Clown Knifefish Chitala ornata

The Clown Knifefish, also called Clown Featherback because of its stuck up dorsal fin unusual on knifefish, is native to Indochina. It is mainly nocturnal and eats other fish and invertebrates.

It is a knife-shaped fish with a blade or ribbonlike, fused, long anal and caudal fin on its underside for motion and with black spots bordered with offwhite on the side when younger. The spots slowly reduce in size and move towards the back end of the fish, but remain pale-bordered, distinguishing it from the Indian Featherback, C. chitala, native to the Indian subcontinent and also called the Indian Knifefish, which can look similar as an adult but its black spots are not bordered and it develops gold bars over its back with age.

It grows to over a metre long. It can breathe air to supplement oxygen in poor quality waters. Juveniles are striped. The female lays eggs, usually on wood, which are then tended and guarded by the male until they hatch.