Elephant Nose Fish (Gnathonemus petersii)

The Elephant Nose Fish or Gnathonemus petersii is a weird looking fish that looks a lot like, you guessed it, an elephant! These fish are black in color and have a long trunk-like nose that they use to locate food. On the top of these "trunks" are their actual mouths!

The Elephant Nose is that much like the Electric Eel, these fish have a small amount of electrical charge. They use this low electrical current to find their their meals on the bottom of the river. Don't worry though, you can still handle them without being shocked.These weird fish originate from the Niger River in Western Africa. As you can imagine, due to their strange appearance they are often kept as pets in an aquarium. The Elephant Nose has one of the largest brains for its body and is able to recognize its owner over time in some cases.

Not considered to be one of the easiest fish to take care of, this fish requires frequent water changes along with water conditions of 73-80° F with a PH Level of 6.5-7.0. They reach about 9" in maximum length, so make sure you have a large aquarium. Over 50 gallons should do it to keep these fish happy. Be sure to provide plenty of hiding spaces for this shy creature. Once you have had the Elephant Nose for a while though it will become much more of a friendly fish. One thing to note is to be careful of this fish jumping right out of the tank. An aquarium with a tight lid is highly recommended.

For more about the Elephant Nose Fish check out the unique way it uses the "trunk" to try and locate food in this video...






These fish are carnivores that should be fed a variety of meaty foods such as earthworms, blood worms, brine shrimp with a mixture of flake and pellet foods. If you keep multiple Elephant Nose Fish together make sure you have a group of at least six that way the most dominant one won't pick on the smaller fish.