G. Carapo general care and tips

[ace.of.spades]

I just picked up a Carapo knife, does anyone have experience with this species? I’ve seen so much conflicting care information online and even among firsthand accounts.

It seems to be pretty happy initially in my tank with blackwater and lots of driftwood and plants. I want to figure out how to give this guy the ideal environment to really thrive.

 

[danotaylor]

You will find your answer by identifying and replicating the ecosystem to which they’re native

 

[tlindsey]

I just picked up a Carapo knife, does anyone have experience with this species? I’ve seen so much conflicting care information online and even among firsthand accounts.

It seems to be pretty happy initially in my tank with blackwater and lots of driftwood and plants. I want to figure out how to give this guy the ideal environment to really thrive.

This may help
https://aquainfo.nl/en/article/gymn...vide a well-filtered and,after about 3-4 days.

 

[HUKIT]

I know nothing about carapo but it’s definitely one of best looking fish in that genus. You should post some pictures once he’s settled in.

 

[M075]

I have found out that my gymnotus (pedanopterus/stenoleucus/javari) likes to eat snails.

Not sure if the carapo does it too tho.

I found out by accidentally getting a snail infestation from leafs wood or plants i added from the lfs and kept finding empty shells, now i dont breed them or anything but they just appear and get eaten when big enough.

It might be of some help.

Furthermore i feed my javari: frozen, bloodworms, shrimp frozen and live and theres guppys in the tank for him to snack on too.

So far it seems to do great and is growing / healing its tail that got snapped by a hujeta gar slowly but surely.

Something my knife appreciated a lot is hollow driftwood for it to hang out/sleep in, and lots of catappa leafs.

Oh and dont forget some small peaceful dither fish can definitely help if its shy. As long as u dont mind it eating them once in a while

 

[ace.of.spades]

I have found out that my gymnotus (pedanopterus/stenoleucus/javari) likes to eat snails.

Not sure if the carapo does it too tho.

I found out by accidentally getting a snail infestation from leafs wood or plants i added from the lfs and kept finding empty shells, now i dont breed them or anything but they just appear and get eaten when big enough.

It might be of some help.

Furthermore i feed my javari: frozen, bloodworms, shrimp frozen and live and theres guppys in the tank for him to snack on too.

So far it seems to do great and is growing / healing its tail that got snapped by a hujeta gar slowly but surely.

Something my knife appreciated a lot is hollow driftwood for it to hang out/sleep in, and lots of catappa leafs.

Oh and dont forget some small peaceful dither fish can definitely help if its shy. As long as u dont mind it eating them once in a while

Sounds great- thank you for the info!

That's good news to hear that the tail can re-grow, my carapo was beat up from the store and I'm working on nursing it back to health, I believe it lost a good part of it's tail to another knife fish in the store tank.

I still haven't gotten it to eat yet but this is only the third day, it seemed at least interested when I tried adding frozen bloodworms but I never saw it eat.

There are some dither fish in the aquarium, I've got a big school of Congos and when the knife gets big enough to start attempting to pick them off I'll make adjustments, but full grown Congos should be safe for at least a long time, the knife is only 6.5-7''.

How did you get it to start eating initially? Is there a specific food they prefer?

 

[Fallen_Leaves16]

Fairly easy fishes to keep, likely one of the easier Latin-American knife-fishes.
Quiet, dim fish-tank without heavy flow. They're a bit more tolerant of poor water-conditions than most other Gymnotiformes but still are susceptible to infection and whatnot.
Good softer water and botanicals + cover (typically wood, tubes/pipes work as well) will make the fish comfortable.
Earthworms were always taken well by Gymnotus spp. for me; if that does not work they will hunt small feeder-fishes and shrimps. Larger individuals seem to prefer more substantial foods than blood-worm as they can/will take on larger prey-items, but they will still readily eat it.
I just prefer larger foods as it's both easier for the fish to eat it all in one go and makes less of a mess.
Eventually they can and will happily accept chopped prawns and the like. Haven't gotten them fully on pellets before.
Aggression seems to be species/subspecies-dependent with Gymnotus. Some conflicting statements on them, even amongst labs, without a clear concrete answer.

 

[ace.of.spades]

Fairly easy fishes to keep, likely one of the easier Latin-American knife-fishes.
Quiet, dim fish-tank without heavy flow. They're a bit more tolerant of poor water-conditions than most other Gymnotiformes but still are susceptible to infection and whatnot.
Good softer water and botanicals + cover (typically wood, tubes/pipes work as well) will make the fish comfortable.
Earthworms were always taken well by Gymnotus spp. for me; if that does not work they will hunt small feeder-fishes and shrimps. Larger individuals seem to prefer more substantial foods than blood-worm as they can/will take on larger prey-items, but they will still readily eat it.
I just prefer larger foods as it's both easier for the fish to eat it all in one go and makes less of a mess.
Eventually they can and will happily accept chopped prawns and the like. Haven't gotten them fully on pellets before.
Aggression seems to be species/subspecies-dependent with Gymnotus. Some conflicting statements on them, even amongst labs, without a clear concrete answer.

Thanks for the info! As it grows and becomes more comfortable I’ll try more substantial food.

What should I expect as far as final size? I’ve heard everything from 11” to 17” to 24”, that seems to be the most inconsistent bit of information out there.

 

[M075]

Mine was already eating bloodworm from the lfs/importer but id say if you see it hanging out in a certain area a lot drop some bloodworm there Maybe in a bit harder to reach place for the other fish and itll eventually go for it.

You could try adding some live guppys or shrimp and see how that goes but your other fish will probably enjoy that a little too much for the knifefish to get any.

I would start with adding some live shrimp and then try going to frozen and adding in some bloodworms and other foods in the mix.

These fish are known to have excellent ability to regrow body parts and ive read even parts of their spine can fully regrow. Scientists are researching these fish for that exact reason i was told.

Ive heard they dont stand certain medication very well so you might want to look into what exactly to avoid, i dont remember right now..

And ofcourse ask the lfs if and what they ve been feeding them, it could help a lot starting to get them to eat, i was Lucky enough to get a knife that ate the first day or 2 so dont have that much actual hands on experience with this and also my knife is slightly different but i figured anything helps.

 

[M075]

Thanks for the info! As it grows and becomes more comfortable I’ll try more substantial food.

What should I expect as far as final size? I’ve heard everything from 11” to 17” to 24”, that seems to be the most inconsistent bit of information out there.

Ive read on aquariumglaser they get to around 30cm usually in aquariums but could grow twice that size. I trust their info more than most websites but im no expert by far (im only in the hobby for about a year)