Gymnotus carapo, Banded knifefish : aquarium

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Gymnotus carapo Linnaeus, 1758

Banded knifefish
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Gymnotus carapo
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Classification / Names Common names | Synonyms | Catalog of Fishes(genus, species) | ITIS | CoL | WoRMS | Cloffa

Teleostei (teleosts) > Gymnotiformes (Knifefishes) > Gymnotidae (Naked-back knifefishes) > Gymnotinae
Etymology: Gymnotus: Greek, gymnos = naked (Ref. 45335).
More on author: Linnaeus.

Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range Ecology

Freshwater; benthopelagic; pH range: 6.0 - 7.5; dH range: ? - 15; potamodromous (Ref. 51243). Subtropical; 22°C - 28°C (Ref. 1672)

Distribution Countries | FAO areas | Ecosystems | Occurrences | Point map | Introductions | Faunafri

Central and South America: southern Mexico to Paraguay, including Trinidad.

Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age

Maturity: Lm 19.4, range 25 - ? cm
Max length : 76.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 79585); max. published weight: 1.2 kg (Ref. 79585)

Biology     Glossary (e.g. epibenthic)

Facultative air-breathing (Ref. 126274); Aggressive (Ref. 27188). Inhabits turbid slow moving or standing waters (Ref. 11225). Found also in shallow edges of streams (Ref. 75964). Can survive when ditches, canals and small ponds dry out. (Ref. 11225). Feeds mainly at night on worms, insects (e.g. odonate larvae), shrimps, fish (preferably small characids, e.g. Ctenobrycon and Curimata) and plant matter (Ref. 7020; 10011). Oviparous (Ref. 205). Mouth brooding by males is observed in this species (Ref. 55570). Males provide parental care in nests excavated for eggs and larvae (Ref. 55570). Uses its long anal fin for locomotion. Can distinguish between a `friendly neighbor' and a potentially `threatening stranger' based on electric organ discharge (EOD) waveform alone (Ref. 10011). Relationship between EOD pattern and agonistic behavior in this species has been demonstrated (Refs. 10531, 10532, 10533). Shows auditory abilities, responding best to a frequency of 1000 Hz, with an upper limit above 5000 Hz (Ref. 10831). Also responds to vibratory stimuli (water waves: 125-250 Hz) with transient increase in EOD rate (Ref. 10834). 'Prefers' temperatures of 24-25°C (Ref. 10836).

Life cycle and mating behavior Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae

Parental care is provided by the male. The male sits on a depression with its anal fin expanded horizontally guarding a cluster of larvae. More larvae are spread out in leaf litter up to 2 m away (Ref. 55570).

Main reference Upload your references | References | Coordinator : Campos-da-Paz, Ricardo | Collaborators

Campos-da-Paz, R., 2003. Gymnotidae (Naked-back knifefishes). p. 483-486. In R.E. Reis, S.O. Kullander and C.J. Ferraris, Jr. (eds.) Checklist of the Freshwater Fishes of South and Central America. Porto Alegre EDIPUCRS, Brasil. (Ref. 36692)

IUCN Red List Status (Ref. 130435)

  Least Concern (LC) ; Date assessed: 09 July 2018

CITES

Not Evaluated

CMS (Ref. 116361)

Not Evaluated

Threat to humans

  Harmless





Human uses

Fisheries: of no interest; aquarium: commercial
FAO - Publication: search | FishSource |

More information

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Eggs
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Age/Size
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Larvae
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Internet sources

AFORO (otoliths) | Alien/Invasive Species database | Aquatic Commons | BHL | Cloffa | BOLDSystems | Websites from users | Check FishWatcher | CISTI | Catalog of Fishes: genus, species | DiscoverLife | ECOTOX | FAO - Publication: search | Faunafri | Fishipedia | Fishtrace | GenBank: genome, nucleotide | GloBI | Google Books | Google Scholar | Google | IGFA World Record | MitoFish | National databases | Otolith Atlas of Taiwan Fishes | PubMed | Reef Life Survey | Socotra Atlas | Tree of Life | Wikipedia: Go, Search | World Records Freshwater Fishing | Zoobank | Zoological Record

Estimates based on models

Phylogenetic diversity index (Ref. 82804):  PD50 = 0.5000   [Uniqueness, from 0.5 = low to 2.0 = high].
Bayesian length-weight: a=0.00380 (0.00292 - 0.00495), b=2.93 (2.85 - 3.01), in cm total length, based on LWR estimates for this species (Ref. 93245).
Trophic level (Ref. 69278):  3.6   ±0.56 se; based on food items.
Generation time: 3.6 ( na - na) years. Estimated as median ln(3)/K based on 2 growth studies.
Resilience (Ref. 120179):  Medium, minimum population doubling time 1.4 - 4.4 years (tm=2).
Fishing Vulnerability (Ref. 59153):  Moderate vulnerability (37 of 100).
Nutrients (Ref. 124155):  Calcium = 51.3 [21.6, 112.8] mg/100g; Iron = 0.975 [0.510, 1.782] mg/100g; Protein = 18.3 [17.1, 19.6] %; Omega3 = 0.33 [0.13, 0.83] g/100g; Selenium = 25.6 [9.8, 63.4] μg/100g; VitaminA = 21.8 [6.9, 67.1] μg/100g; Zinc = 1 [1, 1] mg/100g (wet weight);