They originate in freshwater habitats in South America where they range from Venezuela to the Paraguay–Paraná River, including the Amazon Basin.

[3] The black ghost knifefish natively lives in sandy bottom creeks in South America.

[6] The black ghost knifefish is a weakly electric fish as a result of the electromotor and electrosensory systems it possesses.

[8] Then, for these EODs to be sensed by the fish, electroreception occurs when groups of sensory cells embedded in the skin, known as electroreceptor organs, detect the electrical change.

[11] The black ghost knifefish are considered to be the latter type, because they can continuously generate EODs in small intervals.

Wave-type EODs have a narrow power spectra, and can be heard as a tonal sound, where the discharge rate establishes the fundamental frequency.

[9] By emitting its own continuous sinusoidal train of EODs, the fish can determine the presence of nearby objects by sensing perturbations in timing and amplitude of electric fields, an ability known as active electrolocation.

Female black ghost knifefish generate EODs at a higher frequency than the males, an FM which can be used for gender recognition.