Monster Knifefish for Monster Community Tank

[knobhill]

hi folks.
I'm thinking about adding a knifefish to my 1100g monster community tank. I don't really care for the average clown knife; I like the elephant/duck head/dolphin looking knives. It would have to be a fish that grows 18"++

Here is the stock I have in there:
28" silver Aro, (5) 12"+ widebar silver dollars, 13" Flagtail, (2) 12" red pike cichlids, 18" kelberi bass, 20" red tail gourami, (2) 30" Niger cats, 10" NGT datnoid, 12" Rosequeen cichlid.

What are my options?

 

[blackbullhead]

There are lots of super cool knives out there that get good sized, but most will never make it into the aquarium trade.
Your best bet for a really large knife (aside from the electric eel) would be a Sternopygus macrurus (aka gold line knife) which can grow to about 3 ft.
Also on the larger side are Orthosternarchus tamandua and Rhamphichthys (ossa knife), both with tubular snouts and small mouths. Among the elephant knives, Sternarchorhynchus mormyrus gets the largest and is also probably the least delicate, but it is only very rarely imported.
Parapteronotus hasemani can get to a couple feet. Another option would be a big black ghost. They're super common, but if you can find a wild caught male they can get to pretty monstrous sizes and get the cool long snout. The fish in the picture I attached is 20".

 

[knobhill]

Thanks blackbullhead . I have 13" bgk in my community tank, they are a little too soft for the 1100g. I really like the ossa and mormyrus so now I need to track one down. Who are the goto importers for these types of fish?

 

[mattmez]

Do a macrucus they are the boldest knife I have!

 

[blackbullhead]

I've seen Ossa's on gunpowder and bluegrass aquatics periodically and I know the bigger importers (i.e. Segrest) carry them sometimes, but I don't know of anyone that regularly imports them. Seems that Rhamphichthys marmoratus is most commonly imported, although some of the other species get much larger. The mormyrus will be really tricky..I know they get collected, but all that I've seen end up getting exported to Japan.

 

[knobhill]

Do a macrucus they are the boldest knife I have!

Tell me more about this knifefish. What does it eat? Is it more active than the others? I need a fish that can put up with my big boys and not hide all the time.
I would love to get a large mormyrus but have my doubts since I haven't been able to keep the smaller ones with any success.

 

[mattmez]

Well macrucus can get huge. I post a link to a video of one that is damn near 3 foot long. They hide a little, but they're supprisingly active because of their predatory size. They will eat anything.

 

[mattmez]

No ossa by the way. Although they reach a good size they are sensitive and shouldn't be out with bigger fish.

Here's the video it's honestly amazing lol

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/570972058984113099/

 

[knobhill]

Yes, I think I'm sold on the gold-line knife. It's like a cross between a bgk and clown knife.

Does anyone have a good lead on getting a 20"+ fish? I'm in the Los Angeles area.

And one last thing, what's the growth rate?

 

[Thekid]

Yes, I think I'm sold on the gold-line knife. It's like a cross between a bgk and clown knife.

Does anyone have a good lead on getting a 20"+ fish? I'm in the Los Angeles area.

And one last thing, what's the growth rate?

fugupuff is probably one of the best bets for rare fish stateside. T tamade was importing some pretty nice stuff but I don't know if he's still importing.