Black Ghost

About

The Black Ghost Knifefish (Apteronotus albifrons) is one of the more unusual freshwater fish you can keep, and once you've watched one glide backward across a darkened tank, it's hard not to be hooked. Native to fast-moving, sandy-bottomed creeks and rivers from Venezuela down through the Amazon Basin of Peru and into the Paraná system, it has adapted to low-visibility conditions by generating a weak electric field along its entire body, which it uses to detect prey and move through its surroundings. The fish itself is a deep, velvety black with two white rings at the base of the tail and a white stripe along the back. Simple markings that somehow work beautifully. Movement is achieved almost entirely through an undulating anal fin that runs the full length of the belly, letting it swim forward, backward, and hover in place with equal ease. During the day it will tuck itself into a cave or shaded corner, but come nightfall it becomes much more active, patrolling the whole tank. It is generally peaceful with fish too large to swallow, but will make short work of small tankmates and dislikes the company of its own kind. Despite its exotic appearance, it adapts reasonably well for a keeper willing to provide plenty of hiding spots and a meaty diet.