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hey all..i just bought one from the lfs..any info on them?thx in advance.

[link=Here]http://fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/elephantnose.xml" style="COLOR: #FFFF00[/link]

hmm...any info by someone who actually kept it?thx for the reply though.

Haven't kept them myself, but one of my former aquarist society colleagues did, and among the factors you should take into account are:

[1] Elephant Nose Fishes are weakly electric. They generate electric fields of their own for navigation purposes, used in their native waters which are frequently clouded by silt and rain runoff. Consequently they should NEVER be kept in an aquarium sited close to pieces of equipment that generate large electric fields, such as hi-fi loudpseakers and PCs, as this will distress them;

[2] If they ever need to be treated for disease, finding a medication that is safe to use with them will be a nightmare, as many proprietary meds for diseases such as White Spot specifically mention that these fishes should NOT be medicated with the product!

[3] They get to be a fair size (9 inches isn't unusual), and though they are territorial with each other, they will get along with carefully chosen companions of other fish species, provided that those companions are docile and won't out-compete the Elephant Nose for food;

[4] They like subdued lighting and floating plants for shade. Provide bogwood tangles for them to hide in as well as reed type plants such as Vallisneria. In low light areas of the aquarium, Java Ferns grown on the bogwood will also help them feel secure.

[5] If you feed them with live foods, they prefer things that wriggle - they'll relish Bloodworms, but because of their unusual mouthparts, will find it a little harder to cope with Daphnia or Brine Shrimp. Baby Amano shrimps, on the other hand, should go down a treat!

[6] When first bought and acclimatised, they should be fed just after 'lights out' as they are nocturnal in nature, but quickly switch to more aquarist-friendly hours once they learn that you're putting food in for them;

[7] Choose other bottom feeders in the same aquarium with particular care. Probably not a good idea to put them in with boisterous Botia type loaches. May possibly (but this is open to speculation) be compatible with Kuhlii Loaches or small Corydoras.

[8] The few people I've encountered who have kept them have tended to keep them in a species aquarium, partly because of the nightmares involved in disease treatment.


Last edited by Calilasseia at 17-Dec-2005 15:13

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

thanks for the info. well, currently im keeping him with some clown loaches and some yoyos..will that be ok?plus, if i do happen to have white spot in my tank..should i treat them like how one should do for loaches?? i.e. half dosage?thx for the reply.

i have had one, a long time ago, and it didn't work out too well.

i think a slow tank would be best, (slow moving fish), driftwood would be good, and i think they like soft substate, so they can find worms and bugs etc.. as a source of food hunting.

I had a thread about elephant noses a while ago. Go to search and just type in elephantnose and it should come up. Sorry, I'm too lazy to post the link. I tried once and somehow exited out of the site, so I got frustrated and decided to be lazy about it. Good luck with your new guy. They are very fragile from what I hear.

*Kristin*