Black Ghost Knife

[fryeguy82]

i was wondering if a ghost knife would do well in my tank and if i upgrade to a bigger one. i currently have a 55 US gal tank. i know this is too small as they need a tank with a 2 foot depth. i have plans to upgrade to a large tank in the future possibly a 120 US gal. (i work for a pet supply distributor ) i've read somewhere that they grow slowly. if this is true how long would he do well in a tank that has a 13 inch depth? most fish stores by me sell them about 5-6 inches long. just wondering if anybody knew how long it would take one to grow 4 or 5 more inches. oh yeah, my water is slightly brackish (for my puffers and scat) it has about 1.5 table spoons of salt per 5 gallons. my tank has a small gravel substrate, lots of plants, some driftwood (for plecs), and 2 caves (one is owned by the pim pictus )

thanks a lot,
chris

4 platys, 4 mollies, 4 red fin columbians, 2 congo tetras, 2 green spotted puffers, 1 green scat, 1 african butterfly fish, 1 pim pictus, 1 bristlenose plec, 1 albino bristlenose plec, 1 horsefaced loach

 

[Breeze7050]

All the fish listed are the ones in the 55G?

 

[fryeguy82]

All the fish listed are the ones in the 55G?

yes. The horsefaced loach stays under the gravel a lot, the pim pictus stays in his cave a lot during the day, the african butterfly fish is a surface dweller, the plecs enjoy their driftwood, and all of the others are under 3 inches and have never had any aggression issues. although, two of the younger male mollies have tried to have their way with the congos and the platys . religious water changes and good filter keep water conditions great. 0 ammonia and nitrites, low nitrates 10-20.

any help with the knife?

 

[Breeze7050]

I don't think you have enough room for him right now. Sorry. First of all, your tank parameters aren't quite right. Not to mention some of the fish you have should NOT be in brackish and others should be in a higher brackish. Ideally, I think you need to get a 2nd tank and do some seperation of fish. With the adult sizes of your fish, you are well overstocked without putting in another large fish. I would hold off until you can get a 2nd tank up and running.

 

[gettotank110]

id wait until you get a bigger tank 13 inches is a fine depth just the length is wut needs to be upgraded the salt in the water i dont know about but as far as tank mates go hes never had any scurries with any of my other fish and half my tank is bottom dwellers even a 5 inch rainbow shark he especially wont have any problems if you get him a ghost house i just bought 1 and since he found it he stayes in it he loves it they do hid all day witch is y i got him 1

 

[kittykitty]

The ghost knife will do fine in a 55 gal long, but those have an 18" depth. They will of course need an upgrade if they get to large to turn around comfortably in the tank, as they can reach 18" in length and live as long as 12-15 years if taken care of exceptionally well. They seem to grow about 4-6 inches per year, at least in my experience. They're my favorite. They like sand as a substrate also. Take care not to crowd him with too many tankmates, though he will enjoy a heavily planted (artificial is fine) aquarium and you'll see him come out a lot more this way. Also, if your aquarium is in a room with lots of natural light, you can leave the light off and this also promotes more activity. I house mine with some gouramis and african butterflies and they don't even have a tank light. Everything has been living in perfect harmony for years. Also, I've never used any aquarium salt with my ghosts.

 

[jayjay]

According to many people I've spoke to and my own experience 3" growth a year is good. A 90g would do easily for life.

 

[gettotank110]

those guys are so cool id get rid of some fish just to make room for him i love mine and hes my favorite fish to watch

 

[Jules H-T]

According to many people I've spoke to and my own experience 3" growth a year is good. A 90g would do easily for life.

Well someone should come and tell mine then- he's gone from 4 inches to over a foot in about a year, year and a bit I reckon.

He eats about 8 prawns and 3 mussels every 2 days, and goes on a hoovering mission for bloodworm too.

 

[rob newland]

I wouldn't feed him so much meaty food as this destroys water quality like nothing else.
Also he wont need to eat that much anyway.
Rob

 

[Jules H-T]

I wouldn't feed him so much meaty food as this destroys water quality like nothing else.
Also he wont need to eat that much anyway.
Rob

Do you recommend I feed less, feed different items (in which case what), or both?

 

[Darkstar]

Mine did the same, about 2-3" to approx. a foot in one year.

 

[NutMutt]

Got one recently myself. Deff one of the top three fish that I like these BGK's are...

 

[gettotank110]

and 2 any one this may intrest i just bought a ghost tube there about 3 dollars and they actually work he stays in it all day and now i can see him