Blunt-jawed elephantnose

Care at a glance

Overview

This is a shy, night-active mormyrid with a long, downturned snout it uses to probe soft sand for food. It is easily bullied and easily starved in a busy tank, so keep it with slow, gentle tankmates and either on its own or in a group of five or more, since small numbers lead to one fish dominating the rest. Provide a deep bed of soft sand, dim lighting, and lots of cover from wood and plants. Feed live and frozen foods such as bloodworms and blackworms in the evening, making sure it gets its share. It grows large and needs a spacious tank of at least 650 liters.

In the wild

Campylomormyrus tamandua comes from the Congo River basin and other parts of West and Central Africa, living in turbid, slow-moving rivers and channels over muddy and sandy bottoms. These are dim, tea-stained waters where the fish relies on senses other than sight. Recreate this with soft sand, driftwood, subdued lighting, and gentle flow. Keep the temperature between 23 and 28 degrees Celsius and the pH slightly acidic to neutral, around 6 to 7.5.

Good to know

The blunt-jawed or worm-jawed mormyrid belongs to Mormyridae, the African elephantfishes, and grows to around 40 centimeters. Its trunk-like lower jaw is used to root through sediment for insect larvae. Like all mormyrids it is weakly electric, producing pulses from an organ in its tail that it uses to sense its surroundings and communicate, and it has an unusually large brain for its body size. Breeding in aquaria is essentially unrecorded.

Did you know

Elephantfishes such as this one send a large share of their body's energy to the brain, more than almost any other fish, powering the constant electric sensing they use to feel their way through dark, murky rivers.

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