Vip
Smily this!
But then again, it would always be better to get a larger knife, works good both ways really, the oscar wont look at him as food and you dont have to wait till it gets to that size, just buy it at a large size.
electrical fish together?
- Thread starter Silva_Fishy
- Start date
BGK can go with discus, but firemouths can get quite aggresive when breeding, so i don't think discus are a good choice
bryce2003
New Member
At the risk of starting something I have 2 BGK's and 2 Elephant Noses in the one tank. One BGK is 25cm and the other is only 12cm. There is some aggression shown between these two BGK's but only at feeding time when one gets in the way of another or takes it's food, never at any other stage.
I have about 70 fish in the 8ft tank that it is in, some of these fish are Blue Rams at around 3cm, a danio, Humpheads and a few different sorts of Corydora's. All of these are no bigger than 3 cm at the current stage, with other larger fish as well.
As for the Elephant Noses the only aggression showed towards them is from each other. At no stage has any one of the BGK's showed any sign of aggression towards the Elephant Noses, believe me I know this as I am fanatical about BGK's and have sat there many a night with a dim torch to note their habits.
The only REAL aggression showed towards any other fish was a troublesome Black Shark. The Black Shark was 15cm at that stage (the BGK being about 20cm) and was terrorising the tank, I was waiting for a bloke to pick it up as I was selling it. After the Black Shark killed a few of my smaller sized fish it made the wrong move in taking the BGK's hiding spot. The BGK ripped it apart with no drama's what so ever. This is the first and last time that it has taken on a fish, if it does have a go at the other BGK it will nudge it but never open it's mouth or has it tried to rip it apart as it did with the Black Shark.
Now you may think that it is aggressive especially if other fish are in or near it's own spot. IN MY EXPERIENCE this is not true with the BGK's THAT I HAVE. I have 4 Clown Loaches at the 5cm mark and 2 Asian Bumblebee Catfish around 8-9cm that live behind the same stump as the big BGK. The Clown loaches above the BGK and the 2 Bumblebees live at the bottom with the BGK. Other fish also at various times during the day will venture in behind the stump and come out again when they have finshed their business, never chased out. I even have a mate who has an Asian Bumblebee Catfish that does the same.
I have another mate who has a 4ftx2ftx2ft (LxWxH) tank set up for BGK's. He has 10 BGK's in the tank that are around the 8cm mark now. The tank has a bit of driftwood along the back, a couple of plants in the back corners and a clay pot sort of thing with holes all the way up and around it which is in the centre of the tank. I have also sat and watched his tank with the light out and a dim torch in order to see their nocturnal habits on several occasions to compare differences. I have never noted anything in the way of outward aggression. Only the nudging that I have previously described. All the BGK's do all day is to swim in and around this feature and he has never had a single death in his tank. The tank has been set up in this way for around 5-6months now.
Also I live in Queensland, Australia and yes BGK's have been bred here but far from accidently. I know personnally of 4 different people who have bred BGK's with 4 different pairs. There is also at least another 8-10 people at least who have breeding pairs that I am aware of, with one person from all accounts having around 7-8 breeding pairs. Soon I will hopefully have my set up finshed in order to join the BGK breeders list. As with all fish compatibility is the key.
Also from what I have found from researching BGK's it seems that both the BGK and the Elephant Noses use differeing frequencies in the electrical fields they use which would explain why many people haven't noticed any indifference with the interaction of these fish. Again I have personnally seen both species feeding side by side almost daily in my tank with no drama's or side effects from this, I have had many a conversation with a lot of different people on this matter and we have all come to the same conclusion as we have all had the same experiences in this regard. Nor has it been seen to interfere with their own feeding habits or any other habits for that matter. However there will and is always exceptions to this.
The last thing that I will add is that all the above are my own opinions and experiences gained through research and observations. Don't believe all that you read on the net, sometimes personnal experiences differ along with opinions and is the best guide. The true beauty of fish keeping is that it is so unpredictable and a continual challenge no matter what fish you prefer.
The only two bits of advice I give anyone in regards to fish keeping it to give it a go and see for yourself. Fish are like humans in that they have their own personalities, notoriously aggressive fish sometimes aren't and can sometimes live with quiet submissive fish without any dramas and some submisive fish sometimes turn out aggressive. I'm not saying that it is the case all the time but it has been known to occur.
The other bit of advice that I give, having learnt through my own experineces is younger fish put in together seem to grow a better tolerance for their known tank mates than those that are introduced later. Although my big BGK was added at 15cm to a tank full of smallish juvenile fish and I never once had a fish death out of it. So this sort of contradicts the above but has worked well for me so far and is something that I try to stick to with my tanks.
I hope this helps, DON'T be put off from getting these fish as they are a unique fish that in my personnal experience goes well with most fish.
Cheers,
Bryce.
I have about 70 fish in the 8ft tank that it is in, some of these fish are Blue Rams at around 3cm, a danio, Humpheads and a few different sorts of Corydora's. All of these are no bigger than 3 cm at the current stage, with other larger fish as well.
As for the Elephant Noses the only aggression showed towards them is from each other. At no stage has any one of the BGK's showed any sign of aggression towards the Elephant Noses, believe me I know this as I am fanatical about BGK's and have sat there many a night with a dim torch to note their habits.
The only REAL aggression showed towards any other fish was a troublesome Black Shark. The Black Shark was 15cm at that stage (the BGK being about 20cm) and was terrorising the tank, I was waiting for a bloke to pick it up as I was selling it. After the Black Shark killed a few of my smaller sized fish it made the wrong move in taking the BGK's hiding spot. The BGK ripped it apart with no drama's what so ever. This is the first and last time that it has taken on a fish, if it does have a go at the other BGK it will nudge it but never open it's mouth or has it tried to rip it apart as it did with the Black Shark.
Now you may think that it is aggressive especially if other fish are in or near it's own spot. IN MY EXPERIENCE this is not true with the BGK's THAT I HAVE. I have 4 Clown Loaches at the 5cm mark and 2 Asian Bumblebee Catfish around 8-9cm that live behind the same stump as the big BGK. The Clown loaches above the BGK and the 2 Bumblebees live at the bottom with the BGK. Other fish also at various times during the day will venture in behind the stump and come out again when they have finshed their business, never chased out. I even have a mate who has an Asian Bumblebee Catfish that does the same.
I have another mate who has a 4ftx2ftx2ft (LxWxH) tank set up for BGK's. He has 10 BGK's in the tank that are around the 8cm mark now. The tank has a bit of driftwood along the back, a couple of plants in the back corners and a clay pot sort of thing with holes all the way up and around it which is in the centre of the tank. I have also sat and watched his tank with the light out and a dim torch in order to see their nocturnal habits on several occasions to compare differences. I have never noted anything in the way of outward aggression. Only the nudging that I have previously described. All the BGK's do all day is to swim in and around this feature and he has never had a single death in his tank. The tank has been set up in this way for around 5-6months now.
Also I live in Queensland, Australia and yes BGK's have been bred here but far from accidently. I know personnally of 4 different people who have bred BGK's with 4 different pairs. There is also at least another 8-10 people at least who have breeding pairs that I am aware of, with one person from all accounts having around 7-8 breeding pairs. Soon I will hopefully have my set up finshed in order to join the BGK breeders list. As with all fish compatibility is the key.
Also from what I have found from researching BGK's it seems that both the BGK and the Elephant Noses use differeing frequencies in the electrical fields they use which would explain why many people haven't noticed any indifference with the interaction of these fish. Again I have personnally seen both species feeding side by side almost daily in my tank with no drama's or side effects from this, I have had many a conversation with a lot of different people on this matter and we have all come to the same conclusion as we have all had the same experiences in this regard. Nor has it been seen to interfere with their own feeding habits or any other habits for that matter. However there will and is always exceptions to this.
The last thing that I will add is that all the above are my own opinions and experiences gained through research and observations. Don't believe all that you read on the net, sometimes personnal experiences differ along with opinions and is the best guide. The true beauty of fish keeping is that it is so unpredictable and a continual challenge no matter what fish you prefer.
The only two bits of advice I give anyone in regards to fish keeping it to give it a go and see for yourself. Fish are like humans in that they have their own personalities, notoriously aggressive fish sometimes aren't and can sometimes live with quiet submissive fish without any dramas and some submisive fish sometimes turn out aggressive. I'm not saying that it is the case all the time but it has been known to occur.
The other bit of advice that I give, having learnt through my own experineces is younger fish put in together seem to grow a better tolerance for their known tank mates than those that are introduced later. Although my big BGK was added at 15cm to a tank full of smallish juvenile fish and I never once had a fish death out of it. So this sort of contradicts the above but has worked well for me so far and is something that I try to stick to with my tanks.
I hope this helps, DON'T be put off from getting these fish as they are a unique fish that in my personnal experience goes well with most fish.
Cheers,
Bryce.
vantgE
I know you agree
Thanks bryce,
I still doubt i would ever put two together but you all have convinced me that it will work
wlecome though are you planning on sticking around
I still doubt i would ever put two together but you all have convinced me that it will work
wlecome though are you planning on sticking around
good points .............welcome to the forumHave you seen my bgk ballet thread? You would sit in awe watching them interact this way...it is a truly amazing and beautiful experience.vantgE said:Thanks bryce,
I still doubt i would ever put two together but you all have convinced me that it will work
vantgE
I know you agree
yes i did see it was very cool, maybe you could get a video eh?
i know my cam does little clips...i just can't figure out how it does..lolvantgE said:
i've had those bgk together for a year now,without any problem...there is also a much smaller one in the tank..no trouble for him either
Vip
Smily this!
Wow, very well stated, and i have to agree with him on two BGK and 2 Elephants would work in a 8ft tank for sure i think anything would. In my 511g tank im hoping to put 2 BGK but only because of the size of the tank im hoping they wont get in the way of each other.
Did you see your knife attack the black shark?
Did you see your knife attack the black shark?
vantgE
I know you agree
oh, 
sorry ice that's vip that had the videos,but if you do get some please put them on the internet 
sorry ice that's vip that had the videos,but if you do get some please put them on the internet bryce2003
New Member
Thanks everyone for the welcome. As far as sticking around that would be a definate yes.
Did I see the BGK take apart the Black Shark? Did I what, it was one of the most clinical demonstrations of pure aggression that I have seen when it comes to fish. It took all of about 5 seconds at the most. It actually did rip it in 2. It didn't however drag it back to it's lair and eat it but left it to float.
One thing that I forgot to mention in my post is that generally BGK's won't eat whole fish but rather will eat their eyeballs as they consider it to be a delicacy. Therefore it might pay to check out some of the other fish in the tank if whole fish are disappearing. The way to overcome this problem however is to feed them adequately.
Also the myth that they don't eat flake is wrong. Both of mine eat it in the same way they do bloodworms or whatever else I feed them.
Blueice, no I haven't seen your ballet thread. Could you point me in the direction of it and I'll check it out.
Thanks again for the welcome and here's to many a good chat.
Cheers,
Bryce.
Did I see the BGK take apart the Black Shark? Did I what, it was one of the most clinical demonstrations of pure aggression that I have seen when it comes to fish. It took all of about 5 seconds at the most. It actually did rip it in 2. It didn't however drag it back to it's lair and eat it but left it to float.
One thing that I forgot to mention in my post is that generally BGK's won't eat whole fish but rather will eat their eyeballs as they consider it to be a delicacy. Therefore it might pay to check out some of the other fish in the tank if whole fish are disappearing. The way to overcome this problem however is to feed them adequately.
Also the myth that they don't eat flake is wrong. Both of mine eat it in the same way they do bloodworms or whatever else I feed them.
Blueice, no I haven't seen your ballet thread. Could you point me in the direction of it and I'll check it out.
Thanks again for the welcome and here's to many a good chat.
Cheers,
Bryce.
Ok, i have been spending some time around the forum and have found some very good info, now its time for me to step in on this.
I had a 30cm Black Ghost Knife in my 8ftx2ftx2ft tank along with 2 Oscars, 1 Jaguar and a very tame Trimac that i had since a fry.
I loved the Ghosts so much i wanted to get another one, but seeing the fish in my tank i though i had better get a large one as well i found one for $150 and it was well over 30cm as the guy was paying for it i spotted a elephant nose, now this is the first time i had come across one, well it ended up comeing home with me as well in differnt bags.
When i got home i put the bags on top of the water for the temp to warm up, right away my other ghost came out and attacked the bag, the knife in the bag was under a huge amount of stress, so i thought it was better to just put it in my other 3ft tank for now. The elephant nose i let in there, it got chased by my cichlids but hid behind alot of rocking and was safe from my big boys, but not from my Knife it launched at the elephant grabbing it and digging it into the ground, then all the sudden, nothing.....the knife went on like nothing had happend, it was like it knew it had killed it some how. I was really disapointed by it and i got my money back from the shop after a heated agrument. When i got home i put the other knife in, same thing happend again they started to fight right under the light, they didnt care, it was like blood was just on there mind, as it always seems like that when you see them fight though...
Now....Im not saying this will happen all the time, but this is what happend to me, so if someone asked me if its ok, i would say no, hell no, of course not, but if they were to ask blueice who doesnt seem to have to much experiance on these fish, he would say yes (I ment no offence at all) Vip i would agree with 110% all the way on this, because it seems like we have had the same experiance with knifes.
Sorry if i seemed hard but after you said look at the LFS and how they have alot in there, you kinda made yourself look like a tool.
I had a 30cm Black Ghost Knife in my 8ftx2ftx2ft tank along with 2 Oscars, 1 Jaguar and a very tame Trimac that i had since a fry.
I loved the Ghosts so much i wanted to get another one, but seeing the fish in my tank i though i had better get a large one as well i found one for $150 and it was well over 30cm as the guy was paying for it i spotted a elephant nose, now this is the first time i had come across one, well it ended up comeing home with me as well in differnt bags.
When i got home i put the bags on top of the water for the temp to warm up, right away my other ghost came out and attacked the bag, the knife in the bag was under a huge amount of stress, so i thought it was better to just put it in my other 3ft tank for now. The elephant nose i let in there, it got chased by my cichlids but hid behind alot of rocking and was safe from my big boys, but not from my Knife it launched at the elephant grabbing it and digging it into the ground, then all the sudden, nothing.....the knife went on like nothing had happend, it was like it knew it had killed it some how. I was really disapointed by it and i got my money back from the shop after a heated agrument. When i got home i put the other knife in, same thing happend again they started to fight right under the light, they didnt care, it was like blood was just on there mind, as it always seems like that when you see them fight though...
Now....Im not saying this will happen all the time, but this is what happend to me, so if someone asked me if its ok, i would say no, hell no, of course not, but if they were to ask blueice who doesnt seem to have to much experiance on these fish, he would say yes (I ment no offence at all) Vip i would agree with 110% all the way on this, because it seems like we have had the same experiance with knifes.
Sorry if i seemed hard but after you said look at the LFS and how they have alot in there, you kinda made yourself look like a tool.
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