Tag Archives: knifefish

Gymnotus chaviro

22. June 2018

More and more species of Gymnotus become known to science. Gymnotus chaviro originates from Peru. Here it inhabits the basin of the upper Rio Jurua. The species is found together with its close relative G. carapo. The pattern of G. chaviro is species-specific. However, there is one usefull feature mentioned in the original description: the anal fin in G. chaviro is grey and black in G. carapo. This enables hobbyists to distinguish the two species, as it is very likely that they are at least occasionally collected and imported together.

The largest specimen of G. chaviro known so far was 27.5 cm long. In the original description (Maxime & Albert, 2009) a very interesting note can be found: sometimes G. chaviro can be seen in groups in the natural habitat! This could mean that this knife fish is rather peaceful against conspecifics and that there is a chance to keep several specimens together. All other species of Gymnotus imported so far proofed to be quite aggressive and could be kept singulary only. However, there are still no published observations on the aquarium biology of G. chaviro.

For our customers: the fish have code 255184 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer

Sternarchogiton preto

29. January 2018

Most probably this importation of this black knifefish from Peru („preto“ means „black“) is the first one to Europe. At least the pictures of a life specimen we post here are the only ones we know about. The uniform black coloration is a good feature to distinguish the species from other members of the genus (there are five species of Sternarchogiton known so far). However, if one takes a closer look on the pictures a light stripe over the back is visible in many of them. This is not a true coloration, but a effect from the light. The mucus of the fish is obviously very thick over the back, which s the reason for that light stripe.

Aquarium observations show clearly that this knifefish tends to swim near the water surface. They often take air and water in the mouth; the water becomes spit out in form of a small blast. Most probably these fish feed in the wild on land insects that fall in the water. The species grows to a length of 20-25 cm, so our two specimens are fully grown already. Like most knifeffish these animals are very intelligent and observing them is extremely interesting.

For our customers: the fish have code 293905 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade. Only two specimens available!

Text & photos: Frank Schäfer