Steatogenys duidae - Centipede Knifefish

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darkentity

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Apr 23, 2007
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Scotland
Hi all,

This is more a question atm, ive currently got a 30 gall tank with a few barbs, plecs, and a Plakat male fighter, im looking for something to fill the gap. I already have another tank with a Puffer and a 3rd and 4th tank with other random fish.

Ive been looking at the Steatogenys duidae - Centipede Knifefish as it seems to max out at about 8" as a centrepiece fish.

Any info or advice towards yay or nay on this idea welcomed :)
 
I'm actually in the same boat right now, looking for information on the centipede Knife. From what I've seen most places say it tops out around 8. I did see a few that quoted twelve inches too though. Do you know if it is a schooling fish as I have seen that some places as well? If I find anything good out i'll let you know.
 
Does anyone have pictures?I've never heard of it and would like to see one.
 
I've seen this fish at my lfs. Its behavior is kinda strange though. It lies on side between plant leaves, decor, etc. appearing dead. I'd personally set up a species tank for this fish.
 
Centipede Knives tend to be quite shy and I believe they can be kept in groups. If you want it a Centerpiece Fish, these would probably be too shy for that. Most Knives are pretty shy and hide most of the time. Otherwise, Knives are a great group of fish and are always interesting to observe.
 
I work with Steatogenys in a research setting. Most of what passes in the marketplace as Steatogenys duidae is actually Steatogenys elegans. The distinguishing characteristic is the shape of the brown spots on the long ventral fin.

I've had some S. elegans individuals get as large as 15" but only after several years. They do just fine in the laboratory in a 15-gallon holding tank with 2-3 individuals per tank. They do indeed lay around on their sides and look dead during the day. But, if you check on them at night, they are extremely active and somewhat aggressive. The main problem is that the largest fish tend to beat up on the smallest. You would never believe this given their daytime inactivity, but we have constant problems with the smaller fish jumping out of the tanks when under attack from the big ones.

The best plan might be to get two individuals of similar size. These fish, like many electric fish, become stressed without a conspecific companion. They grow slowly so you aren't likely to end up with a footlong monster any time soon.
 
You can find a picture of Steatogenys duidae at www.fishbase.org: http://tinyurl.com/df5jol
They don't yet have a picture of S. elegans. They look almost exactly alike, except for the ventral/anal fin. The spots on S. duidae are sort of triangular, as in the picture. S. elegans looks almost identical, except that the brown spots on the fin are crescent shaped.

You can also distinguish between the two fish by the waveforms of their electric organ discharges. That's another story, though.
 
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