Clown knives...

[Isis_Nebthet]

I went into the local reptile shop to get a mouse. I was looking at a pond they have inside and it has two clown knives about a foot long. They want 20$ a piece for them.

Question one: Who would be better to put them with when I'm done playing musical tanks? The senegal bichirs or the marbled gobies?

Question two: They are only eating live food. They've tried to give them pellets, frozen bloodworms, live earthworms, and even live crickets....Are they too old to be trained onto other foods?

 

[spAcE mOnkEy]

since the tanks you have listed in your signiture are 40 gallons and 75 gallons, i dont think your tank is big enough for a clown knife. Is this UK gallons or US gallons? Clown knifes get around 4ft, and i dont think one could go in your 75 gal. Unless you wanted to put one in your pond, then MAYBE you could do it, but you should say the dimentions of the pond first. I got a clown knife for my 55 gallon when i was new to fish keeping, the petstore told me it only ate live food, but then after it died, i found out it didnt need only live food. Keep in mind then when it gets alot bigger, and it only eats live food, you are gonna have to get some bigger feeders. I doubt they really get to 4ft, but even if they got to two feet, thats still really big. If you just like the look of the clown knife, i suggest you get an African knifefish. These dont get as big and you could keep one in your 40 gal or 75. I dont know what marble gobies are, so im not sure about them. One of my friends has an african knife with a senegal, and they get along pretty well. African knifes eat blood worms and other frozen food.

 

[Isis_Nebthet]

I should have added what my tank shuffling meant )

I'm building a tank that is 480 gallons with one 300 gallon section with a flow through divider for the bichirs and marbled gobies (so the bichirs aren't chow but it keeps the pump costs down). Each side 5x2x2. Then two 90 gallon sections on the end of that tank 2x3x2 one will have my current community fish and the other will be brackish for my violets.

 

[simonas]

that tank sounds great. I'm looking for a clown knife at the moment

 

[spAcE mOnkEy]

THATS A HUGE TANK!! Well, if you are going to put a clown knife in one of those sections, how big will the section be? The 5ft thing? And if it is im not sure if thats big enough. But i dont really know much about clown knifes. If you have the room, it would be best to keep it with the bichirs.

 

[chris_harper]

they want $20 for a 12" clown knife? i paid $30 for mine, at ~8". i have him in my 135 gal. they will go with a senegal bichir. at least for now. mine ignores the one i have in there with him. the biggest one i have seen is the one at my fav lfs, at ~20 years old, he is ~24" long.

 

[Isis_Nebthet]

Yeah they would be in a 5x2x2 division but since it would have a flowthrough divider it will still be a 300 gallon tank. The only reason for dividing it at all is I know the gobies will get big enough to eat the bichirs.

Chris,
The guy that's selling them just wants his original $$$ spent back out of them because they're turning that pond into a cichlid pond. I'm not sure how big they were when he bought them.

Thanks for the info so far.

I'm still wondering if they're worth it since my friend has tried feeding them things other than feeders and they won't go for it. Will I have to starve them to get them to go for bloodworms and/or pellets? Or will have to find feeders all the time?

 

[ryan]

Some info on Clown Knives - http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showto...hl=clown+knives

It should be possible to get them onto frozen foods, however, having said that it may be a challenge if they have been feed live foods all their life, but they are not renound for being fussy eaters. Try foods like white bait/lance fish, earthworms etc.