ive had my african knife for a while now and he does this thing where he goes to the top of the water and either sucks in air or blows it out? i cant tell which it is. but anyway, what the heck is he doin? he does it A LOT
What is he doin?
- Thread starter yourbestfriend
- Start date
Most species of knife fish are capable of respiration from the air if water conditions are poor (they do not *require* surface breathing as some other species of fish do). You may not have enough oxygen in your water - perhaps your temperature is too high or you do not have enough aeration.
Or, perhaps your knife fish previously lived under these types of conditions and now has the "habit" of taking air from the surface.
As long as your water parameters are fine and you have plenty of aeration, it's not something to worry about. You might be able to use the surfacing behavior to encourage hand-feeding if that interests you.
Or, perhaps your knife fish previously lived under these types of conditions and now has the "habit" of taking air from the surface.
As long as your water parameters are fine and you have plenty of aeration, it's not something to worry about. You might be able to use the surfacing behavior to encourage hand-feeding if that interests you.
I was just watching mine do the same thing. . . nothin to worry about. I've read that sometimes they croak when they do this, but I've never heard it.
mine have always done it and I have had 2 in completely different tanks and there is no way their wasn't enough oxygen.
its always the same... poke head out of cave, super speed to the top for air, then super speed back in the cave
its always the same... poke head out of cave, super speed to the top for air, then super speed back in the cave
EXACTLY!. he comes out from his lil hiding spot and races to the top and then goes backdbcb314;1980500; said:
Yeah, some do it and some don't. As I said, they *will* do it if necessary, but many do it when it's not. I can only speculate about why, that's why I said perhaps it is a "habit" developed earlier in life, or maybe just your particular knife's idea of a fun game 
It's natural, but if it's doing it a lot, it might be lack of oxygen in the tank. How big of a tank is it in and what kind of filtration do you have on it?