Ghost Knife

[Clown loach lover]

I just bought one of these fish and it has died. Does anyone have any experience of looking after these elegant fish. i have checked with dealer and i did everythikng ok, but something must be wrong.

 

[Darkstar]

I have one and find it to be quite a robust fish...so water parameters, tank size, other tank inhabitants data would be helpful in trying to figure out why it died.

 

[my fat fish]

ive never had any luck with them either i hear they can get expencive how much did you pay?

 

[Clown loach lover]

I paid 12 quid for it. The tank is a trigon 190, have just upgraded from a rekord 80 tank. Parameters are ok but will retest today. other inhabitants are clown loaches, guppies, angels, betta, silver dollar, tetras, plec, swordtails...all peacefull fish. Thanks for replying.

 

[ringham]

I cant see anything rong with the above although the arrangement of the interior can be quite important. They must have an area where they feel secure such as a pipe, where they hav walls on either side of themselves.

 

[karmagl]

I took an extra peice of tubing from my filter and I have had mine for about 8 months. He loves to hide in the tube because though it is clear he thinks we can't see him. You can buy them at the store they are called like ghost knife tubes but I find it cheaper to use a NEW hamster tube or extra tubing. You pay more for the name "ghost knife" house. And not sure what you fed yours but I feed mine blood worms and plankton.

 

[showjyr]

I took an extra peice of tubing from my filter and I have had mine for about 8 months. He loves to hide in the tube because though it is clear he thinks we can't see him. You can buy them at the store they are called like ghost knife tubes but I find it cheaper to use a NEW hamster tube or extra tubing. You pay more for the name "ghost knife" house. And not sure what you fed yours but I feed mine blood worms and plankton.

I have a 7-8inch BGK and have read and been told by others that the clear tubes should not be used because though they are a little blind any bright light can be harmful to there eyes. I bought one of those floating logs with holes in it and weighted it down with a large rock. He's made it his home for about 6 months. He only gets a little nippy when other fish try to come in and take his food.

 

[Clown loach lover]

have loads of hiding places as i have clowns. Feed on all foods especialy bloodworms. Shame because he was gorgeous.

 

[andywg]

I have a 7-8inch BGK and have read and been told by others that the clear tubes should not be used because though they are a little blind any bright light can be harmful to there eyes. I bought one of those floating logs with holes in it and weighted it down with a large rock. He's made it his home for about 6 months. He only gets a little nippy when other fish try to come in and take his food.

If they are blind then they are going to be insensitive (or at least less sensitive) to light, meaning they are less likely to worry about light. If bright light really bothered them they wouldn't go in the clear tubes to sleep, just like most don't lay in the open to sleep.

It is the sensation of being in a more enclosed space they seem to prefer, hence how you can "trick" them into sleeping where you can see them: in a transparent tube.

 

[palaeodave]

If they are blind then they are going to be insensitive (or at least less sensitive) to light, meaning they are less likely to worry about light. If bright light really bothered them they wouldn't go in the clear tubes to sleep, just like most don't lay in the open to sleep.

It is the sensation of being in a more enclosed space they seem to prefer, hence how you can "trick" them into sleeping where you can see them: in a transparent tube.

That's not necessarily true. It's quite possible that they have poor visual acuity while still being very light sensitive. As for 'tricking' them into the pipe it could be that they prefer feeling a pipe around them (with their electrical field) to not having one at all, no matter what the light situation is. They're nocturnal fish, they should be allowed to stay in the dark if they want.

 

[andywg]

That's not necessarily true. It's quite possible that they have poor visual acuity while still being very light sensitive. As for 'tricking' them into the pipe it could be that they prefer feeling a pipe around them (with their electrical field) to not having one at all, no matter what the light situation is. They're nocturnal fish, they should be allowed to stay in the dark if they want.

Almost any tank has a dark spot or spots. If the BGK really cared that much about light they would not go in the pipe and hide down in a dark area.

I have noticed no preference in my two between light or dark areas, only that they prefer to find somewhere somewhat more enclosed during the day (and preferably away from the other BGK). Even people who breed BGK point out that the clear pipe trick works, and if the fish is breeding then you can be pretty sure it is happy in its surroundings.

On an aside, if they really care so much about staying out of the light, why is that when I was trying planting that I would find the first of my BGK sleeping out in full light of 300W of Metal Halide when there were plenty of caves and bogwood that was dark to hide in? As there was no pipe he tended to sleep next to some swords that curved over slightly offering a semi-cave. Doesn't sound to me like a nocturnal fish that demands darkness.

 

[palaeodave]

That's all fair enough, I was just batting around some ideas