Clownknife Excavator?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
S

savagesam

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Sep 8, 2005
25
0
0
65
ca
Just a quick question- my clown knife spent hours last night filling his mouth with aquarium stones from one side of the aquarium and then flying around to the other side (180 gallon tank) and dumping the stones there. A true excavotor, he managed to move copious amounts of stones, almost completely submerging one of the decorative ships that house 2 catfish who were quite puzzled.
Anyone seen this type of behavior in clownknives? He didn't seem upset, but singleminded in his pursuit. I was worried at first but he seems just fine today.
 
hhmmm... i have 2 clown knife.. i realize that they get aggressive if there is any other fish comes by at their territory.. but picking stones... i neva seen b4??
 
Me either, if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes I wouldn't believed it! I've seen goldfish do that, but this guy is relatively calm.
 
using stones like breath mints? tryin to get his breath right for a female or a male whichever yours isnt, or maybe just setting up a nesting place. i dont believe they're mouth brooders are they?
 
my gold ck does this. i call him the interior designer cause he relandscapes the place and digs up plants. i think he's just trying to pick up little peices of food thats stuck in the rocks, sucking up the rocks too then spits them out.
 
perfect_prefect;2175915; said:
using stones like breath mints? tryin to get his breath right for a female or a male whichever yours isnt, or maybe just setting up a nesting place. i dont believe they're mouth brooders are they?
Click to expand...

Nope...from what I remember reading in an old magazine, they lay eggs on flat surfaces over shaded areas. But I've also read that they scatter their eggs into floating plants and they guard their eggs. Kind of Cichlid-like.
 
hmmm the flat spaces would be a possible explanation. possibly wanting a mate. is the area it was cleaning out in a shaded part of the tank or farther from the lights than the rest?
 
Mine does this all the time. My tank is 8 feet long and he moves all the gravel from 1/2 the tank to the other side. He...I say he because he has a guys name, but I've had eggs laid before. I posted a pic a while back. It was on a piece of driftwood I had in the tank.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom