Aba Knife Question?

[tanharold]

If my aba aba knife is already big, will it still like to hide? Will it still be that sensitive to nitrites, etc. Mine finally grew an inch so its about 4-5 inches already. I clean the water 20% every other day. Also another question is about how many months or weeks till it grows to 9 inches? Thanks!

 

[MonsterMinis]

MIne hit the 10" mark at approx 3 monthes. when they hit that size they tend to get more "bulletproof" They will always be sensitive to Ammonia and Nitrites, as all scaleless fish tend to be.

abas tend to hide hide alot even when grown but are alot more fearless and will come out from what I've read/seen/researched more towards the 18"+ mark. But individual personalities undoubtable do come into play as well. And as most fish I imagine the more comfortable it is in the tank to more likely it will be outgoing.

 

[Tramonte172]

Mine is 20" now (he was 9" in July) and has become more bold. He still hides but now comes out during the day and attacks pieces of tilapia like it's personal. I have heard they are less sensitive to ammonia at this size.

 

[tanharold]

so do I have to clean it every other day even its already big or about 2 times a week?

 

[Tramonte172]

so do I have to clean it every other day even its already big or about 2 times a week?

I do a weekly 40% water change now with mine. I did it twice weekly up until he was about 18".

 

[King-eL]

MIne hit the 10" mark at approx 3 monthes. when they hit that size they tend to get more "bulletproof" They will always be sensitive to Ammonia and Nitrites, as all scaleless fish tend to be.

abas tend to hide hide alot even when grown but are alot more fearless and will come out from what I've read/seen/researched more towards the 18"+ mark. But individual personalities undoubtable do come into play as well. And as most fish I imagine the more comfortable it is in the tank to more likely it will be outgoing.

Scaleless? Wrong.... Aba aba do have scales and they may be small but still clearly visible to the naked eye.

@the OP
Aba aba actually started to become hardy at 4-5" gets hardier as they get bigger. Also it will come out whenever it want and usually when it's dark it will become more active searching around the tank. During the light hours, aba aba will always hide regardless of the size except feeding time or something it wants to check out but will usually go back to hiding.

 

[tanharold]

For now my aba knife is getting big really fast, you know about half an inch every 1 or 2 weeks. I have another question, Im just 13 years old, do you guys think Im capable of taking care of it for now.

 

[dzjr1188]

i think its funny when you say a gish is big at 5 inch when the can grow to 5 feet. lol they are awesome fish i wish i had a tank big enough for one and i totally would get one!

 

[MonsterMinis]

Scaleless? Wrong.... Aba aba do have scales and they may be small but still clearly visible to the naked eye.

@the OP
Aba aba actually started to become hardy at 4-5" gets hardier as they get bigger. Also it will come out whenever it want and usually when it's dark it will become more active searching around the tank. During the light hours, aba aba will always hide regardless of the size except feeding time or something it wants to check out but will usually go back to hiding.

Interesting.. I'll have to check this out. As mine appears to be smooth as my spiney eels. any particular spot that the scales are easily visable over another? I've always been told they where scale-less, but with so little info in general out there. mis-information is bound to happen.

 

[fwlion]

they do have scales just very small, and as for the hiding you have to realize that these fish in the wild come from very murky dark waters so they are not used to very bright clear water environments, and are very nocturnal in nature so they have to get used to a clear water bright environment