Clown Knifefish? How Big In Captivity?

[simonas]

I've had mine 18 months now and hes coming on nicely at about 15 or so inches ad very deep

I've seen pics on internet of fishermen holding 3ft or so specimens that they have caught

Do they achieve this sort of size in captivity? Or like a lot of fish do they remain smaller when kept in a tank?

I only ask cos I'm getting the tank this year that I wish to house him for life in

Myplan is for him to remain with the oscars hes in with and fire eel

I don't knowif there are any keepers on this forum of clown knives but if so... how big is yours?

 

[nmonks]

There are several species sold as "clown knifefish" so part of the problem is the average size of one species isn't necessarily the average size of another. Chitala chitala and Chitala ornata are the two usual species, and both can get to 100 cm or more in the wild. However, under aquarium conditions around 60 cm seems to be typical, though you do see the odd specimen that is quite a bit bigger, occasionally around 80 cm or so.

Personally, I don't consider them good fish for the home aquarium. While not especially delicate or fussy about food, their size and a certain tendency to turn aggressive makes them difficult to house adequately. They aren't commonly traded anymore, but back in the 1980s you'd see a LOT of specimens being handed into zoos and public aquaria simply because people could not longer keep them. While cute when small, at full size they are just too demanding.

Male knifefish guard nests in the wild, and it is presumably the males that become aggressive when sexually mature. At the extreme, you hear of specimens killing everything else in the tank, including large cichlids.

Minimum tank size for an adult is somewhere around 750 litres, especially if you intend to keep anything else with them.

For all practical purposes, one of the smaller knifefish will make an infinitely better choice for the home aquarium. Black ghosts are nice, and the African knifefish is also a good little fish. Personally, I would recommend against any of the Chitala species.

Cheers, Neale

 

[simonas]

cheers Neale

I've had mine about 18 months now its the one I think used to be classed as Nopterus Chitala if I have that right, they silvery grey one with about 7 black spots down the sides

Hes been ok so far and unlike one I had about 15 yrs ago he only takes cihlid and catfish pellets. My old one yrs ago toiok lancefish as well as everythig else

I'm looking forward to him getting bigger cos they have alwaysbeen my favourite fish.... and if it all goes wrong I'll fry him with some new potatoes as I believe they are a food fish in asia and taste quite nice!!!! (joke by the way.... I'd have potato wedges!!)

 

[synodontisjack]

I would imagine yours is chitala ornata, while both species are sold as clowns ornata is far more common and true chitala chitala are quite hard to come by (second to lopis) True ornata have maybe one of 2 very small spots on the body similar to those of blanci located at the bottom of the lines covering its body easily confused with lopis which has no spots at all.

 

[simonas]

I would imagine yours is chitala ornata, while both species are sold as clowns ornata is far more common and true chitala chitala are quite hard to come by (second to lopis) True ornata have maybe one of 2 very small spots on the body similar to those of blanci located at the bottom of the lines covering its body easily confused with lopis which has no spots at all.

just google imaged Ornata and that looks spot on thanks.right just google imaged chitala chitala as well and they look the same lol whats the difference between the two types please?

Interesting to see Richard Hardwick say on PFK website 48 inch tank minimum for single specimen!!

 

[Lokemer]

Ok im just going to end this...not to piss on your parade or anything but...here is a fulll grown specimen of the Clown Knife


1: Clown Knife - Notopterus Chitala
Many people seem to like this strange looking fish. They have no idea of the potential size these guys can attain. Clown knife's can easily pass the 3' mark. Not only is the size a potential problem, so is their diet. They will eat any tankmate they can fit in their mouth. At 3' that's a pretty large mouth.

Of course this is a wild caught specimen...but this gives a pretty good idea of the full growth

 

[simonas]

Ok im just going to end this...not to piss on your parade or anything but...here is a fulll grown specimen of the Clown Knife


1: Clown Knife - Notopterus Chitala
Many people seem to like this strange looking fish. They have no idea of the potential size these guys can attain. Clown knife's can easily pass the 3' mark. Not only is the size a potential problem, so is their diet. They will eat any tankmate they can fit in their mouth. At 3' that's a pretty large mouth.

Of course this is a wild caught specimen...but this gives a pretty good idea of the full growth

I've seen lots of pics of wild caught fish many ties before, they make god angling fish apparently so no need to worry bout pissing on my parade

but the questionis how bid do they grow in captivity? I was trying to draw on experience of people who may have kept these fish in captivty as every bit of information says its a LOT less than in the wild?

 

[bitteraspects]

anytime you read a writeup on just about any fish, they put down the "max size" as the biggest captured in the wild. however, as mentioned above, that is not even close to realistic in an aquarium