to have anywhere from 20-40 gallons of water all to themselves. They aren't blind (your lfs must not be very familiar with the species). They have excellent vision, but prefer darker habitats, since they are nocturnal. Hiding places are essential. They will get into territorial spats with other bottom dwellers like plecos, shark catfish, and the like, usually without injury, but stressful nonetheless.

They are a very intelligent and interesting fish, but I do recommend a bigger tank than what you've got in order for them to be at their best.

[JamisonBWolsh]

Originally posted by pinballqueen
I agree, read the previous threads. Just look for the ones with locks on them, since they turned into screaming matches.

In response to its tank/tankmates, I don't think this is a great fish to put in that tank, unfortunately.

These fish can reach sizes of over a foot. They like to have anywhere from 20-40 gallons of water all to themselves. They aren't blind (your lfs must not be very familiar with the species). They have excellent vision, but prefer darker habitats, since they are nocturnal. Hiding places are essential. They will get into territorial spats with other bottom dwellers like plecos, shark catfish, and the like, usually without injury, but stressful nonetheless.

They are a very intelligent and interesting fish, but I do recommend a bigger tank than what you've got in order for them to be at their best.

I agree with most of what Pinball queen says. except for 2 things:

1.) They are nearly "blind" they use their electrical pulses to find food and locations.
2.) Size.. the "common" elephant nose gets to only 7-9 inches.
3.) Territorial spats- only chases some of the fish (bottom dwellers) and only at feeding times (most of the time). My elephant nose ignores the bigger fish. Angels would not cause a conflict. It would only conflict with your 2 sharks. They cant cause injury..no teeth to bite..they have a nose they use to nudge the other fish.

Agreed with the tank size... a 30 gallon is to small for them. As for tank mates, angels would be fine. No big deal.

[pinballqueen]

Maybe dolphins are more aggressive....

Mom's got into fights with her redfin shark on a regular basis over territory. They both wanted to be under the driftwood, and would get into massive shoving matches that would leave the redfin with missing scales and the dolphin with scratches all over his sides...he also fought with the pleco on a regular basis, until they established some kind of heirarchy.

IMO, a semi-agressive fish such as an angel might be a bit nippy to keep with something with skin that sensitive...

BTW, most nocturnal species have vision problems in broad daylight. Mormyrids have excellent night vision, however. They just have very light-sensitive eyes (much like an owl does, and their vision is twice as crisp as a human...)

[JamisonBWolsh]

Yea.. Mine also chases the red tail shark, Yoyo loaches, and the petricola Catfish.

The red tail shark doesnt chase the elephant nose, he/she swims away. The Yoyos swims away also. However the petricola catfish totally ignores the elephant nose. The elephant nose keeps nudgeing them and they just sit there, sometimes they do swim away, but its kind of funny, watching this :)

I have heard that each elephant nose has its own "personality". One can be AGGRESSIVE and another, totally friendly.

Provide more than one hiding space and there will less fighting.

He ignores my 3 Plecos and 3 skunk cories.

[nato435]

I plan on getting a 100 gallon in a year or so.. do you think it would be okay for now to keep this fish in the 30 until then? Or should i just wait and hope to find one around again?? First time I've seen one in any of the store around here in 4 month that I've been "looking" at fish in a detailed manner. LFS says they don't get them very often either, thats why I'm looking so closely. If you think that is within enough time to grow into the bigger tank I'll go for it.

Why the no salt?? Something to do w/ their skin?

Thanks
-Nato

[pinballqueen]

Or, do what Mom did: get rid of the shark, the spats stop.... it was getting nippy with everything else in the tank anyhow...

[JamisonBWolsh]

a 30 gallon can be tight for them. Especially with your other fish. The elephant nose will not be happy with those catfish! I would say just wait untill you get the 100 gallon tank. Much less stress on all the fish in the tank. I dont know about fresno, but Elephant noses are very common (maybe 1 in 5 LFS would carry them) here in the san fernando Valley, CA. I would say Wait. Best for everyone involved. A great, fun, adventurious fish to include in your 100 gallon community

[JamisonBWolsh]

Get only 1. If you want more then one..buy 5 or more (spreads the aggresion) and have many dark caves for them. Oh.. They GROW VERY SLOWLY! I had mine a year and he/she grew only 1/2 inch if that..... Try to buy a small one. I seen the stores sell them from 2 inches..all the way up to 7 inches..

[pinballqueen]

I would wait. You can always ask your lfs to order one for you when you are ready for it. They tend to grow quickly when you first get them...

They are a long-lived species as well, so plan on a long relationship with it.

The salt depends a little on the species. They have highly sensitive skin, more so than most scaleless species, so adding salt to the water (or any medications not rated for scaleless) will cause their skin to crack and peel, like it is severely chapped. (Found this out the hard way)

Also, the lfs might not tell you this, but they won't readily accept flake foods, and they're bad about waiting around for a while before they eat. Bad news if you have really aggressive eaters in the tank with it.

Whenever you do get one, be sure to have the lfs clerk feed it in front of you. If it doesn't eat, don't buy it....also, make sure it's little belly isn't caved in. These are both signs of starvation (a common problem associated with breeds that don't eat normal flake foods).

[JamisonBWolsh]

pinball..your moms grew Fast? Mine grows REALLY slow.... They love brine shrimp!!!

Let me add though, once the elephant nose gets used to the tank settings (a month or so--depends) they will RUSH to get that brine shrimp..

They are very intimidated when you first buy it..but after a month it will come out more often and be more visual

Example: Every night I feed brine shrimp, he "pushes" the Yoyo's and red tail shark away from the feeding area. Everyone still gets to eat, but this shows you they will get over their shyness...

PS: cover all openings..they will try to Jump out... Use tinfoil to cover the openings..

Just read that Thread and most of your answers will be answered..If you have any further questions..Just ask away.

[pinballqueen]

tinfoil, h3ll! Try plywood! (Then again, I'm dealing with a rather powerful 9-inch long dolphin with on an escape mission....) We had to resort to putting heavy shells on the lids so he wouldn't knock them open (kind of like a moray, really good at ramming the lids hard enough to swing them open....)

Mom's dolphin has grown a solid 2 inches since we got him about 8 months ago. I think they take spurts, like human kids do....

[JamisonBWolsh]

when you say dolphin..do you mean its cousin...the silver one without the nose (forgot the scientific name)???.. yes..plywood works too...

Mine is the "common-peterisi"elephant nose..but its growth rate is slow. If it is that silver one. they are NIce! not to common in the LFS eithor.

[pinballqueen]

She has a silver dolphin (not sure about the sci. name, either). He has a long protruding nose, it's just not quite as abrupt, more like a gentle taper, like an elephant trunk, and not quite as long in relation to body size.

You may be thinking of a baby-whale, without the tube-nose.

He is really uncommon, we lucked out finding him.

Upon consideration, I think the reason for his rapid growth lies in the variety in his diet. He gets tubifex, beef heart (cut into teeny-tiny pieces so he can eat them), liver, frozen shrimp from the butcher, bloodworms, and live earthworms, as well as cichlid pellets. Really rich stuff. She rotates the diet to where he gets tubifex (which she hand-feeds him) and the pellets most of the time, and a weekly treat of one of the meaty foods.

[JamisonBWolsh]

Originally posted by pinballqueen

Upon consideration, I think the reason for his rapid growth lies in the variety in his diet. He gets tubifex, beef heart (cut into teeny-tiny pieces so he can eat them), liver, frozen shrimp from the butcher, bloodworms, and live earthworms, as well as cichlid pellets. Really rich stuff. She rotates the diet to where he gets tubifex (which she hand-feeds him) and the pellets most of the time, and a weekly treat of one of the meaty foods.


WoW- that particular type of "elephant nose" sounds nice. Not for me though. Cant keep 2 types togethor...

That food your mom feeds him is really great. PLenty of nourishment ! I only feen mine frozen brine shrimp..mine is also only 4 inches, but I would love to give him that diet! Is their anyway you can get some pics of him/her? I would love to see what they look like in her tank..
I bet others would love to see him too...Introduce us..will ya? :)

[pinballqueen]

I'm in the process of wearing down my s.o. and talking him into a digital camera for when the baby gets here....if I have any luck, maybe I'll see one for Christmas....then you'll get pics of everything from the landscape of my hometown to my fish tanks to my kid (when he/she gets here....)

[JamisonBWolsh]

Im going to hold you to that... :)

I would love to see the wilderness of TN! I hear its scenic.... How far are you (with the baby)? If you dont mind me asking of course..

[pinballqueen]

Due at the end of Feb./first of Mar.

IMO, this is one of the prettiest places ever. A rather unique area, temperate rainforest. You should visit sometime (along with the millions of other people who come see us...)

[slipknottin]

the common elephant nose (Gnathonemus petersi) will grow up to about 14" in the wild. Most keepers have found they max out at about 9" in their aquariums.

In any case, you want a bigger tank. A 30 is quite small for a 9" fish.

[nato435]

Thanks for all the input guys... helped a lot.

-Nato

[Twilight]

I didn't have much luck with them.....he died and wouldn't eat though I followed everything that they said to do for it. I am not lucky with certain fish and this was one. Maybe you'll have good luck with the elephant nose but they can be very delicate to raise.

[pinballqueen]

Twilight,

Sorry to hear you had such bad luck with them. My mother lost a couple of them before she got everything right. Due to the fact that this species is exclusively wild-caught, really healthy individuals are a little hard to come by. You are right, though. They aren't for everyone. They almost always require a little tlc and attention, after all, they are shipped in from Africa and sometimes have gone up to a week without food or proper living conditions, only to be bought by lfs's that don't know how to handle them properly...

If they are the fish for you, however, they are really great.

[JamisonBWolsh]

Just keep in mind, it may take one or two before you find one thats good for you. If they do accept the brine shrimp, then you should be home free.

The ONLY problem with elephant noses (not their problem...more like ours) is that the name itself. What I mean is, I can say I have an elephant nose and someone else says the same thing, but they can be 2 totally different fish. There are literally 100's (dont take me literally, could be only a 100) of fish in this family that is named "elephant nose"

[pinballqueen]

Well, it might simplify things for "us" (meaning folks reading this thread) to address them as mormyrids, since we are talking about the family of fish, with a specific species in mind. There are at least 10 fish that carry the name "elephant nose" as well as several that carry the name "dolphin" or "whale" (so named because they bear a resemblance). Since scientific names are a real pain, unless you have a question that is breed-specific, maybe the family name might be an easier way to talk about them, since their general requirements are very similar, and most of the species we keep in our homes are of similar size and temperament.