Hi! I am a new aquarist and have recently purchased an elephant nose fish. It's name is Trunks ( I don't think there is any way to tell the gender besides their electrical pulses. Even then though, I think you'd need an alpha male or an alpha female to tell the gender apart and be absolutely certain about it. But I digress.) What I would like to know are specific tank parameters, basic information, and what to do and what not to do with this fish in my tank. Here are some of my questions. :help:
He hides all the time and tries to swim upward. His cave let too much light in, and I believe this may be the cause of this unusual behavior. Is this true?
He was falling sideways when I first let him out of the bag, after conditioning him for 30 minutes. This was definitely a bad sign, and I read that salt can cause this. Is this true?
They grow to be 9-13" long, but what is their full grown height?
I put a piece of aluminum foil in the tank ( I washed it first) that I rolled up into a ball. I heard that they like to play with these. Is this true? Will this affect my tank's water condition?
He hasn't eaten yet and is skiddish. I am worried that my tank's water may not be clean enough for him to calm down and eat in. The tank is also way too small and overstocked (If you read my other post, you will see with what. Except for the Rainbow Shark, he was too aggressive and territorial for Trunks and my angelfish, Uriel, to handle, so I moved him to a 5 gallon tank and exchanged him for Kirby, my Kribensis *Get it, KRIB-ensis?* ) What will he eat for sure, what will he have to get used to, and what won't he eat at all no matter how hard I try to feed him it?
Note: I am planning on getting a 75 gallon tank within the next week and a half so don't think I'm going to let my fish suffer.
Finally, what will kill this fish. I'm not planning on it, don't worry, but what should I definitely NOT do?
Also, I would like to know if he is compatible with his tank mates. I have read that these fish are compatible.
Thanks for all the help and don't feel like you need to answer all of these at once! Much appreciated.
-John
He hides all the time and tries to swim upward. His cave let too much light in, and I believe this may be the cause of this unusual behavior. Is this true?
He was falling sideways when I first let him out of the bag, after conditioning him for 30 minutes. This was definitely a bad sign, and I read that salt can cause this. Is this true?
They grow to be 9-13" long, but what is their full grown height?
I put a piece of aluminum foil in the tank ( I washed it first) that I rolled up into a ball. I heard that they like to play with these. Is this true? Will this affect my tank's water condition?
He hasn't eaten yet and is skiddish. I am worried that my tank's water may not be clean enough for him to calm down and eat in. The tank is also way too small and overstocked (If you read my other post, you will see with what. Except for the Rainbow Shark, he was too aggressive and territorial for Trunks and my angelfish, Uriel, to handle, so I moved him to a 5 gallon tank and exchanged him for Kirby, my Kribensis *Get it, KRIB-ensis?* ) What will he eat for sure, what will he have to get used to, and what won't he eat at all no matter how hard I try to feed him it?
Note: I am planning on getting a 75 gallon tank within the next week and a half so don't think I'm going to let my fish suffer.
Finally, what will kill this fish. I'm not planning on it, don't worry, but what should I definitely NOT do?
Also, I would like to know if he is compatible with his tank mates. I have read that these fish are compatible.
Thanks for all the help and don't feel like you need to answer all of these at once! Much appreciated.
-John