Elephant trunk mormyrid

Care at a glance

Overview

A large elephantfish with a long, curved trunk it uses to root through the substrate for food. Keep it singly, as it will not tolerate its own kind in aquarium-sized space, and choose tankmates with caution: calm, sizeable fish that will not compete for food or nip at it. It needs a deep, soft sand bed to probe without harming its snout, wood and rock cover, dim light, and very stable water. Feed meaty sinking foods such as earthworm and bloodworm in the evening. A tank of around 450 liters suits this 40 cm fish.

In the wild

Campylomormyrus elephas lives in the Congo River basin, probing sandy and muddy river floors with its curved snout. To suit it, provide open areas of deep soft sand alongside wood and stone 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. A gentle current and pristine water quality reflect its flowing-river home and keep it healthy.

Good to know

Reaching about 40 cm, this elephantfish of the family Mormyridae has one of the longest, most strongly curved snouts in the genus Campylomormyrus, whose name means bent mormyrid. The trunk is a flexible extension of the jaws, tipped with electroreceptors, not a nose as it appears. It reads its world through a weak electric field. Its breeding is not recorded in aquaria.

Did you know

The trunk that gives the fish its name is not a nose at all but a downward extension of its jaws, and the genus name Campylomormyrus simply records the kink, meaning bent or curved mormyrid.

Common questions

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