Clown Knife And Silver Needlefish

[dapope12]

i have always found the clown knifefish (Nortopterus chitala) to be an amazing fish and now that i have a large enough tank i am wanting to keep one. i am setting up a south asian tank and im planning on having...
1-clown knifefish (Nortopterus chitala)
4 or 5 coolie loaches (Acanthopthalmus kuhli)
1 or 2 silver needlefish (Xenetodon cancila)
5 or 6 giant danio (Danio aequipinnatus)
and 5 or 6 tiger barb (Barbus tetrazona) or red tiger barbs if i can get my hands on them

i know the barbs will be fine (or im hoping atleast) but what about the coolie loaches? they only grow around 5 inches and since both them and the clown knifefish tend to swim on the lower levels will the kinfefish think of them as a fresh meal? im guessing the danios are too quick for the clown knife.

also will the silver needlefish eat the danios?

 

[cane76]

it depends on how big all these fish are but it sounds like a dangerous combination to me.needlefish and clownknife fish are great hunters and can easily take small fish

 

[Anthony!]

Absolutely not. The clown knife will grow to several FEET long, and need very, very large tanks, like 180 and up I believe. It would consume everything in that tank, eventually including the needlefish. BTW, the nedlefish itself would eat everything except the clown knife. So, if you leave those two out, you've got a good tank running.

 

[cane76]

if like you said you have got a tank large enough tank for a clown knife i would get one and do some research about tank mates

 

[nmonks]

Some more realistic alternatives:

African knifefish, Xenomystus nigri. Gets to about 30 cm long at most, usually less. Harmless except towards very small (neon sized) fish. Adults are waspish towards one another, but juveniles (which includes the 12-15 cm specimens usually sold) form schools.

Halfbeaks, Nomorhamphus spp. Same sort of shape as needlefish (and in fact they are very closely related) but smaller, the biggest females are about 10 cm or so in length. Males much smaller. Basically easy to keep, but prone to sudden deaths if the pH and hardness in the tank fluctuates. Males are hyperactive and aggressive, females remarkably mellow. Quite difficult to breed, given they're livebearers, but the fry are very easy to raise once you have them.

Cheers,

Neale