Peter’s Elephantnose Mormyrid

Description

Gnathonemus petersii is an odd fish from Africa. Mormyrids (like these fish) are unique, highly derived and very intelligent fish. They generate electrical fields that they use to navigate murky waters, find prey, and even communicate with each other. They have extremely large brains for their size, almost equivalent to humans proportionately. Using these large brains, they can interpret electrical fields and distinguish between different species of fish, or even identify whether another elephantnose is male or female! Their long “nose” (actually an enlarged lower lip) is also very sensitive, used to probe the substrate for food. For this reason, Elephantnose are best kept on sandy substrate so they can express natural foraging behaviour. They are territorial, so unless you get a large group of these fish and keep them in a large tank, we recommend keeping them alone. These extraordinary fish are completely unlike any other!

These are young adults around 4″ long.