Clown Knife ID
- Thread starter Norbert
- Start date
Id say its Chitala Chitala (Clown Knife not Royal Clown knife)
Im still p#d off cause I sold mine.
Im still p#d off cause I sold mine.
Can't swear to it but I believe this is how it goes: Royal Knife (Chitala blanci) - black spots on the front half that kinda morph into bands or striations towards the tail on a silver gray or light brown body.
Featherback Knife (Chitala chitala) - row of irregular black spots outlined by white on a grey to silver body.
Clown Knife (Chitala ornata) - an almost even row of round spots just above the base of the anal fin on a grey to silver body with a dark or brown back. Body could also be beige/light tan (Albino).
Giant Knife (Chitala lopis) - Silver to bronze body with a dark or brown back with a long brown caudal fin and a silvery white belly.
If that isn't complicated enough, they all have been refered to commonly or locally as Indonesian Featherback, Indochina Featherback, Albino Knife, Thousand Dollar Knifefish, Royal Clown Knife, Giant Featherback & Spotted Featherback to name a few. Pictures are routinely mislabeled & names have been mis-quoted. Aquarium captive size is similar for all at 8/10" tall & 18/24" long (C. lopis can reach 15" tall & 26" long!) In the wild they all easily max 48" long!! All have similar requirements & are strikingly beautiful fish. "T"
