Curved snout mormyrid

Care at a glance

Overview

A medium-sized elephantfish with a long, down-curved trunk that it uses to probe the substrate for food. Keep it singly, as it is intolerant of its own kind, and pick tankmates with caution: calm, similarly sized fish that will not bully it or strip its food. It needs a soft sand bed it can dig in without damaging its sensitive snout, wood and stone for cover, dim light, and very stable water. Feed meaty sinking foods such as bloodworm and blackworm in the evening. A tank of around 300 liters suits this 22 cm fish.

In the wild

Campylomormyrus rhynchophorus lives in the Congo River basin, working rocky and sandy stretches with its curved snout. To suit it, combine open patches of soft sand for probing with stone and wood structure, and keep the lighting low. Hold the water warm at 24-28 C and soft to neutral, around pH 6-7.5, and very steady, since these fish are quick to suffer in unstable or medicated water. A gentle current suits its river origins.

Good to know

This elephantfish of the family Mormyridae reaches about 22 cm. Its genus name, Campylomormyrus, means bent or curved mormyrid, after the strongly down-curved snout. That snout is an extension of the jaws, not a true nose, and it is tipped with electroreceptors and touch. Different species in the genus carry distinct electric discharges. Its breeding is not recorded in aquaria.

Did you know

Closely related Campylomormyrus that look almost identical can be told apart by their electric discharges, each species producing a pulse of its own shape and length, which the fish use to recognise their own kind.

Common questions

Related species

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• 

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