Clown Knife questions!

toji53

A friend of mine sold his tanks because he's getting the heck out of his parent's house (smart guy) and can't keep lager tanks where he'll be living. Given that, I ended up with a 6" Clown Knife. Yes, I'm aware these guys get large. I'm still not sure if he's wort keeping and investing in a larger tank, but for now he's sharing a 55 with a 3.5" female Jack Dempsey, a 3.5" female Texas, and a 1" convict.

Anyway, I've had my knife for about a week and he's been extremely shy. At first he wouldn't come out unless it was pitch black. I have him in a finished basement with no windows, so it does get that dark with the lights out. The last few days, however, he hasn't seemed to have moved from underneath a log ornament I have. He also doesn't seem to be responding to food, at least while I'm around. I've been trying frozen bloodworms , frozen brine shrimp, and live night crawlers before lights out. As far as I've seen, even with just enough light in the room to make him out in the tank, he hasn't even taken a nip at any of it. The worms were gone in the morning, though my other fish were all over them as soon as I dropped them in. I don't know how they could have gotten all of them down by themselves, however!

For those who have owned this species, what would you suggest about the eating problem? Should I just assume he's not starving himself? Do they ever become more outgoing? It's hard to justify keeping such a potentially large fish when you never get to see it doing its thing, or even moving for that matter!

Lupin

Please note your other fish are very aggressive and given their aggressive nature, the clown knife is bound to fail from getting his fair share of food. All three of your cichlids are greedy pigs and can easily outcompete the clown knife. I have one myself before and they often eat only in the dark but in your case, it is likely not getting its share of food at all. I would suggest, if you have a spare tank, that either the clown knife or three be isolated so the clown knife itself will be able to eat.

The only thing worth keeping this fish is an excuse for a larger or another tank.;)

bf2king

try live ghost shrimp and sinking shrimp pellets my knife loves them but they can go through $10 + in a few days when small and if u have the room and the money i say go for the bigger tank to but that is not my choice so do as ur heart tells you to do but if you are going to get ride of him i would do so now while he is still small for mine i got and has grown at least an inch a month (same rate as my tegu a south american version of the monitor lizard).

bf2king

As for the eat in the dark thing it is all in your fishes temperment mine killed an Oscar almost twice its size because the Oscar tried to bully it and is always the first to eat. It depends if you have a bossy fish or a shy fish.

blueblue48

id be nice to have a pic of your tank, knife fish like hiding spots so make sure you have some sort of cave. maybe try a feeder fish or something like a ghost shrimp? also watch out because when he gets less shy he might try to take a bite out of that 1" fish

toji53

Sure.

bf2king

great pic


How big is your clown knife?

squintsmom

I own a clownknife, he is 16 years old and 2 feet long, I keep him in a 125 by himself. His previous owners started him on comets when he was little, later they added plecos as tank mates, they seemed to get along fine for 5 years, he ignored them, one day they were all found dead in the tank, because they were too large for him to suck up, he just bit off all their fins. I have been unable to wean him off live food, he now eats ghost shrimp and fat head minnows. This fish is not to be trusted with anything else in the tank. They are a nocturnal predator fish, being hidden during they day is not abnormal, they do not like light, as a matter of fact, mine has smashed 3 versa tops because of my ignorance when I first got him, having a flourescent light on at night on top of his tank, duh. I have gone to red L.E.D.s and he is fine with that.

bf2king

this depends on what the temperment of your knife is and a 125 gallon is a little small in my opinion so that might be why. I know i have seen a 26+ inch one in with red hook silver dollars, bala sharks, arows, and large catfish and i have kept one in with fish that his best budd was bite sized.