Bgk Tank Mates

[pixiesandfairies]

Can anyone recommend some good tank mates for a black ghost knife fish?
Some of the fish i like are: hattchetts, angels, betta, glass catfish.

 

[JenCliBee]

what size tank do u have?

 

[Mr._Fishy]

I would stay away from glass cats, bettas, and angels. The tend to beat up on bettas and glass cats are imo too sensitive to risk keeping with a bgk. I had a bgk that would pluck the eyes out of angels and other slow moving fish, so I would say stay away from those.

Good tank mates are anything too big to be eaten, not too agressive, not super sensitive, not to ravenous (bgks tend to not react so fast when food is placed in the tank), and of course aren't too big to eat the knife (they grow to up to 20" in the wild, closer to 15" in tanks so this shouldn't be that much of an issue)

Ryan

 

[pixiesandfairies]

The tank is 48 x 18 x 18. Thanks for all the advice so far!

 

[DarkEntity]

The tank is 48 x 18 x 18. Thanks for all the advice so far!

you are aware that Black Ghost Knives will grow to 20" and are nocturnal predators? Your tank is no where near large enough for an adult fish so really look at something else.

 

[pixiesandfairies]

I know they are nocturnal and have moon lights for this. these fish rarely grow over 15 inches in captivity and upgrading the tank is not a problem, Should this be an issue! I was not asking whether i should get a ghost knife fish, as i have kept one b4, i was just asking for an idea of what people recommend to keep with them. I can`t believe how quick you are to judge and dismiss me, with out asking if i was prepared to do what ever it takes to care for a bgk! If you had some constructive advice i would like to hear it. If all you are going t do is tell people "don`t even bother rather than to look after this fish are you prepared to do this........... think b4 you buy, If you can do this then fine you are a good fish keeper!" Then just don`t bother. Thankyou to everyone that has given good advice, I feel you can always learn from other fish keepers!

 

[DarkEntity]

I know they are nocturnal and have moon lights for this. these fish rarely grow over 15 inches in captivity and upgrading the tank is not a problem, Should this be an issue! I was not asking whether i should get a ghost knife fish, as i have kept one b4, i was just asking for an idea of what people recommend to keep with them. I can`t believe how quick you are to judge and dismiss me, with out asking if i was prepared to do what ever it takes to care for a bgk! If you had some constructive advice i would like to hear it. If all you are going t do is tell people "don`t even bother rather than to look after this fish are you prepared to do this........... think b4 you buy, If you can do this then fine you are a good fish keeper!" Then just don`t bother. Thankyou to everyone that has given good advice, I feel you can always learn from other fish keepers!

Ive yet to find a properly cared for one of less that 15"+ ive seen a few specimens over 20" which are rather lovely, so all im saying is your tank is not suitable for an adult fish, which is what i go with as a rule of thumb when buying anything.

 

[pixiesandfairies]

Having read other posts on this site I haven`t seen one that say`s they have seen on over 15 inch and like i say i am happy to go bigger. Unfortunatly you weren`t interested in finding that out b4 you slammed me!

 

[dnn3]

honestly,i don't think dark entity slammed you. i think you're overreacting.

 

[DarkEntity]

It wasnt meant as a slam, im merely stating that you should expect a fish to hit near its maximum potential if cared for properly and assuming that it wont grow past 15" is a myth that could cause you and the fish problems in the future.

 

[Mr._Fishy]

DarkEntity, could you show me pics or direct me to a specimen that is 20" or more? I don't mean to challenge what you say, it's just I have yet to see a captive bgk in a tank (not a pond in the 1000g+ range) that is over 18" or so.

Ryan

 

[jayjay]

There were pictures on another forum of an 18"+ BGK, that someone had in a tank. But we aren't allowed to link. I'm pretty sure DE has seen those pictures as well.

 

[DarkEntity]

On another forum there are a quite a few images of BGK's 15" + one in particular is easily more than 20"...i really dont give a damn whether you buy one or not, all im saying is be prepared for it to grow larger than the 15" thats all....

 

[pixiesandfairies]

Sorry if idid take it the wrong way but you didn`t ask if i was happy to upgrade my tank. You just pretty much forget it. Anyway new tank ordered, Just got to wait for delivery. It is going to be 65 x 21x 21. This is as big as i can fit without a move around of fernasure. This is big anough isn`t it?? If not i need to know asap, as i have ordered it and will need to ring them back. Ok back to origanal Q What should i put with bgk?

 

[pinkdolphin_113]

i, personally, have never seen a captive BGK at 20" as their natural size is only 4" more, i just don't think it'd happen... personally. the biggest one i've kept was a 17" specimen about 6 years ago.
the tank measurements given add up to 55/56 gallons which is stated as big enough for BGKs on alot of websites. fair enough, they can get to quite a big(gish) size but what do they do most of the time? lounge around lol



anyway, BGK's are hard to determine what can be housed with them. i've had 4 of these fish, because they're such amazing creatures, and not a single one has eaten another fish.
i've not kept one with fish like microrasboras (or whatever that fish is) but i've had 2 otos since my first BGK and they are still alive now.
i've had lots of angelfish over the years with BGKs too. not one was hurt or harrassed by a BGK. most of the angels paired up and had fry and most of the fry survived. whether some of the fry were eaten by the BGK or not i do not know but once they got to a certain size, they stopped disappearing.
i once had tetras too. none were eaten by the BGK (as far as i'm aware) and i stopped keeping neon tetras because my angelfish at the time were eating them.
i've also had a hillstream loach since the dawn of my fish keeping days which used to "hang out" with some of the BGKs. probably because they both liked to be in dark areas or something.

on the other hand, people have kept them and claimed them to be monsters, eating tetras and stuff.

i don't have a BGK anymore and don't think i'll get another one... 4 has been enough for me. i've also had enough of angels too lol