We can never be sure of what nature can astound us with. Every other species on earth surprises us one way or another. A similar astonishing spectacle of nature is the ‘elephant fish’ found in water.
The Elephant Fish are given this name due to the peculiar shape of their ‘nose’. These creatures have an elongated snout which appears like an elephant’s trunk. Many types of elephant fishes can be found in nature. In this article, we will discuss 2 specific types of these fish: the wild ones, that are larger in size and are found in oceans, and the smaller ones, perfect for keeping in aquariums.
The Wild elephant fish
The scientific name of wild elephant fish is callorhinchus milii. They are also called Ghostsharks, elephant shark white fish and plownose chimaera.
Wild elephants fish are found in the waters of Southern Australia and New Zealand. These fish belong to the family Callorhinchidae. The fish are scaleless and look amusing. They have only one gill opening right in front of the pectoral fin on both the sides. The dorsal fin of the fish is headed by a large spine. The large elephant fish is a silver in colour with dark marks on its body.
It has a shoe-shaped proboscis-like stout, which gives it the name ‘elephant fish’. The creature uses its trunk, or snout, to detect crustaceans, molluscs and small fishes hiding in the bottom sediment. The stout is very sensitive, being covered with pores to sense any movement around or any electric field. This helps it catch its prey. The snout also helps it navigate around the water body, since the river is also surrounded by numerous obstacles. Because their vision is not the best, this snout function comes in handy.
These fish have a lifespan of around 15 years. They are approximately 1.2 meters in length, and can weigh upto 7 kilograms. The Ghostshark elephant fish live at a depth of 200 meters. The infants and small ones live in coastal water for 3 years, and then join their parents as they grow up. On the other hand, the Spookfish lives in deeper water from 380 meters upto 2600 meters.
Small elephant fish
The smaller elephant fish is known to science as Gnathonemus petersii. They are sometimes called Peter’s Elephant Fish, to honor Wilhelm Peters, the German zoologist who discovered them. Brown, almost black in colour, their bodies may sometimes opalise with violet tint. Small elephant fish have elongated, flattened bodies and lack abdominal fins
The fish is very popular among fish lovers, though is not quite easy to maintain. Small elephant fish aren’t recommended for beginner aquarists. They are primarily found in the Niger River, the Ogun River and the Charir River. They use their trunk-shaped snout to communicate with other fishes, and to navigate around the waters. Their nose has a number of nerve endings which enables them to produce a weak electric field, helping them navigate better. Other than possessing a unique electrolocation ability, they have really good low light vision. This is the reason they are more active at night and prefer murky and muddy waters.
Their life span ranges from 6 to 10 years, and they can grow up to 7 to 9 inches in length in captivity. This makes them compatible for aquariums. But they are not easy to keep, and require extreme care because they are very sensitive to any changes and may get sick.
If you want a small elephant fish, you should try to keep it in a tank that can hold 50 gallons volume of water. Smaller tanks might poke their aggressive behavior. Keep the temperature of the water around 73°F to 82°F, the pH range between 6.5 to 7.2 and the hardness of water 0-10 KH.
It is generally observed that small elephant fish are happier when there are other fishes in the aquarium, so 4 to 7 peaceful fishes will do wonders. . Same species is not recommended as they can get territorial and may become aggressive. Their feeding need is also different, so you need to be well researched prior to bringing them to your house.
These fish are very delicate to handle, so if you want to adopt them, do it when you’re sure that you will be able to give them a full time commitment.
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