Clown knifefish

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iClown knifefish

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Actinopterygii
Order:	Osteoglossiformes
Family:	Notopteridae
Genus:	Notopterus
Species:	N. ornata

Binomial name

Notopterus ornata
Gray, 1831

The clown knifefish', featherback fish or spotted knifefish, Notopterus Chitala Ornata, is a nocturnal tropical fish with a long knife-like body. Other family members include the (Chitala chitala), also known as the clown knife fish, Chitala lopis, or the giant featherback, Notopterus notopterus, or the bronze knife fish, and the Xenomystus nigri or the African knife fish.

1 Appearance
2 Behavior
3 Location
4 In the aquarium
- 4.1 Feeding
5 References

[edit] Appearance

The clown knifefish is very distinct, normally silvery gray with long knife like bodies(laterally compressed) and a long anal fin that gives these fish their common name. Mature fish normally have 5 -10(or even more) black spots ringed with white that usually increase in number and size as the fish grows. Juvenile fishes have striped bands instead of spots. Their long anal fins are specially made for graceful forward and backward movements.

The clown knifefish grows to a fairly large size, up to 100 cm in the wild. It has 2 nasal tentacles above their large toothed mouth. In the center of the body there is a flaglike dorsal fin and has no ventral fins. Most clown knivefish are afflicted with cloudy eye color when they age, it is perfectly normal.

[edit] Behavior

They are nocturnal creatures and usually cruise during the twilight hours. They normally hunt live prey and will try any fish that fits into it's mouth. Young clown knivefish usually school near water logs and plants for security and more mature specimens usually become territorial and eventually become loners. These fish also use utilize the air to survive in stagnant waters and little oxygen. The clown knivefish prefers neutral ph of water and temperatures ranging from 75 to 85 F.

[edit] Location

Most knifefish species come from Southeast Asia, specifically Thailand, Borneo, Malaysia, India, and Sumatra.

These fish usually are found in lakes, swamps, and river backwaters. They prefer still waters and can survive with low oxygen.

[edit] In the aquarium

Clown knifefishes are sold as exotic fishes in pet stores. It is necessary to keep in mind that these fish grow to a very large size, so they have to be kept in a big enough aquarium in order for them to reach their full growth potential. Given that it grows to a very big size, (usually 18 inches in an aquarium- nearly 3feet in the wild), it is not advised to have tankmates small enough to be considered food.

These fish love to hide, so aquariums which have caves, plants, etc are very suitable. They are jumpers, so keep the lid tightly closed(with weights - bigger specimens would easily knock the lid out). Having dim lighting would help lessen jumping. For the first few days, clown knivefish are shy and probably hide. As they grow bigger they tend to be quite the opposite.

These fish have their own personalities, attaching themselves to their handlers to the point of being "hand-held" when moving or doing some maintenance.

[edit] Feeding

Clown knivefish are hearty eaters, one of the reasons people like them as pets. They are predatory fish and will take live foods such as feeder goldfishes, guppies, blackworms, etc and would sometimes accept pellets. They are mostly nocturnal thus, they feed when the lights are off.