Any Knifefish Keepers?

[rlhirth]

i had a BGK and a Clown knife for some time and when i moved from my parents my sister was taking care of them.... (BGK was injured when i got it, was weird had a curled tail) well any way after i moved i couldnt take the tank right way... and i guess my sister wasnt to up to date on the water changes and his tail became infected and he had passed, i still couldnt take the Clown though so i ended up finding a new home for him... wouldnt dare leave him with my sister any longer...

LOVED these fish and would get another BGK in a heart beat... if only i had the room....

 

[mattlee]

sorry couldnt get any pics ive been trying for ages but i have a BGK that was about 3-4 inches when bought and must now be 7-8 inches total length. stunning fish and the growth rate is second to none......

if i do get a pic ill post it but they are so hard to get as they just dont keep still

 

[Squidward]

sorry couldnt get any pics ive been trying for ages but i have a BGK that was about 3-4 inches when bought and must now be 7-8 inches total length. stunning fish and the growth rate is second to none......

if i do get a pic ill post it but they are so hard to get as they just dont keep still

How long have you had it for?

I have had my BGK for about 6 months, and it has hardly grown at all.
And it is on a diet of Tetra Prima, Blood Worms (frozen) & Tubifex Worms (frozen)

 

[mattlee]

sorry couldnt get any pics ive been trying for ages but i have a BGK that was about 3-4 inches when bought and must now be 7-8 inches total length. stunning fish and the growth rate is second to none......

if i do get a pic ill post it but they are so hard to get as they just dont keep still

How long have you had it for?

I have had my BGK for about 6 months, and it has hardly grown at all.
And it is on a diet of Tetra Prima, Blood Worms (frozen) & Tubifex Worms (frozen)

i think ive had it since about mid september

 

[ORidout]

I love knifefish, and have done for a few days... ever since i first saw a young one at my local pet shop (Supreme Animal Foods, Ladywell), i've thought them to be the sweetest little things. However, seeing how big they get made me rethink....

 

[Ritingyou]

I've wanted a knifefish for a long time and finally got one last weekend. Love him! He is very shy though, he found a hole I never knew of inside a rock and stays there until feeding time. After hes done eating he goes back into his small hole.

Although right now its a pain because he makes it hard to see if he has ick since the petstore had ick on all their fish a couple days ago and an employee told me theyve had it for at least a week and a half.

He is only a baby (3 inches ) but still very very cute

 

[Squidward]

I've wanted a knifefish for a long time and finally got one last weekend. Love him! He is very shy though, he found a hole I never knew of inside a rock and stays there until feeding time. After hes done eating he goes back into his small hole.

Although right now its a pain because he makes it hard to see if he has ick since the petstore had ick on all their fish a couple days ago and an employee told me theyve had it for at least a week and a half.

He is only a baby (3 inches ) but still very very cute

BGK are nocturnal, so they will naturally be shy during the day.

If you suspect it has Ich, then it's probably a good idea to treat it.
Turn up the temp by 1 or 2 degrees - slowly
And I would probably also use something like Esha 2000

 

[simonas]

is it a BGK you bought?

great fish he'll get tamer and whenever you put food in he;ll skoot around the surface like an idiot eating as much food as he can in a short space of time. greed y little beggers

 

[Ritingyou]

A BGK is what I origionally wanted but couldnt get because of his size, have to get a bigger tank. But Right now I have a african brown knife fish and I have the temp up to 80 , he must have had it because now one of my fish has a couple on his back fin. I cant use anything with chimcals.

Just curious but how fast does a BGK grown anyway?

 

[mattlee]

A BGK is what I origionally wanted but couldnt get because of his size, have to get a bigger tank. But Right now I have a african brown knife fish and I have the temp up to 80 , he must have had it because now one of my fish has a couple on his back fin. I cant use anything with chimcals.

Just curious but how fast does a BGK grown anyway?

mine has at least doubled in size from 4 inches to 8 inches since mid september

 

[Ritingyou]

A BGK is what I origionally wanted but couldnt get because of his size, have to get a bigger tank. But Right now I have a african brown knife fish and I have the temp up to 80 , he must have had it because now one of my fish has a couple on his back fin. I cant use anything with chimcals.

Just curious but how fast does a BGK grown anyway?

mine has at least doubled in size from 4 inches to 8 inches since mid september

Wow! So they do grow pretty quick. In less than a year he would be able to eat all my fish! 0_0

 

[zeke the black ghost knife]

i wanted a ghost knife, and was close to buying one, but i heard they let out low frequencies of electricity, and i didnt want to hurt my cories.

i keep zeke with my cories and he doesnt really do anything to them.

 

[toddnbecka]

I have 2, a Carapo and a zebra. The Carapo was collected in Brazil by a member of the local fish club and brought back in his suitcase. A couple months later, after being treated for parasites, it was auctioned off at a meeting. WHen I brought it home it was still quite small, around 3"/8cm. It went into a 40 gallon tank that was overcrowded with endler's livebearers. About 6-8 weeks (and several hundred endler's) later it had doubled in size, at which time I moved the remaining endler's, then less than 2 dozen, to another tank. Then I started moving extra cichlid fry into the 40.
Another month or so later I bought the zebra knife, and tried putting it into the 40 with the larger Carapo. The Carapo chased the zebra relentlessly, so I moved it into a 40 breeder with a number of cichlids and BN pleco's growing out.
Baby Carapo about to be released into tank:

Zebra knife, longer on arrival, but smaller than Carapo:

Didn't last long in tank together:

The Carapo apparently has some serious teeth, I've found a couple small cichlids actually bitten in half. Both eat NLS pellets as well as extra cichlid fry. Both are nocturnal, but the Carapo will come out from under cover for pellets. The zebra is seldom seen.

 

[kniesh]

My Carapo is vicious too, he killed a BGK not long after I got him. He doesnt bother any other type of fish though, just other Knives apparently.

I am off to but a few Glass Knives now I just seen at PAH. I am either buying 2 Ropefish/Reedfish and 3 Glass Knives, or just 6 Glass Knives. What's the thoughts? Heading back in just over an hour. One thought is that the Knives will have to go in with my BGK (Short term) Advisable or not?

 

[Lyra0727]

Since I've noticed all of you have a lot of expirence with knifefish I was wondering if you could give a little advice. I have a 60 gallon with 2 senegal bichirs, 1 african brown knife, 1 african leaf fish and 2 different gouramis(being rehomed soon long story as to why). I plan to upgrade to a bigger tank in maybe a year or so but was wondering if there are any other types of knifefish that would get along with the fish that I have?

none of them are aggressive so I cant handel anything to aggressive or sensitive.. But they have to be big enough not to me eaten. (bichirs are 5 inches)

I wanted to get a BGK but my tank wouldnt be big enough for him yet. Have to wait until I get my bigger one