Black Ghost Knife Fish Tank Mates?

[richardnorris]

Hi,

Can anyone suggest good tank mates for a black ghost knife fish? He is in with 2 angels and 3 Hoplosternum catfish.

A couple of thoughts were

Red tail black shark? would they be too aggressive
Silver shark
plec

Any advice and other suggestions would be gratefully recieved.

Thanks

Richard

 

[PRW1988]

BGKs tank mates include things larger than their mouths, everthing you've listed should be alright, however I recommend keeping away from things such as larger more agressive cichlids (ie. Oscars and Jack Dempsys), and any type of bichir, I learn the hard way that a nice 3" BGK makes a tasty snack for a 10" Senegal bichir...

 

[Straydum]

wow i didnt know bichirs make meals out of bgks. that aside, anything that u think cant be eaten would be save

 

[branjie]

I had a red tailed black shark in with my Black Ghost, and ended up having to take the shark out of the tank and give him to the LFS. The shark harassed the Black Ghost so much he wasn't coming out for food. The shark basically did the rounds of the tank upsetting nearly all the fish, and wouldn't let anyone in the castle. Now the shark is gone, my Black Ghost lives in the castle and is becoming more confident to venture out each day.

Plecs are brilliant. They clean your tank, and don't have conflicts with anyone.

 

[richardnorris]

Thanks. I was getting that impression about red tailed blacks, I won't bother with one of those.

Cheers.

Richard

 

[Darkstar]

They clean your tank, and don't have conflicts with anyone.

if only....

 

[branjie]

Darkstar who do your plecs have conflicts with?

One thing about plecs is you definitely need check out how big it is going to grow before you buy it.

 

[PRW1988]

Plecs are great fish, however since their diet is 90% vegetation they produce ALOT of waste.

 

[BIG SHARK]

i had a gold severum in with my BGK and the severum killed it, so avoid any cichlids

 

[the_evil_duboisi]

Some tankmates I have seen over the years....

Cory catfish
Rams
Mollies
Polypterids
Gars
Rocket gar
Silver dollar
Arowana
Geophagus sp, I think they look great together!
Chinese high-fin shark
Ctenopoma
Spiny eel
Clown loach
Frontosa(Relatively Peaseful african cichlid)
Apple snail
Plecos
Synodontis
Gouramis

To name just a few. I don';t think they would all work out, however.....

Oh yeah, never with bettas, the ghosts skin them.

 

[DarkEntity]

You are aware that a BGK will grow to and in some cases given proper care more than 20"+

 

[odettebottier]

Bonjour!

Everything you've listed should work out fine :]
My personal favorite are bichirs. Depending on the size of your knifefish, you can probably get a bichir the same sized. They usually make good tank mates as long as one isn't overly bigger than the other. If your tank is on smaller side, senegal bichir should be alright, but if you have a BIG tank, ornate bichir should suit the size better. ...and they are super gorgeous! :]]

Good luck!

xoxo,
Odette

 

[Squidman]

I think that some cichlids would do well with that the black ghost knife fish. Green terrors or blue acaras might do great as well.

 

[Darkstar]

Darkstar who do your plecs have conflicts with?

One thing about plecs is you definitely need check out how big it is going to grow before you buy it.

My BGKF doesn't have conflicts with anyone, I keep mine with mostly plecs and they get one fine. I was more disagreeing that plecs clean your tank....as they generally produce far more waste than what they might clean.

 

[darknirvana217]

plecos would be fine, but the sharks nay be fin nippers. Also, i would avoid any large territorial cichlids, and go with geophagus or something else thats more docile. Black ghosts knifes can get relatively large and are predatory. so don't put anything in their smaller than the size of its mouth. how large is your tank?