It is commonly thought that, although African Brown Knifefish may be raised together as juveniles, they should be separated before they reach adulthood as they become extremely territorial and exhibit great amounts of conspecific aggression once they reach maturity. However, our experience with these fish tells a different story. We are keeping our group of about 20 fish in a 75 gallon aquarium. Most of our specimens are sexually mature. While we do see a social hierarchy, we don’t see any meaningful aggression. The fish seem to enjoy grouping together. From what we have observed, it appears that when kept in sufficient numbers, aggression is less of an issue than is commonly believed. Of course, if insufficient numbers are kept together, aggression could become a concern as in many species of African Rift Lake Cichlids, but our group is getting along famously. These knifefish can be kept in a community aquarium with other peaceful species of an appropriate size and demeanor.
This fish is a carnivore, and therefore requires protein-rich foods. Knifefish have a reputation for being difficult to feed, requiring live and/or frozen foods. We have not found this to be the case. Here at Dan’s Fish, they transitioned easily to prepared foods and are currently doing very well on a rotation of various sinking pellet foods which is supplemented by frozen and live foods. If keeping this knifefish in a community aquarium, it might be necessary to target feed as they tend to eat from the mid-bottom water level and other faster-swimming species might consume the food before the knifefish can eat their share.
Want a breeding challenge? To date, there has been little success spawning this fish in captivity. However, it remains an interesting breeding challenge for the right hobbyist. If you do end up figuring out how to breed it, please do share your experience! The rest of us mere mortals would love to know how it is done.
Overall, this is one of the most unique species of African fish to have made its way to Dan’s Fish. They are so full of personality, and we know you’d have just as much fun with them as we are! If you want to see our group of knifefish eating pellet food and interacting as a group, you can check them out on video HERE.
These knifefish are available for purchase HERE.