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More from *Eurwentala

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Art for the sake of Science

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December 29, 2012
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:iconeurwentala:
Knifefishes in general are weird, but Orthosternarchus tamandua is unusual even among them. It's pink and practically blind, but it doesn't live in caves. It has asymmetrical eyes, apparently not for any reason at all. The thing on top of the fish is not a fin at all, but a particularly well-developed dorsal organ used in electroreception.

Given it's weird appearance, it's not surprising it's known in English as such names as "tamandua knifefish" and "white trumpet knifefish".

Another one of my series of weekly weird animals.
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:iconcheetanzee:
~Cheetanzee Jan 7, 2013
Never knew an existing animal could be a sexual innuendo :D
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:iconeurwentala:
*Eurwentala Jan 7, 2013
It isn't. You just have a dirty mind. ;)
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:iconcheetanzee:
~Cheetanzee Jan 7, 2013
I know :P
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:iconblacksky959:
Mood: Wow! *Blacksky959 Dec 31, 2012  Hobbyist General Artist
Awesome pic! I always wanted to get one of these! They dont ship to very well here though.. Great job!
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:icondragunalb:
~Dragunalb Dec 29, 2012  Student Traditional Artist
Very cool fish. I haven't seen it live yet, but I've already heard much about it in different literature.
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:iconallison-beriyani:
*Allison-beriyani Dec 29, 2012
...And now Pinky and the Brain's theme song is stuck in my head.

This thing is seriously cool though.
I think I have a new favorite fish.
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:iconevenape:
~Evenape Dec 29, 2012  Student Traditional Artist
From Google searches, someone actually sell these fishes as pets... I presume they will be VERY dysfunctional, easy-to-die pets, since however way we will hold this fish will be very different than their natural environment :XD:

I'd rather stick to it's (far easier to keep!) cousin, [I]Apteronotus[/I].. lol
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:iconeurwentala:
*Eurwentala Dec 29, 2012
I think they haven't ever been imported to Finland, but according to American sites, they do appear to be rather challenging pets. Sometimes animals from surprisingly specialized habitats adapt easily to captive conditions (say, blind cave tetras or hillstream loaches), but O. tamandua doesn't appear to be one of those.

Apteronotus seems to do quite well as a pet, though it grows too large for most tanks. It's a shame none of the small species of knifefish are usually imported.
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:iconevenape:
~Evenape Jan 5, 2013  Student Traditional Artist
Trueness indeed!

And how long is an average black ghost? Mine is currently about 20-30 cm long, but I'm still worried that it merely have stunted growth from being in a "small" aquarium... And I do agree with your last point :D
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:iconeurwentala:
*Eurwentala Jan 6, 2013
I don't know what's average, but I have heard of individuals exceeding 40 cm in captivity.

Make sure yours gets enough food. Big fish seem to need surprising amounts of food when growing.
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