Myths about the ELEPHANT NOSE!
I was reading the usenet and found many incorrect statements. IN my expeirence, I will break these "myths"
1.) Aggressive: These guys CANNOT hurt another fish. They may "go after" a few fish such as bottom dwellers, but they would only chase them a few seconds and thats that. No damage done.
2.) Water quality: As long as the tank is done cycling, you will be fine. I actually have HIGH NITRATES, and nothing is wrong..yet. He is a year old.
3.) Hard to feed: Some say they only come out during the night to eat. WRONG! As soon as you feed the tank, these guys will devour the food fed. Mine even drives away some of the other fish away from the place BEFORE I feed them. REMEMBER: Brine shrimp or blood worms.. this fish will NOT acept flakes. I was at a petco recently and noticed they had a skinny elephant nose. I asked what they were feeding him. They said FLAKES! WRONG!!!!!
4.) YOU will never see this fish: WRONG!!! They do like to have a DARK hiding place ( not a rock leaning against the glass). They will come out during the day to eat or just swim around.
5.) SALT- Granted, adding salt can be tolerated by alot of fish, but the elephant nose WILL NOT TOLERATE ANY SALT!!!
Someone did say they had an elephant nose,die at 5 years old, They also said they added salt...so that might be the problem.
6.) Electrical FIELD- They use this as communication and navigating ONLY. They do not "shock" other fish. IF you witness the elephant nose "go after" another fish with its nose, its NOT shocking them. Their electical organ is near its TAIL.
Cool Facts
Long lifespan- My dad had one live 25 or 26 years!!!
water quality- you can listen to their electrical pulses to determine if your water is good or bad... No more test kits!!! Save $$$
Breeding- VERY RARELY bred in a tank- I think only one guy has succesfully bred them. ALL the elephant noses at the store are WILD CAUGHT.
Starvation- some of the elephant noses that come to the stores, mostly the petco's and LFS that DONT know how to feed them , are so starved that NO MATTER what you feed them, they will REFUSE TO EAT and die.
When BUYING- Ask the seller to feed the elephant nose's in the tank and see if they eat. If they eat..BUY IT, if not...dont. Also, look at their stomachs, if they are sunken..do NOT buy them.
These guys are NO WIMPS. they can "stick up" for themselves, but dont put them in a tank full of Parihanas
Thats about it. If you have a question please feel free to ask away. I had mine for a year and I lived most of my life (30 years) with one in my dads tank.
I was reading the usenet and found many incorrect statements. IN my expeirence, I will break these "myths"
1.) Aggressive: These guys CANNOT hurt another fish. They may "go after" a few fish such as bottom dwellers, but they would only chase them a few seconds and thats that. No damage done.
2.) Water quality: As long as the tank is done cycling, you will be fine. I actually have HIGH NITRATES, and nothing is wrong..yet. He is a year old.
3.) Hard to feed: Some say they only come out during the night to eat. WRONG! As soon as you feed the tank, these guys will devour the food fed. Mine even drives away some of the other fish away from the place BEFORE I feed them. REMEMBER: Brine shrimp or blood worms.. this fish will NOT acept flakes. I was at a petco recently and noticed they had a skinny elephant nose. I asked what they were feeding him. They said FLAKES! WRONG!!!!!
4.) YOU will never see this fish: WRONG!!! They do like to have a DARK hiding place ( not a rock leaning against the glass). They will come out during the day to eat or just swim around.
5.) SALT- Granted, adding salt can be tolerated by alot of fish, but the elephant nose WILL NOT TOLERATE ANY SALT!!!
Someone did say they had an elephant nose,die at 5 years old, They also said they added salt...so that might be the problem.
6.) Electrical FIELD- They use this as communication and navigating ONLY. They do not "shock" other fish. IF you witness the elephant nose "go after" another fish with its nose, its NOT shocking them. Their electical organ is near its TAIL.
Cool Facts
Long lifespan- My dad had one live 25 or 26 years!!!
water quality- you can listen to their electrical pulses to determine if your water is good or bad... No more test kits!!! Save $$$
Breeding- VERY RARELY bred in a tank- I think only one guy has succesfully bred them. ALL the elephant noses at the store are WILD CAUGHT.
Starvation- some of the elephant noses that come to the stores, mostly the petco's and LFS that DONT know how to feed them , are so starved that NO MATTER what you feed them, they will REFUSE TO EAT and die.
When BUYING- Ask the seller to feed the elephant nose's in the tank and see if they eat. If they eat..BUY IT, if not...dont. Also, look at their stomachs, if they are sunken..do NOT buy them.
These guys are NO WIMPS. they can "stick up" for themselves, but dont put them in a tank full of Parihanas
Thats about it. If you have a question please feel free to ask away. I had mine for a year and I lived most of my life (30 years) with one in my dads tank.
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