Black Ghost Knifefish (Apteronotus albifrons) – Mysterious, Graceful, and Electrifying 🖤⚡🐟
The Black Ghost Knifefish is a fascinating and elegant freshwater oddball native to the Amazon Basin. With its smooth black body, flowing ribbon-like fin, and supernatural swimming style, this fish adds a striking presence to any large aquarium. Revered in South American folklore for its “spiritual” qualities, it's as captivating in motion as it is in myth.
🖤 Appearance & Personality:
With a knife-shaped body and continuous undulating fin, this fish glides gracefully—forward or backward—with ease. Using weak electric pulses to navigate and hunt at night, it's both stealthy and intelligent. While peaceful with most non-aggressive tankmates, it should be kept solo due to territorial behavior toward its own kind or other electric fish.
📏 Size:
Average adult size: Up to 50cm (20 inches)
Average purchase size: 5–7.6cm
A long, wide tank (not tall) is essential to support their natural movement.
🌿 Care Guide:
Tank Size: 300L+ (bigger is better)
Substrate: Soft sand preferred
Décor: Hiding spots like driftwood, tubes, rocks, and dense cover; floating plants for low light
Water Parameters:
Temperature: 23–28°C
pH: 6.0–7.5
KH: 5–10 dKH
Diet: Carnivorous – thrives on a mix of frozen foods (bloodworms, blackworms), live prey, and high-quality sinking carnivore pellets
Temperament: Peaceful with similar-sized, non-aggressive tank mates; not suitable with small fish or other electric species
Best Kept With: Peaceful mid- to top-dwellers like silver dollars, large tetras, or angelfish – avoid keeping with other knifefish or very small tank mates
🪴 Aquascaping Tip:
Provide a dimly lit setup with lots of hiding spaces and low flow. This nocturnal fish appreciates quiet areas to retreat during the day and comes alive in the dark.
✨ Add a true oddball and a mesmerizing swimmer to your collection with the Black Ghost Knifefish – a peaceful predator with electric charm!
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