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I went to a LFS this weekend and they have elephantnose fish. I have seen these in my aquarium magazine but never in a store. I know they get around 9" and have to be by themselves. What would be the minimum tank size for one? I know they eat live foods but do they eat smaller fish too? Any info on these interesting fish would be great.

*Kristin*

I had one when I had a 3ft. don't know the min size you can keep on in though. Mine ate bloodworms. Fascinating but a little fragile I think.

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

i haven't had luck houseing them, so i stoped a few years ago, however from info taht i gathered, maybe the ebst tank size is at least 75 gallons. i think an african set-up is best.

Yeah..I read that sand substrate is better. There isn't much information about them. Only the basics like size and food they eat. There were 2 at the LFS and it was so sad. They were in the same small tank together with no hiding places. They seem very cool though.

*Kristin*

Hi,
I had a elephantnose to,but he died after some months
They need a lot of hiding spaces like driftwood and caves.
They love bloodworms
I Had him in my 75g and he was doing great until i started to do some aquascaping,i think he got stressed and later died.here is a picture of him.

Robby1619 attached this image:

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I know human beings and fish can co-exist peacefully.

They seem to be fragile little mites don't they? At least by the sounds of things here.

My dad had two and I noticed that similar to a post here that one thrived and the other one less so. Perhaps they are best flying solo in a domestic situation (at least being the only one of their kind in that setup)

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~~~ My fish blow kisses at me all day long ~~~

Elephant noses are another fish that likes dimly lit tanks, theyre not keen on company except their own species (about 4 or five individuals is good in a nice, fairly huge tank) and are very susceptible to just about all kinds of atmospheric shock, including vibration,water quality , light levels, static and electrical emissions. They can easily survive and feed in near dark conditions, and the electrical organ near the tail helps them navigate. Good candidate for a species tank with dark substrates and surface cover planting. Not a great community fish or one for the beginner.The tank in the picture above was waaaay too bright.Some people even have lights come on for them sequentially or with a dimmer function to reduce the risk of photoshock.

The reason they dont seem to do well together is that a group will exhibit a more easily triggered flight response- in short they make each other nervy, but they do shoal in nature and a tank dimly lit and out of the way a bit should help counteract this.

There are several species though, some more social than others, so choose carefully.

Last edited by longhairedgit at 28-Nov-2005 01:43