Brown African Knifefish

[Creature Seeker]

I was bought a brown african knife fish and was wondering if he emits eletrical pulses as I would like to get an elephant nose fish but I've heard they don't mix well with other eletrical fish.

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[Fruitbat]

According to Bullock and Northcutt's 1982 article in the Journal of Comparative Physiology, African Brown Knife Fish (Xenomystus nigri) are not capable of electrogeneration (producing electrical impulses) but seem to be capable of electroreception.

Your Xenomystus might not 'like' an elephant nose as company (they tend to develop a distinct dislike for other similarly-shaped fish) and may even be irritated by the Mormyrid's electrical pulses. I have kept both types of fish on a number of occasions but have never tried them in the same aquarium at the same time.

-Joe