Black ghost knifefish
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| Apteronotus albifrons (Linnaeus, 1766) |
The black ghost knifefish, Apteronotus albifrons, is a tropical fish belonging to the ghost knifefish family (Apteronotidae). They originate in South America in the Amazon Basin in Peru and from Venezuela through Paraguay in the Paraná Rivers. They are sometimes found in aquaria. The fish is all black except for two white rings on its tail. It moves mainly by undulating a long fin on its underside. It will grow to a maximum length of 20 inches (50 cm centimeters).
The black ghost knifefish natively lives in fast moving, sandy bottom creeks in a tropical climate. They prefer water with a 6.0 - 8.0 pH, a water hardness of 5.0 - 19.0 dGH, and a temperature range of 73-82 F (23-28 C). They are nocturnal, but they are weakly electric fish and use an electric organ and receptors distributed over the length of their body in order to find insect larvae.
Due to their electrical charge, a close, contained group of knife fish (as in an aquarium) will line up side by side.
South American natives believe that the ghosts of the departed take up residence in these fish. [1]
[edit] See also
[edit] Notes
- ^ Axelrod, Herbert R. (1996). Exotic Tropical Fishes. T.F.H. Publications. ISBN 0-87666-543-1
[edit] References
- Apteronotus albifrons (TSN 163328). Integrated Taxonomic Information System. Accessed on 29 June 2005.
- "Apteronotus albifrons". FishBase. Ed. Ranier Froese and Daniel Pauly. May 2005 version. N.p.: FishBase, 2005.
