Adontosternarchus clarkae

19. November 2012

Marbled Dwarf Ghosts.

The most important species New World Knifefishes or Ghosts in the ornamental fish trade are without any doubt the Black Ghost (Apteronotus albifrons) and the Brown Ghost (A. leptorhynchus). We have both species in stock on a regular basis, the Black Ghost both as wild collected from Colombia/Venezuela and bred ones, the Brown Ghost wild collected from Colombia/Venezuela.

Now we have a third species from Venezuela in stock, which is currently only rarely available, but which has the potential to compete with the two species mentioned already: the Marbled Dwarf Ghost, Adontosternarchus clarkae. This pretty species is as fascinating as the Apteronotus species, eg the special way of swimming in all directions that reminds the observer in watching a underwater ballet, but has the advantage that is grows only to a maximum length of about 20 cm; the most specimens stay much smaller. In contrast to that, A. albifrons, attains a length of 50 cm and A. leptorhynchus of 30 cm.

Against tankmates, may they belong to the same or to different species, A. clarkae are completely peaceful.They need hiding places and a well structured aquarium. Blodworm is the food they like most, but the fish also take readily any other type of live, frozen or granulated fishfood. One should take care that the ghosts get enough food, for especially during acclimatisation the fish are preferably crepuscular.

The fish are totally undemanding regarding water chemistry. The water temperature should be between 24 and 28°C.

For our customers: the fish have code 202782 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Lexicon: Apteronotus: ancient Greek, means “without fin on the back”. albifrons: Latin, means “with a white forehead”. leptorhynchus: ancient Greek, means “with a small snout”. Adontosternarchus: Latin, means “toothless Sternarchus”; Sternarchus is another genus of New World Knifefish. clarkae: dedication name for Kate Clark, the collector of the species.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Angaben zum Tier
Herkunft Venezuela
Verfügbare Größe in cm 7-10