Order Osteoglossiformes
Suborder Notopteroidei
Family Notopteridae
Genus Chitala.
— Clown Knifefish, Indian Clown Knifefish, Chitala, Featherback — Chitala chitala [Hamilton, 1822]. Synonym: Notopterus buchanani, chitala, maculatus. (Eng. Clown Knifefish, Indian Clown Knifefish). Large rivers of South and Southeast Asia (Myanmar, India, Thailand, Bangladesh). 120 cm, in an aquarium maximum up to 60 cm, depending on the aquarium volume. Juveniles about 15 cm in size are offered for sale in trade, but keep in mind that fish grow very fast and can reach huge sizes. One should also take into account the fact that they are predatory and hunt other fish in the aquarium.
The body is elongated, the head and body are strongly compressed laterally. The upper profile of the back is very convex. They have fine scales, a large mouth with numerous small teeth, a laterally flattened body, a miniature, bird feather-like dorsal fin, and a long anal fin fused with the caudal fin. The head is relatively small, pointed, the back line steeply rises upwards, making its profile in the front part concave. They have an original structure of the anal fin, which extends along the entire body from the pectoral fins and passes into the caudal fin. The lower fin is in constant motion.
They swim using undulating movements of the anal fin and body oscillations; the pectoral fins serve as “rudders” for maneuvering. Knifefishes can swim both forward and backward. They possess combined respiration – in addition to gill breathing, they occasionally surface and swallow a small amount of atmospheric air.
The coloration of the fish changes significantly as they grow older. The coloration is greyish-blue, with a silvery sheen under bright lighting. The back is darker. Juveniles up to 15 cm are covered with numerous rounded spots. Upon reaching a length of 60 cm, the fish develop 6-15 ocellated black spots with a light border, located along the anal fin, approximately from the middle of the belly to the tail. On the lower part of the body and the anal fin, a patterned design of interlaced light lines runs against a chocolate-brown background. In larger fish, these spots disappear, but a black mark appears at the base of the pectoral fins.
Some specimens have no spots on the body at all. Young specimens have a particularly beautiful pattern. The more spots—and in infancy, these are not even spots, but diagonally arranged dark stripes—the more “eyes” the adult fish will have. Males are larger, but slimmer than females, which have a rounded belly during the pre-spawning period. Fish are very aggressive. These are large nocturnal predatory fish, active in the dark, so they should only be kept in species-specific aquariums. Night lighting can be installed to observe the fish.
Only young fish are suitable for aquarium keeping, and only with large fish, because they will gladly eat small fish. Since the character of these fish is unaccommodating, it is better to keep them singly or in the company of only large fish capable of standing up for themselves, such as arowanas, large catfishes, and Central American cichlids. It is undesirable to keep two or more males in the aquarium, as in this case skirmishes will constantly occur between them. Spacious aquariums with plenty of hiding places made of rocks and driftwood are required for keeping. The aquarium should be densely planted with plants at the edges, and free swimming space should always be left.
Hiding places in the form of driftwood are needed in the aquarium, near which the chitalas will stand motionless, and only the wave running along the anal fin will betray the presence of the fish. The length of the aquarium is at least 120 cm. During the day, the fish hide in the shade of shelters, mostly behind stones and plants, and by evening, noticeably reviving, they calmly, without haste and fuss, go in search of food. With age, they require large aquariums proportional to their length. During fights, excited males can inflict serious injuries on each other, which often ends in the death of one of them. It should be noted that a very weak spot of the fish is the gular ligament.
Equip the water body with a powerful filter, aerate and regularly change the water. Lighting is dim, diffused. Knifefishes most willingly eat live foods (bottom invertebrates, tadpoles, small fish). They should be accustomed to motionless food (pieces of meat, beef heart, squid) gradually. They mature at the age of 3 years. Reproduction of these animals can occur in the same aquarium where they live. Eggs are deposited on stones or driftwood, and then guarded by the male. At this time, he becomes especially aggressive, so the rest of the fish should be removed (or the eggs placed in a separate aquarium). Caring for the clutch, the male uses movements of the anal fin to constantly blow away dirt from the eggs. They live up to 10 years. pH 6.0-8.0; dH 4-18°; T 24-28°C.
Identification: Chitala chitala.
Description of the family Mormyridae, Genus Mormyrops, Genus Marcusenius.
Chitala blanci, Silver Knifefish, Chitala ornata, Spotfin Featherback. 
