The List Is Getting Longer

[pieman]

As I look for fish everyday, I find new and strange ones, to fit my tank.

Although only a small list i've crossed off quite a few things due to incompatability, this is for a UK 90 gallon :

African Black Knife Fish
Dragon Fish
Smaller Bichir
Zebra or Peacock Spiny Eel

I did want an Elephant nose but they are hard to feed, need excellent water and can be very agressive.

 

[CFC]

African black knife fish? There is a African brown knife fish and a black ghost knife fish but ive never heard of a African black knife fish. Dragon fish? That could be a small eel like goby or a Asian arowana

Scientific names are your friend, common names are often made up and the same name can be given to a whole load of different fish.

 

[nmonks]

African black knife fish?

I'm assuming he means Xenomystus nigri, "nigri" meaning black in Latin. A lovely small knifefish that is about as close to a community fish as you'll get with knifes. Totally peaceful. It will eat neons and such, but is fine with angelfish, gouramis, Corydoras, Congo tetras, etc. Supposedly makes noises, but mine never did. Happily eats frozen and small live foods (bloodworms, tubifex, etc.).

http/filaman.ifm-geomar.de/Summary/Speci...ary.php?id=5065

Cheers,

Neale

 

[pieman]

I've just done some research and found a few pictures on the site :

Macrognathus siamensis - Striped Peacock Eel
Mastacembelus zebrinus - Zebra Spiny Eel
Xenomystus nigri - African Black Knife Fish
And some form of Bichir

Info about Xenomystus nigri : http/www.aquariumfish.net/catalog_pages/..._black.htm#top2

 

[CFC]

Ive always seen Xenomystus nigri sold as African brown knife fish or simply African knife fish, i quite simply never thought of the nigri part of the name meaning the fish is black (which funnily enough they arent )

All those fish stay fairly small and harmless unless you are a tetra or other small fish so should work together quite nicely.

 

[pieman]

Yeah although I want some bigger ones, I wouldn't be able to buy them I hate fish not having enough room, I even get concerned about my Neons not having enough room in a 12Gallon (UK)

What i'm basicaly trying to do is find some really weird looking fish, and when people look at the tank they'll be like 'what the hell is that!?'

Edit : I found some more names for the 'Dragon Fish' it's also known as a 'Violet Goby' and a 'Gobioides broussonetti'

 

[ringham]

I have had an "african black knife fish" before (or at least that it waht it was sold as). They are bad news, in a 90 UKgal I recommend a BGK. Also I would recommend getting a fire eel they are great!!! I keep one in a 100 UKgal along with a BGK. They both eat blood worm and if you are looking for a wierd looking fish defo go for a BGK. In my experience they are SO not agresive but maybe that is only because it isn't fully grown.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Ive always seen Xenomystus nigri sold as African brown knife fish or simply African knife fish, i quite simply never thought of the nigri part of the name meaning the fish is black (which funnily enough they arent )

My dears, this is where you need a professional Latinist. The word nigri, with that ending in -i, cannot mean black, that would be niger. Nigri must indicate that it comes from Niger, in Africa.

 

[nmonks]

I stand corrected! I presume, though, that the River Niger gets its name from the colour black? Don't names meaning "from XXXX" usually have -ensis at the end? Like Australopithicus afarensis, the fossil hominid from Afar, Ethiopia?

One thing no-one has mentioned is that the violet/dragon goby, Gobioides sp., is a brackish water fish and cannot be kept with the other species mentioned here.

Cheers,

Neale

My dears, this is where you need a professional Latinist. The word nigri, with that ending in -i, cannot mean black, that would be niger. Nigri must indicate that it comes from Niger, in Africa.

 

[pieman]

Hmmm, after researching the fish I was under the impression that there are two similar types of the violet goby/dragon fish and that one of them was solely a brackish fish and the other was suited to freshwater aswell as brackish water.

I'm not too sure about the Black Ghost Knifefish as i've heard on some websites that it will be fine in tanks such as a 30UK Gallon yet it can grow upto around 50cm, and if the tank i'm getting is only 150cm long i wouldn't really want to keep it in such a small tank however much i like the fish.

 

[pieman]

I was yet again looking around the google search engine for weird and wonderful fish and non fish and i've now come up with the following :

Oriental Weatherfish - Misgurnus anguillicaudatus
Salamander - Ambystoma
Mudpuppy (not sure whether this is just a species of salamander)
Marbled Lungfish - Protopterus aethiopicus

 

[beblondie]

Actually no Afrian lungfish should be kept with anything other than food
Marbled Lungfish - Protopterus aethiopicus
reachs six feet in lenght and will eat all the other tankmates