Clown Knifefish

Native

Most knifefish species come from Southeast Asia, specifically Thailand, Borneo, Malaysia, India, and Sumatra.These fish usually are found in lakes, swamps, and river backwaters. They prefer still waters and can survive with low oxygen.

Description

The clown knifefish, clown featherback fish or spotted knifefish, Chitala ornata, is a nocturnal tropical fish with a long knife-like body. The clown knifefish is very distinct, normally silvery gray with a long knife like body (laterally compressed) and a long anal fin that gives these fish their common name. Mature fish normally have 5-10 (or even more) black spots ringed with white that usually increase in number and size as the fish grows. The clown knifefish grows to a fairly large size, up to 100 cm and 5 kg in the wild. It has 2 nasal tentacles above their large toothed mouth. They normally hunt live prey and will try any fish that fits into their mouths. Clown knifefish are hearty eaters, one of the reasons people like them as pets. They are predatory fish and will take live foods such as feeder fish, ghost shrimp and blackworms. With time they can be adapted to foods such as beefheart and will sometimes learn to accept commercial food pellets. They prefer feeding when the lights are off.