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how big do they get and what size tank required?

7-9 inches I d say a 40 gal would be minimum.you should feed them at night their "trunk" like thing is really a jaw piece. for food mine really likes bloodworms they like to jump though mine hasnt yet.... they like lots of plant with dim lighting and a pvc pipe or castle or pot so it can hide in

i got a 55 gallon with some african cichlids do they grow fast ?

you know my elephant isnt growing fast and Ive had it for 5 months now and from what I can tell he hasnt grown any

What kind of cichlids are they?

If they are some of the more aggressive Africans, the Elephant Nose can, quite literally, be bullied to death.

Joe Potato

labs

Labs would probably be too aggressive...

Elephant noses also do best in soft, acidic water, which is the opposite of what the labs prefer. The best tankmates for elephant noses are peaceful tetras or rasboras, and small bottom feeders.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

My lfs ahve a 4 inched e-nose my labs are not agreesive at all i tried to feed them rosey minnow and they didnt eat them

What are your water parameters (namely pH and hardness)?

At work I have found that elephant noses really do not thrive in hard, alkaline water.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

I have a dolphin, a cousin to the e-nose. He's about 8-9 inches now, in a tank with red rasboras. water quality SHOULD be kept the way they prefer it, softer, more acidic, because they really are, as mormyrids, very sensitive to all kinds of things. they like warmer water around 80, kept to high standards with lots of plants and a shaded environment. also a fine substrate, as they like rooting thru the sand in search of snails, etc. flipper has done a great job on the snail population in my tank. In fact he doesn't eat the bloodworms i leave him, goes after the snails, which id fine for me. Tankmates should be small, quick moving, peaceful fish, as noses tend to be a bit bossy with larger, slower movers like dwarf gouramis

is it ok if i putone in a 48 gallon wth nothing its already
been cycled im goin to fix the water levels

yes. they should have a larger tank, 29 at the very least, as they need swimming room, plenty of hiding places, etc. They also say to lower the water level and make sure the lid fits very well as they like to jump.

One other issue with Mormyrids.

Mormyrids have adapted, as a means of enhancing survival in murky waters in the wild, the ability to sense the environment and navigate using weak electric fields. This means that the aquarium technology should be the best quality you can buy, so as not to unsettle the Mormyrids with clashing electric fields. Also, do NOT put a Mormyrid aquarium near a Hi-Fi unit or a PC, as these pieces of equipment generate electric fields that will stress a Mormyrid considerably. Think of the kind of electric field that will be generated by the driver mechanism for a woofer on a 200 watt Hi-Fi speaker: the associated magnetic field is strong enough to trash the contents of a floppy disc from two feet away! Put a Mormyrid near that and it will be a very stressed fish in a short period of time.

PCs blast out electric fields of considerable strength too. The faster the processor, the worse this will be. If you put a Mormyrid in an aquarium too close to a 2GHz Pentium IV, again, it'll be a very stressed fish.



Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

I had an elephant nose for a day. Then he disappeared. Then my room started to smell, and we moved the whole 55g tank to find him on the floor.

He somehow jumped through the hole in front of the filter! So be very careful.

mormyrids are very rewarding fish to keep, but you MUST give them the absolute BEST home you can. They are sensitive and susceptible to most fish maladies and diseases, and to most medications as well. They are great fish, but they take time and effort. A heavily planted tank to aid in water quality and provide shade, as they live near the bottom in a darker, murkier water. plenty of caves and hiding places, to get away from the brighter light of the day. be careful of your substrate to avoid any metal in the tank as they are electrogenic and sensitive to heavy metals. the right foods, Flipper has done wonders with my snail population (GO FLIPPER), nosing around the gravel. Away from electrical devices like televisions, crt screens, etc. Info on them is sketchy and somewhat hard to find, I'll add a link as soon as I find it again. Also, they are very intelligent and inquisitive, you will notice this right away. they use more of they're brain then humans do