Knifefish
- Thread starter Liz
- Start date
def no to both questions- clown knife fish get HUGE, and really not even african brown should be kept in anything smaller than a 55.
Swimfins
This is as good as it gets.
The clown knife is a huge fish and a sport fish in Asia. I've seen pics of clown knife that were caught on a fishing line at about 5 feet and close to 100 pounds. (OOPs, most sites say 3 feet but I swear I saw a pic of one on a hook that was 5 feet at least lol...the one that got away?)
Like Nuriel says, the brown knife needs 55 and my ghost knife wil need 100 within the next year or so.
Try googling for info on the clown knife it an amazing fish
http://www.scz.org/animals/k/clknife.html
Like Nuriel says, the brown knife needs 55 and my ghost knife wil need 100 within the next year or so.
Try googling for info on the clown knife it an amazing fish
http://www.scz.org/animals/k/clknife.html
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Knives will not do well in brackish, they area freshwater fish. Also, most get huge. The largest of them reach about 40" or more. The smallest knife fish is the African Brown Knife, and it maxes out between 8"-12", which still requires a large tank. (55g is good). I love the look of ghost knives, but have no room for a suitably sized tank, so I'll have to pass on those. (they get about 20", so only half as unreasonable as the clown..).
Emily
Emily
First of all, it may not have been a clown at all that she saw. I am thinking that it is very likely what she did see, but I can't be positive until she gives more of a description. A black ghost will not need a 100 gallon "in a year or so". Maybe two years, but more like 2, 3, or even 4 or more years from now. They grow VERY slowly. An African would be fine in a 25 for life. They are not terribly active, and are very small when at adult size (8"). Their wild maximum size is 11", but they've never gotten that large in tanks, and I doubt that they will. And no, no knife should be or could be kept in brackish water for elongated periods of time. And if it is a clown, you'll need a tank about 7 times larger than a 25 to house it (i.e. a 180).
I looked up pics of clown knifes and yeah that's what I saw. Also, how much do they usually run for? The owner of the store was going to sell it for me for like $5, and that seemed cheap to me, but he knows me.
I'm looking for interesting fish for my 25 gallon that's going brackish, and it's hard to find brackish fish, and the only ones I've seen (puffers) were sold as freshwater fish so I wasn't sure about the knife fish. It looked kinda odd, like it might be brackish.
I'm looking for interesting fish for my 25 gallon that's going brackish, and it's hard to find brackish fish, and the only ones I've seen (puffers) were sold as freshwater fish so I wasn't sure about the knife fish. It looked kinda odd, like it might be brackish.
I second to Lepisosteus about the Black Ghost Knife: I have one that's about 8 inche, and it's been very happy in a 29 gal for a couple of years. I think it only grow about an inch or so each year. They need execellent water quality though.
Any way, $5.00 for a small clown knife (less than 4 inches) is relatively good price, but not really dirt cheap. The regular, or albino clown knife is very common. The Royal one would be rare and more expensive.
If you want to go for brackist, you may also look at small scats or archerfish. I never have scats before, so I don't know how fast they grow, but it is pretty slow for archerfish, at least the 9-spot version that I have. They are nice and interesting looking fish...
Any way, $5.00 for a small clown knife (less than 4 inches) is relatively good price, but not really dirt cheap. The regular, or albino clown knife is very common. The Royal one would be rare and more expensive.
If you want to go for brackist, you may also look at small scats or archerfish. I never have scats before, so I don't know how fast they grow, but it is pretty slow for archerfish, at least the 9-spot version that I have. They are nice and interesting looking fish...
Well, I'll second Fishseller on this one. No knife in a 25. And I'm not sure where most of you guys are getting your info on black ghosts, but they will reach 20" or a bit better given proper care and really don't grow that slow. The only ones that stay smaller as far as I know are the African Brown Knives, they get to about 12", but even then a 25 is a bit cramped for them. There are a ton of brackish species though, you could even try sailfin mollies, they seem to do much better in brackish, and I've kept and bred them in full saltwater before. Pretty fish as well.
Nat,
When did we start sharing opinions!? Sailfin Mollies were my second choice, but I didn't want to start a flame war on the whole Molly/salt controversy. I would think you could keep a single pair in a 25 and have a pretty killer species tank. Actually, what would be REALLY killer is to try something with a Mangrove shoot. The mangrove shoots I've seen growing in home aquariums usually aren't too big. If you stayed diligent with trimming, I would imagine you could prune one to stay small. Then again, it would be an open top tank and mollies are pretty good jumpers...
As far as tankmates go, I would be concerned with puffers nipping at you mollies' fins at night...
At any rate, do some research on your gobie varities. There are also some native Killies that live most of their lives in brackish water that are quite striking.
When did we start sharing opinions!? Sailfin Mollies were my second choice, but I didn't want to start a flame war on the whole Molly/salt controversy. I would think you could keep a single pair in a 25 and have a pretty killer species tank. Actually, what would be REALLY killer is to try something with a Mangrove shoot. The mangrove shoots I've seen growing in home aquariums usually aren't too big. If you stayed diligent with trimming, I would imagine you could prune one to stay small. Then again, it would be an open top tank and mollies are pretty good jumpers...
As far as tankmates go, I would be concerned with puffers nipping at you mollies' fins at night...
At any rate, do some research on your gobie varities. There are also some native Killies that live most of their lives in brackish water that are quite striking.