New Knife

[USMC Sniper]

After mysteriously losing my beloved new Clown Knife, I went to the LFS today in search of a suitable replacement. Cut to the cheese - no CKs. So after walking all the tempting aisles, I found a very interesting possibility - a Trumpet Knife (Rhamphichthys Marmoratus). I'd only heard of them mentioned a few times and it sure is a beauty as well as really cool looking.
It was a trade-in a couple weeks ago due to it's size, they advised. It's 10+ inches and likes to spend it's time laying on it's side on the bottom. VERY disconcerting...
So I paid the $15.99 for it, picked up a Discus on sale for $8.50 and a ferret. (As I posted over in the Cichlid forum, the ferret is the only one that looks out of place in the tank, but don't let anyone tell you they can't swim. ;))

The trumpet is on feeders, but I'll see what I can do to modify that behavior ASAP.

I *really* miss my CK, I'll NEVER find one like that again.

Chuck

[kdguam]

Good luck on the new knife. Post a picture.

Semper Fi DevilDog!

[esse]

How big was your knife? I bought a small CK five days ago and he disappeared after the first day.:eek: And I tell you I looked in every nook and cranny with no luck; he was just missing in action. Well last night I saw something flickering through the dark tank like a ghost. You guest it… I have now named him Casper.:ROFL:

[USMC Sniper]

Good luck on the new knife. Post a picture.

Semper Fi DevilDog!

OOHRAH, SEMPER FI KD!
Thanks, and will do when I can scrounge up a digicam

How big was your knife? I bought a small CK five days ago and he disappeared after the first day.:eek: And I tell you I looked in every nook and cranny with no luck; he was just missing in action. Well last night I saw something flickering through the dark tank like a ghost. You guest it… I have now named him Casper.:ROFL:

My little guy made it to a little over 4" in the few weeks I had him.
That's very cool you found yours, but I've seen NO TRACE of mine since he went MIA.
How long was yours gone before you saw him again?

[MistirE]

Yeah, I would love to see some pix. I am not familiar with trumpet knifes....sound interesting though.:popcorn:

[USMC Sniper]

Yeah, I would love to see some pix. I am not familiar with trumpet knifes....sound interesting though.:popcorn:

Ever since I sold my Canon 1D, you'd be better off if I drew you a picture in crayon rather than subject you to a picture taken from my 10 year old Polaroid digicam. So I borrowed the stock pic from fishbase.org.
Also, this guy is about as interesting when the lights are on as watching paint dry. He will lay flat on his side on the bottom and could absolutely pass for dead. As soon as the tank lights are off, he's out and about.
Makes me miss my CK all that much more.

[AquataHolic420]

Trumpet looks cooler then the standard CK in my opinion. NICE GRAB!

[USMC Sniper]

Trumpet looks cooler then the standard CK in my opinion. NICE GRAB!

Thanks! He is beautiful when he's moving, so graceful and fluid. Really cool head shape and almost looks like a no-light cave-dwellers eyes.

I have the tank lights off now and he's all over the place in what little natural light is in the room. He's just a corpse when the lights are on though... :irked:

[benzjamin13]

That's a gorgeous knife!

[Opiate]

that's mad man

[Bogwoodbruce]

Nice find mate.:drool: don't find many fish like that in england.:(

[USMC Sniper]

Thanks guys. :grinyes:

[Red Devil]

Your new guy is awesome ..very awesome .. he is not a CK but he is unique and striking and elegant.. i know it is hard to measure one fish against the other.. i still feel so sad that i lost my first bichir 2 months ago.. i do not know how one fish can get to you when you have so many.. but this bichir was sooooo much fun.. so brave, chewed his food like a dog, flung it and raced everywhere to find it.. any way that is how crazy about him, i felt.. the two new bichirs i care for..but i doubt if they will be another him.. maybe when they are bigger.. so yes i know how you feel.. but you need another CK .. otherwise you will never fill the void.. i am so happy i finally have my CK eating pellets including Arow pellets{break them in pieces} They are a really cool fish..

[USMC Sniper]

Your new guy is awesome ..very awesome .. he is not a CK but he is unique and striking and elegant.. i know it is hard to measure one fish against the other.. i still feel so sad that i lost my first bichir 2 months ago.. i do not know how one fish can get to you when you have so many.. but this bichir was sooooo much fun.. so brave, chewed his food like a dog, flung it and raced everywhere to find it.. any way that is how crazy about him, i felt.. the two new bichirs i care for..but i doubt if they will be another him.. maybe when they are bigger.. so yes i know how you feel.. but you need another CK .. otherwise you will never fill the void.. i am so happy i finally have my CK eating pellets including Arow pellets{break them in pieces} They are a really cool fish..

Thanks Liz. He is a beautiful, very cool fish. I love that color pattern, kinda like my favorite dog color - brindle. But you're also correct that I need another CK. But as I said before, I can't imagine finding one like my other one. He just seemed so opposite to everything I've heard from all other CK owners, at least when they're that young and small. I think the only thing missing was hand-feeding him, which I think would have happened very quickly had he not been pushed to the back of the line by the bigger, more aggressive fish.
This beauty will do for a while, but there's zero interaction with him. Just watch him lay on the bottom until it gets dark, then watch his silhouette gliding through the tank. Cool enough, but not the same...
Sorry about your bichir. That definitely does sound like an awesome fish! That's on my most wanted list, but I'd be concerned with him getting either eaten by the oscar if he was smaller, or getting adequate food before all the other fish finished it.
Good to hear your CK is doing so well!

Chuck

[AquataHolic420]

whats it being fed??? bloodworms and shrimp n stuff? or?????????

[Red Devil]

Thanks Liz. He is a beautiful, very cool fish. I love that color pattern, kinda like my favorite dog color - brindle. But you're also correct that I need another CK. But as I said before, I can't imagine finding one like my other one. He just seemed so opposite to everything I've heard from all other CK owners, at least when they're that young and small. I think the only thing missing was hand-feeding him, which I think would have happened very quickly had he not been pushed to the back of the line by the bigger, more aggressive fish.
This beauty will do for a while, but there's zero interaction with him. Just watch him lay on the bottom until it gets dark, then watch his silhouette gliding through the tank. Cool enough, but not the same...
Sorry about your bichir. That definitely does sound like an awesome fish! That's on my most wanted list, but I'd be concerned with him getting either eaten by the oscar if he was smaller, or getting adequate food before all the other fish finished it.
Good to hear your CK is doing so well!

Chuck
Thank you Chuck// one thing i know will happen for you.. that you will get another CK and all will be well... theres a CK out there just wishing for a home like yours..

[USMC Sniper]

whats it being fed??? bloodworms and shrimp n stuff? or?????????

I see him rooting through the gravel for what I assume are the shrimp pellets I drop in after lights out for my 2 Syodontis, Plec and Coreys. I also have been giving him feeders, as that's what he was on in the LFS. I want to get him off the feeders, but I want to make sure he's eating ANYTHING first.

[AquataHolic420]

Cool, good to know, good luck

[USMC Sniper]

Thank you Chuck// one thing i know will happen for you.. that you will get another CK and all will be well... theres a CK out there just wishing for a home like yours..

:grinyes: Thanks Liz! :grinyes:

[USMC Sniper]

Cool, good to know, good luck

Thanks! I'll get him there. As Liz said, he is a beautiful, elegant fish and they all deserve our best care.

[Bogwoodbruce]

At least its feeding.

[USMC Sniper]

At least its feeding.

I hope so, I haven't actually seen him eat.

[benzjamin13]

As long as it doesn't look like it's skinny. :D

[USMC Sniper]

As long as it doesn't look like it's skinny. :D

Not yet <fingers crossed>, but I've only had him for 3 days...
On a very negative note, he has apparently killed 2 of my oldest albino corys. I found them with they're tails basically chewed off during last 2 nights, and I *know* it's not my oscar.
Not pleased...

[MistirE]

Wow, just stunning...never seen one before.:nilly: thanks for the pix though

[USMC Sniper]

Wow, just stunning...never seen one before.:nilly: thanks for the pix though

Yeah, to quote Paris - "That's hot" :D
Wish I could get it diurnal, though. I'd like to try hand-feeding it, but there's no sign of that happening.

[USMC Sniper]

Well, this new beast is going to be traded back to the lfs today. He's the "Hannibal the Cannibal" of the tank.
He's killed at least 4 fish this week and hasn't even eaten them.
Time for a new home...

[zennzzo]

Well, this new beast is going to be traded back to the lfs today. He's the "Hannibal the Cannibal" of the tank.
He's killed at least 4 fish this week and hasn't even eaten them.
Time for a new home...Too bad he has "canbal the hanibal " issues he cool looking, when you can see him...

[USMC Sniper]

Too bad he has "canbal the hanibal " issues he cool looking, when you can see him...

Yeah, very cool looking! And I could see him all the time, just look on the bottom of the tank somewhere and he'd be laying there. :shakehead

[Bogwoodbruce]

What fish did he kill?

[Red Devil]

Thats too bad.. i thought he was an awesome guy.. needs a special tank to himself... until he is off live food..

[USMC Sniper]

What fish did he kill?

2 Coreys, a larger Blueberry Tetra and the latest casualty was a very large Flying Fox (almost 5 inches)

Thats too bad.. i thought he was an awesome guy.. needs a special tank to himself... until he is off live food..

I agree Liz, but the only other tank we have is my son's 10g goldfish. He'll go back with a full description so the fs can let the next person know what they're in for.

[Bogwoodbruce]

He might have eaten those fish due to their preditory nature and the fact that you put a fish of his size in with some community fish. I don't mean to be nasty but you mixed him with fish that could easily become food.

[USMC Sniper]

He might have eaten those fish due to their preditory nature and the fact that you put a fish of his size in with some community fish. I don't mean to be nasty but you mixed him with fish that could easily become food.

No "nasty" taken at all.
I agree to the extent of the community aspect, but the fish he killed were far too big to be taken as food. Piscivorous nature notwithstanding, he killed fish that were simply too big for him to eat.

[EclecticFish]

I gotta say I would BET the Trumpet isn't doing the damage. They are bloodworm, brineshrimp eaters. I have had them in tanks at work with tetra or anything else and they don't eat fish. Mine at home is out at night to eat brine and bloodworm. Never eats feeder rosys or anything bigger than mysis shrimp.....though if the other fish gave him a chance he might take ghost shrimp.

[Red Devil]

Do you think it might be the Oscar since he had a taste of live food when he got the clown knife? DID you bring this guy back to LFS already.. i quess you will see if all the activity stops..

[USMC Sniper]

I gotta say I would BET the Trumpet isn't doing the damage. They are bloodworm, brineshrimp eaters. I have had them in tanks at work with tetra or anything else and they don't eat fish. Mine at home is out at night to eat brine and bloodworm. Never eats feeder rosys or anything bigger than mysis shrimp.....though if the other fish gave him a chance he might take ghost shrimp.

I'd love it if you are right, but all the casualties have taken place just in this week since his arrival. He'd been eating feeder gups for the previous owner and the lfs.
Just too much of a coincidence since his arrival...

Do you think it might be the Oscar since he had a taste of live food when he got the clown knife? DID you bring this guy back to LFS already.. i quess you will see if all the activity stops..

No Liz, I don't think it's the O because these are all fish that have been in the tank since before he was introduced. He has never so much as payed attention to the ones that were killed, and he could have eaten the Coreys but only the tails were chewed off. The Flying Fox was WAY too quick to be caught while the lights are on.
And no, I didn't get a chance to take the Trumpet back today. Too busy setting up my new 125g! :headbang2

[EclecticFish]

Well, I stand by the thought that it isn't the Trumpet. Feeder guppys is likely the biggest he'd take.
Corys have those neat spines and a body that often don't get eaten (just killed) 'cause of it.
Still putting my money on the Oscar. How big is he and what else is in the tank?

[USMC Sniper]

Well, I stand by the thought that it isn't the Trumpet. Feeder guppys is likely the biggest he'd take.
Corys have those neat spines and a body that often don't get eaten (just killed) 'cause of it.
Still putting my money on the Oscar. How big is he and what else is in the tank?

He's between 7"-8". Nothing else aggressive in the tank. An African Brown Knife, some Gouramis, Pleco, a couple Syno cats, Discus, the other Flying Fox, an Angel. Maybe a couple others I can remember right now, but there have been zero mortalities in almost as long as I've had the tank.
Plus, the O isn't nocturnal. I found the corpses after lights on in the morning.

If I'm wrong, I'm wrong. But I just don't think he's the culprit.

[Red Devil]

I'd love it if you are right, but all the casualties have taken place just in this week since his arrival. He'd been eating feeder gups for the previous owner and the lfs.
Just too much of a coincidence since his arrival...



No Liz, I don't think it's the O because these are all fish that have been in the tank since before he was introduced. He has never so much as payed attention to the ones that were killed, and he could have eaten the Coreys but only the tails were chewed off. The Flying Fox was WAY too quick to be caught while the lights are on.
And no, I didn't get a chance to take the Trumpet back today. Too busy setting up my new 125g! :headbang2

well i hope all goes well for you and that is great that you are setting up a 125gal..congradulations and looking forward to seeing it when your done.

[Bogwoodbruce]

So are you keeping him then? If so good for you.

[USMC Sniper]

So are you keeping him then? If so good for you.

Yeah, I think I'll give it a shot. There have been no more fatalities lately, so it appears the crime spree may be over. He is such a gorgeous fish, never seen anything like him.

[Red Devil]

Yeah, I think I'll give it a shot. There have been no more fatalities lately, so it appears the crime spree may be over. He is such a gorgeous fish, never seen anything like him.

oh that is wonderful .. he really is a gorgeous guy.. new pictures when you get a chance please..

[USMC Sniper]

oh that is wonderful .. he really is a gorgeous guy.. new pictures when you get a chance please..

Will do Liz, but he might be tricky to catch cuz he's not a big fan of any lights. I do have about a 30 second window in the morning when I turn the tank lights on before he picks his sequestered hiding spot and stays out of sight until lights out again.
I should be able to have some up in the next couple of days.

Chuck

[Bogwoodbruce]

Have you ever seen a tiger knife fish?

[zennzzo]

Right on...goood for you both...:D

[Bogwoodbruce]

Heres one that i found on the web.

[USMC Sniper]

:grinyes:Have you ever seen a tiger knife fish?

No, got a pic?

Oh, I see you posted one...
That looks quite a bit like mine, QUITE a bit.

Right on...goood for you both...

Yeah, I agree. :D
And he looks even more beautiful in his new 125. 2 of the 4 hood lights are blue, and the other 2 are brand new full-spectrum so they totally bring out everyone's color and iridescence, especially with sand as the substrate.

[Bogwoodbruce]

If you can get some pics up please.

[USMC Sniper]

If you can get some pics up please.

I will. I'll try and get a couple in the morning and post them when I get home tomorrow afternoon.

[Red Devil]

I will. I'll try and get a couple in the morning and post them when I get home tomorrow afternoon.

we will be looking for them.. but we will understand if you need more time:)