Im A Newbie In Need Of Serious Help

[corvettekid]

My friend just gave me a sick fish which he calls an elephant nose knife fish (it looks like a cross between a bgk and elephant nose) he claims to have gotten it from a pet store in china town. I cannot find any information at all about this fish and i am worried i will lose him. He won't eat and he has a slight case of ick. over the past few days his ick has gotten better but he seems to be losing energy, today he is kind of just laying at the bottom of the tank almost like he is sleeping, and every once in a while he will swim to a different spot and lay down again. Can anyone tell me what he would eat or his water parameters or just anything in general about him?

 

[Chad]

I believe this is Peter's Elephantnose which looks like a knifefish but isn't really. Though they do share similarities, which actually might be part of the problem. 
 
One of the problems you may run into is the electroreception of the fish vs that of your other fish. Both this fish and the knife fish have receptors all over their bodies which possibly could interfere with other species that do the same thing. This can cause the fish to become stressed and ill leaving it susceptible to parasites like ich and other diseases. 
 
Treatment for ich would be similar to other fish. 

 

[corvettekid]

This is a peters elephant nose, i have one of these as well as a bgk. The fish i posted about is neither. Its more like a cross between the two
 

 

[Chad]

If you can post a photo that should help. Also try the Rosen's tube-snouted knifefish. 

 

[corvettekid]

Sternarchorhynchus roseni
That looks like the one but there is literally no info on it

 

[Chad]

No, not much. Hopefully someone will have researched them. I know only basics like size (16"), habitat (South American river basins) and diet (usually water-based insects and larvae) and they are "electric" (used to communicate and detect prey) but I haven't kept them so don't know much beyond that.  
 
I would try live black or blood worms for food.

 

[fluttermoth]

I was going to suggest trying some live food too, if you haven't already.

On another note, all elephant noses should really have a soil or very fine sand substrate, not gravel.

 

[corvettekid]

I have tried small fish fry from my last batch of mosquito minnows, but he doesnt bother with them. The only live food i have access too are fruit flies from petsmart, would those work by chance?
I have tried frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp, and mysis shrimp, all of which he didnt bother with. Also could the slight case of ick he has be he reason he is not eating?
I know, i have a 90 gallon long planted tank i will be putting him into soon, it has a sand substrate. I just dont want to spread his ick to that tank, i was hoping to transfer him once he is better

 

[Chad]

There are likely four reasons it's not eating.
 
1. Tank mates (other electric fish of different species interfere)
2. Substrate (they use that nose to get into mud and remove prey)
3. Food type (electric fish use their electricity to hunt. If the food is dead it's less likely to detect it and consume it)
4. Stress (cased by the ich and the 3 above items)

 

[corvettekid]

He is the only electic fish in this tank, he is also the largest fish in the tank, and no one bothers him, hes just been laying on his side almost like he's sleeping or about to die. Does anyone know if knife fish sleep? Ive never observed this behavior in my two bgk's and today is the first time i have seen him like this

 

[Chad]

Okay, for some reason I thought you had other knifefish in the tank. 
Side sleeping/laying is actually a normal behavior for knifefish. 
 
Do you have a hiding tube for him? 

 

[corvettekid]

There are rock formations, tons of drift wood, lightly planted, there are more than enough places for him to hide, but he is laying almost completely in the open. I have all the lights turned off because i figured it would make him feel more comfortable and maybe entice him to move around, but he just lays there until someone disturbs him, if i put the net next to him he will move only a few inches and then lay back down

 

[RCA]

If you believe it to be Sternarchorhynchus roseni, Rosen’s tube-snouted ghost knifefish, you are correct that there is not a lot out there, however, the following maybe of interest. Maybe even contacting some of the authors to seek advice?

http/www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-86215.html This one advises on what to feed.

http/eolspecies.lifedesks.org/pages/22699

http/www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/content.php?sid=869 Try contacting the magazine to see if they can advise.

https/www.facebook.com/encyclopediaoflife/posts/199736370069192

http/www.pfeil-verlag.de/04biol/pdf/ief17_1_08.pdf

http/botany.si.edu/bdg/pdf/bswa_fish-chcklst_2009-complete.pdf

Can you tell us more about the friends set up that gave the fish too you, and how long he had this fish for? Did it eat when with him? What other fish did they have? What type of tank? Where was it obtained from originally

It sounds like it maybe too weak, especially if it has been wild caught and not able to carry out its normal behaviour to collect food. Thanks for coming here to ask the questions though, really hope you can save it.

 

[Chad]

There are rock formations, tons of drift wood, lightly planted, there are more than enough places for him to hide, but he is laying almost completely in the open. I have all the lights turned off because i figured it would make him feel more comfortable and maybe entice him to move around, but he just lays there until someone disturbs him, if i put the net next to him he will move only a few inches and then lay back down

Side laying, and generally laying about, is normal for these fish. They spend a great deal of time like in the below picture from Google. Don't expect too much daytime activity out of it.
 
I suppose it's due to the nature of their skin they don't really seem to like being in rocks, perhaps too rough. The tubes have been found to be a favorite.
 

 

[corvettekid]

Sadly he passed away last night :'( such a beautiful fish. Thank you everyone for your help and support. My friend got him from a pet store in china town, in downtown los angeles. He kept the little guy for a week in a 95 gallon aquarium by himself. He never ate when my friend had him and he never ate qhen i had him. Thanks again for the help guys