Possibly the coolest video I've ever seen - Mormyrid
- Thread starter Paperlantern4
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Yup I just added these guys to be my very next fish!!! I was just searching here for more information on them and found this video you posted! Amazing! Google said they get to 10" with most not going above 8" what type am I talking about any idea? I definitely don't want any more monster fish. My 2 IDS are enough monsters for me...lol. Google also says they love tinfoil balls. Something about they are attracted to them bc of the electrical elements.
Google was talking about Gnathonemus petersii. They stay small and are fairly common. The ones on this thread is Mormyrus longirostris, they get over 3 feet. Here is a thread showing how large they get along with other mormyrid species. http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?568535-Monster-Mormyrids!
Very cool, as you can see they are super smart! When he's shaking next to the ball he is examining it via his electric field, much like dolphins do with echolocation. From what I know about these guys I put them up there on the intelligence level with dolphins.
That being said, you wouldn't keep a dolphin in your home aquarium, so I have much the same feeling about imprisoning these guys in anything less than the huge tanks they keep in pulblic aquaria. If I remember correctly they grow to several feet as well. I wouldn't reccomended trying to get one . They refuse to reproduce in captivity, so it would be wild caught, and given their intelligence (brain to body size ratio which can be used as an approximation for intelligence is something like twice that of humans) I think it would be cruel, no matter how big your tank is, they will sill feel like they were imprisoned.
That being said, you wouldn't keep a dolphin in your home aquarium, so I have much the same feeling about imprisoning these guys in anything less than the huge tanks they keep in pulblic aquaria. If I remember correctly they grow to several feet as well. I wouldn't reccomended trying to get one . They refuse to reproduce in captivity, so it would be wild caught, and given their intelligence (brain to body size ratio which can be used as an approximation for intelligence is something like twice that of humans) I think it would be cruel, no matter how big your tank is, they will sill feel like they were imprisoned.
Search scientific papers for info on mormyrids. There is a lot of research done on them so that's the only good source. some of them make complex sounds, weave elaborate nests from grass, and have a lot of very fascinating behaviors. In order to see any of these you would have to mimic a monsoon cycle. I think it could be possible to keep some of the smaller baby whales and bulldogs happy in captivity, but it would be very intensive, and you may have to build some kind of insulation from radio/wifi signals etc so they can see well, as well as mimicking the monsoon, which means creating a gradient in TDS and conductivity between the seasons.
I had one in a 265...awesome fish! Very active and needs plenty of room. ate blackworms like crazy and never stopped moving.
