Impulsive buy: Elephant Nose Fish

J

Jeffr760

AC Members
Nov 22, 2004
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I made my first impulsive fish purchase and now I may be regretting it. I bought an elephant nose from my LFS. It is beautiful and unique. I have never seen it there or at any other store before.

I have it in my 20gallon with my small fish; 1 sailfin, 1 platy, 1 butterfly pleco, and 2 baby mollies. He was very shy at first now he has taken over the supreme hiding spot in my tank (poor pleco) and chases the other fish around. He doesn't nip them (not sure he even can...) but I feel like I have disrupted the balance in my tank. :rant:

I also have to feed him blood worms which is a pain.

So I am contemplating taking him back. Anyone have some advice? Should I keep him? Wait it out? I don't want to loose any fish. I get attached LOL :soda:

-Jeff
 
Here is the Aquaria Central Listing for the Elephant Nose. It doesn't sound like it is a good match for your tank:

The Elephantnose is native to the warm freshwaters of tropical Africa. These fish are not bred commercially, but are imported for sale. Though they can be expensive, their oddity makes them of interest.

This fish possesses and electrical organ. They have electricity-generating cells that radiate a magnetic field around the fish, which assists navigation in the darkness.

House this oddity in a large tank with plants for shelter. The Elephantnose is nocturnal, and so it should be provided with dark areas where it can hide. Because of its shy, delicate nature and its occasional aggressive behavior, be aware when introducing the Elephantnose into a community aquarium. These fish burrow and need a soft, sandy bottom. One Elephantnose is recommended per tank as it becomes aggressive towards its own kind.

Gnathonemus petersii can be a playful fish. With its surprisingly flexible long nose, it will dig and feel around in search of food. It generally ignores prepared dry foods, hence live foods must be available to the owner. Because of its small mouth, the Elephantnose can only swallow small bits.

Provide this oddball fish with a water pH around 6.6-7.4 and a temperature range between 72-82 degrees F.

It is said that sexing can be done by observing the anal fin; the fish with the more curved end to the anal fin is the male. Breeding in captivity has not been successful.
 
lets see a picture of this elephantfish. I have read about them and i find them to be interesting.
 
If you don't intend to upgrade to a larger tank, and like the livebearer babies, I would return the fish. The will grow up to 6-8 inches--a bit big for a 20, and will eat any small fish they can catch. Great fish, but I don't think a good mix with your current setup.
 
I agree. But he's eating and doing much better now. Things have calmed down now.

I called the LFS and was going to take him back today, but a coworker is getting rid of his 40 gallon so I am going to pick that up and maybe put him in there once its cycled. The fish store didn't understand that I wanted to take him back whether I got my money back or not. LOL, I just dont want the fish to die or make any others suffer.

I will take some pics tonight. Hes very interesting fish. Heres a video I found

http://www.baileys-fish.com/videos/elephant_nose_01.avi

-Jeff
 
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