# What to put with Clown Knife



## DustyBZoo (Sep 21, 2009)

Hello,
I'm new to this forum and I would love to get some ideas on what to put in my 120-gallon with my knife fish. For filtration I'm am using an established Eheim wet/dry canister filter. The knife fish is still very young, 4-5 inches, and so far doesn't seem to mind sharing the tank with a couple of black skirt tetras. But now I jsut don't know what direction would be good.
Thanks,
D.


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## MoneyMitch (Aug 3, 2009)

from what i know about those guys is that they are night preds and theyll hunt anything they think that they can eat. i would suggest larger fish that arent too aggro and ones that dont use any type of electrical currecnt that will interfere with the knife. you also want to have some sort of plastic tube for them to hide and something that will insulate the electrical current they emmit so they dont get stressed from any other fish. Money


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## DustyBZoo (Sep 21, 2009)

Would a Congo Tetra be too small?
Also I like Silver Dollars, I know I won't be able to keep live plants with them.
....or should I go with a few different cichids?

I really want to have variety. I want to have 7-10 fish that hopefully won't get eaten!


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## MoneyMitch (Aug 3, 2009)

what ever can fit in his mouth WILL just go by that.


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## Ramenuzumaki (Sep 12, 2009)

be VERY careful with this fish
they prey at night like money said and again will eat anything that can fit in it's mouth

if they are hungry enough they may even try to fit bigger things in their mouths so dont be alarmed if you see some torn to shreds tank mates

also anything that is semi-aggressive or aggressive would probably also equal a meal as it will get nipped then get aggressive and ultimately try to eat the other fish

they are hard to keep with other tank mates even though they are pretty kewl lookin fish


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## mags2313 (Nov 25, 2008)

*Compatibility:* 
When young, these fish are comfortable in groups, but as they mature, they much prefer to live singly. Adult specimens will often not tolerate another Clown Knife or similar species in their tank. They also cannot be kept with smaller fish of any kind, as anything small enough to fit in their mouth will be considered as food and they will often take a snap at larger fish, just on the off chance they may get a meal out of it. Clown Knifes tolerate large tankmates quite well, often ignoring attempts by territorial cichlids to chase them off. This can sometimes lead to problems with injuries being inflicted, although the clown will usually retreat to its hiding place before any major conflict occurs.


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

As an 18 yr old (I know, I know, sooo long ago) I kept a clown knife with an arowana, and two eels in a 100 gl tank. No problems, everyone left everyone alone. I'm sure it was because the eels had plenty of hidey holes and the arowana stuck to the very upper surface and he was twice the size of the knife. Not the most well thought out tank. I just wanted oddballs. Good luck with your choices, which will obviously be more researched than mine were at 18.

PS. Welcome to the forum!


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## Ramenuzumaki (Sep 12, 2009)

AUNTIE!
you were 18? O.O
JOKE! i love you D: *hug*

omg Eels in a tank?!
that would be so kewl
do all eels have the two mouth thing? outside mouth bites and holds, inside mouth is like the mouth the aliens have in "Aliens" and "Aliens VS Preditor?"

as for capadability i think mags summed it up great!
be sure to give it lots of hidey places cuz knifies are nocturnal!
i think if you use a red light at night to watch it youd be fine
i dont think they can see red, can they?


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## ClownKnifeLover (Sep 25, 2021)

MoneyMitch said:


> what ever can fit in his mouth WILL just go by that.


clown knife is good eaters
mine 8 inches clown knife even ate a 1 inches glass tetra
with their horrible spike on their anal,dorsal fin


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