Elephantnose fish

[DMan99]

Hey,

A while ago i purchased an elephantnose fish, impulse buy, days later and feeling very guilty i returned it to the LFS and decided to do some research.

Well this is the first time i have got round to it so does anybody have any pictures at all of them fully grown? Any information with regards size of tank they need and the size they will usually grow to be in an aquarium. Any information on behaviour and does anyone know the latin name?

Help! Please, 'cuz if they're suitable then i'm gonna go get my elephantnose back!

Dman99

 

[DMan99]

Also, how would they get on with a zigzag spiny eel?

 

[Oddball]

well lets start with basics:

Elephants like company of their own species and spook easilly, they dont like large boisterous fish which would harrass them, they also dislike any fish which emit a larger than normal electrical field (ill explain why in a bit). They can sometimes be really horrible to feed, sometimes only accepting live bloodworm.

They prefer acid pH and appreciate bogwood in their tank, and sandy substrate is preferrable. This is because they may damage thier "trunk" searching for food. They use their trunk to sense electrical abnormalities emitted by small invertabrates in the substrate, so they are sensitive to electrical charges. You may wish to research ur lfs elephantnoses thoroughly as their are a lot on offer, below is a rough guide for you:

Peters Elephant nose, Gnathonemus Petersii (common elephant) 20cm or 8 inch

Stanley Falls Elephant nose, Marcusensius Stanleyanus (silver, very short trunk) 20cm or 8 inch

Birdbeak Elephant nose, Campylomormyrus, C.Ibis (black, fused top and lower tunk, C.Ibis has the longer trunk of the two) 15cm or 6 inch, also sold as double trunks if trunks are not fused together

Donkyfaced Elepahnt nose, Campylomormyrus Cassaicus (double trunk almosst pointing straight down, white flashes with white underside) 15cm or 6 inch

Whale Fish, Petrocephalus Bane (no trunk) 20cm or 8 inch

DomoDomo, Mormyrus Kannume (Sort trunk, very slender) the daddy of them all 50cm or 25 inch!!!!!

There are at least seven other members of the elephant nose group available, but i cant recall them off hand, feel free to contact me and i shall dig info up on them, also i will elaborate on the above species if you want any more info, i hope this helps

 

[DMan99]

Cool.

Well im removing all the fish from one of my 50G's, the substrate will be changing to sand and it has a lot of bogwood. All this will be done in one day and so i am hoping to have one zig-zag spiny eel and 2 elephantnose fish in it.

Would this be ok?

 

[Black_Ghost_Guy]

I just have to comment on one thing. Elephantnoses may get along with each other when small, but any that I've owned or heard of become very hostile towards others of their own species, often killing other elephantnoses in the tank. Also, if they feel any threat at all (most often coming from other fishes that navigate using weak electrical fields), they will stop feeding entirely, will only begin feeding again after that fish is removed, and even then may not restart feeding. It would be much more beneficial in the long run to both you and the elephantnoses to only purchase one.

 

[DMan99]

Ok! Will do then!

One elephantnose fish it is

 

[Black_Ghost_Guy]

Sounds good, these are great fish. Very personable, they have comparitivley larger brains than we do, I forgot how much exactly, I'll have to find the ratio.

 

[DMan99]

Yeah, i loved the one i had before i took it back and im jst happy that i know i can have one now!

 

[Roy]

Your eels will be fine with your elephantnose, though, make sure to secure your tank properly, or else, your eels will leap out and suicide. As for your elephantnose, ethier 1, or a group of them, or just none Unless you have a pretty big tank, I would go for 2 elephantnoses, only if you have a heater, so that if gets stressed out by the other one, it wont get ick, cause remmber, your eels cant be treated with medicine if they get ick too. So you gotta think of everything, including your other fish too.

 

[DMan99]

Lol, read the sig, i have a few good sized tanks all with heaters! lol. Id say i am fairly experienced and have done my research. Im going to have one empty tank already cycled and matured with one eel and one elephantnose, im not gettin two cos through research and feedback on here ive been told that 2 is do-able bt not a great idea.
Thanks tho!

 

[Matt Doncaster]

I have three common elephant nosed fish they are really nice and they are definately not shy. Dont know why they are really lovely fish and would recomend getting some but not three i wanted two but ended up with three bad idea

 

[Flashfire]

I heard that elephant noses hate others of there kind, the ones I see at this other petshop are always fighting