Black Ghost Knife Fish

[FrankSlapperinni]

I know that there have probably been a lot of topics like this in the past, so I apologize if this is exactly like another topic, but I have to know, what are the requirements for keeping a BGK? Stuff like the size of the tank, tank mates, feeding, filtration, ect.

 

[impur]

Black Ghost Knifefish

Sci Name: Apteronotus albifrons
Family: Apteronotidae
Origin: NS America
Max Size: 20" usually smaller
pH: Neutral
Temp: 73-80 F.
Tank Size: 75 Gallons
Feeding: Omnivorous
Maintenance:
The aquarium for the Black ghost should be large with a small grained substrate. It should be fairly densely planted with many floating plants. The floating plants will help the fish overcome its shyness as it is nocturnal and sensitive to bright lights. Driftwood is also recommended along with some sort of inert piping for the fish to hide in. The water should be soft, and kept at a temperature of between seventy-five and eighty-two degrees. The pH should be neutral to acid. Feeding should be a mix of live tubifex brine shrimp and meaty frozen foods. The Black ghost is sensitive to water pollutants, changes in water conditions, and medications. Although timid they are aggressive to their own kind but can be housed with other large peaceful fish such as Angelfish, Discus and Gourami.



Biotope:
Found in fast flowing waters of rivers and streams with a sandy bottom


Breeding:

Little (or nothing) is known of their sexing and breeding habits. It has been reported that they are being bred in Indonesia

 

[mrV]

And it's predator, don't put any small fish into the same tank.

 

[FrankSlapperinni]

would I be able to put a few Firemouths in with it? or would they be too agressive?

 

[superman]

probably would be too aggressive, I keep my 13 inch BGK in with a fire eel, clown knife, needle fish, and leopard Ctenopoma.

 

[impur]

It would be ok with a firemouth. Firemouths really aren't that aggressive. The knife will hide most of the day anyhow. It does depend on the individual fish, but all the firemouths i have kept have been very timid. About as aggressive as an angel. I have even kept firemouths with BGK. Go for it.

 

[FrankSlapperinni]

I said fire mouths because I read that they are a little more peaceful than most south american cichlids and stay alot smaller (though still pretty big) compared to a lot of cichlids.
does anyone know if my water NEEDS to be neutral to acidic to provide for this fish, or would that just be the ideal range? also, if it needs to be low, waht kind of non chemical altering ways can I lower it?

 

[impur]

What is your PH at now? You should be ok, because the lfs usually doesn't make changes to their water. To be absolutely sure that the fish will be ok, you could acclimate it slowly by putting the fish in a container. About every 30 min or so, add a cup of your tank water to the container, and remove a cup as well. Do this for a couple hours to help the fish become acustomed to your tank water.

 

[FrankSlapperinni]

I was just concerned because I know my water is very alkaline ( 7.6 to 8 ish) and I thought that this might be a little to much for it to handle. also, does anyone know what the minimum tank size should be, because I have read different things on different sites saying from 25 gal. to over 125 gal.

 

[impur]

At a very minimum 55 gal. The fish will get 18"-20" when mature. Consider most 55 gal tanks are only 13.5" wide. Makes it hard for the fish to turn around. The footprint of the tank is what matters here. You don't need a necessarily tall tank. If you had a tank that was 48" long, 20" wide, 12" high you would have about a 50 gal tank. Would be plenty for the BGK.

 

[mrV]

does anyone know what the minimum tank size should be, because I have read different things on different sites saying from 25 gal. to over 125 gal.

125gal is too small.. You should think about buying first atleast 250gal and it isn't enough either when fish is an adult. Like Impur said the fish is big, and it means BIG.

When thinking how large tank fish needs, you can think like "Fish adult size is 10cm, it's not fas swimmer, so 10*10cm=100cm long tank would be ok" But if the fish is fast swimmer, 100cm tank isn't very good choice, 120-130cm sounds better.

Like in this case, fish adult size is 50cm, so the tank should be atleast 2m long and quite wide.

In my opinion, Black Ghost Knifefish shoudn't be sold to homes at all (only to commercial large tank), because only few hobbiests have tank that is big enough.

 

[slt]

just a word of warning , i had a bgkf in my comunity tank a while ago,
and it killed one of my red female rainbow fish wich was'nt a small fish infact it was a good size before i took it back to my lfs i observed it several times trying to attack my angels, wich were both a good size fish,

 

[impur]

125gal is too small.. You should think about buying first atleast 250gal and it isn't enough either when fish is an adult

I think this is a bit extreme. We aren't talking about a large SA/CA cichlid that will need that size because it claims the entire tank as territory. The BGK isn't territorial so a huge tank isn't needed. It does need to be big enough for the fish to live naturally, but a 18-20" wide tank would be sufficient.

 

[FrankSlapperinni]

are there any types of large african cichlids I could keep with it? I am planning on trying to save up for a 75 gallon for the BGK but I was curious on some other tankmates for it.