Ghost Knifefish

[Apathetic-Irony]

Hello everybody -- This is my first post, and probably won't be my last

Anyways, I currently have a 55 gallon fish tank (brackish) with a Freshwater Snowflake Eel and a Silver Needle Nose Gar, but the tank feels a bit empty (even when I have 8 minnows swimming around). I am a fan of "rare" or aggressive fish that you usually won't find in your everyday tank (as my choice of a Needle Nose and Eel, hopefully, show).

While browsing the isles of a fish store (as I waited for the employee to net some feeders), I came across the Black Ghost Knifefish. This fish was very interesting -- It floats in a dark spot, hovering around like a ghost, and it wasn't very expensive ($11.99). Sadly the woman working didn't know anything about it, and I am not a fan of buying now and asking questions later... which leads me here.

And now to my question/need of advice: Would a Black Ghost Knife be a suitable choice for my tank? Will it be eaten by my Eel or Gar? Or will it end up harassing them? And finally, what kind of food does it eat and how big does it really get?

My biggest concern is getting along with the other fish or not growing too big for the tank. My tank has plenty of dark spots, two full out caves, PVC Piping (though that's for the eel), as well as short to tall plants, going from front to back respectively, throughout the tank. I'd much prefer if the Ghost Knife enjoyed either Frozen Krill, Blood Worms, or feeder fish, but I'd be willing to adjust.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[backley420]

All i know is - you will never see the fish once it is in your tank .. Always hides.. And if you walk in the room it will run.

 

[Apathetic-Irony]

All i know is - you will never see the fish once it is in your tank .. Always hides.. And if you walk in the room it will run.

The less it goes out into the open, the more of a gem it is when I see him -- I do not have a problem with fish that are shy (the fish tank is in my bedroom, which really only has me coming and going every so often).

 

[matt1713]

i don't think a black ghost knife is brackish and it won't fit in a 55 gallon

 

[Dorkhedeos]

ehh, bgks get up to like 20 inches, it should be fine with the eel, and the gar might be fine with it too, not really sure. im like 100% sure that you wont be seeing it much during the day. if you decide to buy it, buy one of those hamster trail tubes for it to hide in, then maybe you will be able to see it. hopefully, you will get a bigger tank than a 55 for the gar. i believe they need bigger tanks

 

[Daveo]

Wow it has been a long time since I've posted on these forums

Ok so I actually used to have a ghost knife in a 20long. It was alone and I quickily realized that it was not living in the best conditions and about a month later I returned it to the store I bought it from. From my experience with these fish I have noticed that they are for one very shy, and arn't big fans of light. I don't have any concernes with the Gar or Eel; but if you want a knife fish I think you would be just fine. Hope this helped and to anyone else who reads please correct me if there are any discrepencies (it's been a while since I've done this)

 

[dcfeeiv]

ive never kept one but i do know that they wont be happy in anything less than 70 gal and definatly wont be happy in brackish conditions

 

[matt1713]

so it will work in brackish?

 

[Apathetic-Irony]

Wow it has been a long time since I've posted on these forums

Ok so I actually used to have a ghost knife in a 20long. It was alone and I quickily realized that it was not living in the best conditions and about a month later I returned it to the store I bought it from. From my experience with these fish I have noticed that they are for one very shy, and arn't big fans of light. I don't have any concernes with the Gar or Eel; but if you want a knife fish I think you would be just fine. Hope this helped and to anyone else who reads please correct me if there are any discrepencies (it's been a while since I've done this)

So my only concerns should be:
1) Tank Size
2) Brackish Conditions
After quickly skimming the other forum areas (and realizing this perhaps wasn't the correct forum), it would seem that many people vary in how large their Ghost Knife grows (one person said 8" after 3 years), but if it indeed does reach 20", then a 55 is too small. My tank is low in terms of its levels (1.010), so I cannot see many fish having trouble with that.

As for the Needle Nose, I did quite a bit of research and learned a 55 is suitable as long as I have the top area of the tank open (which I do). I personally wouldn't put a Needle Nose is much smaller than a 55, though.

 

[Daveo]

Here is the thing about tank size. No matter how big the tank is, you'll never get it as big as a river where most of the worlds fish come from. Our job as aquarists is to ensure that we give the fish the best conditions possible. I don't believe the Ghosts are a brackish fish, but i think the clown knife would get better aquanted to the slightly salty conditions. One thing is that the Clown knife does get quite large (barely over 2').

So, to answer your question;
1) Tank size and tank mates are fine.
2) Brackish should be fine as long as you keep the tank water in excellent condition (they should get used to the brackish water). Try to buy them from someone who already has them in slightly brackish water.
3) Your knife Fish will probably not exceed a length of 8". In the wild they tend to grow about 50% larger.


I say go for it!

 

[Dorkhedeos]

Here is the thing about tank size. No matter how big the tank is, you'll never get it as big as a river where most of the worlds fish come from. Our job as aquarists is to ensure that we give the fish the best conditions possible. I don't believe the Ghosts are a brackish fish, but i think the clown knife would get better aquanted to the slightly salty conditions. One thing is that the Clown knife does get quite large (barely over 2').

So, to answer your question;
1) Tank size and tank mates are fine.
2) Brackish should be fine as long as you keep the tank water in excellent condition (they should get used to the brackish water). Try to buy them from someone who already has them in slightly brackish water.
3) Your knife Fish will probably not exceed a length of 8". In the wild they tend to grow about 50% larger.


I say go for it!

just to correct you, clown knives arent only slightly over 2', ive seen 3' ones raised in captivity, so that takes clowns out of the picture. bgks grow a lot bigger than 8 inches in captivity. ive seen one that is 18 inches, 2 inches shorter than what its max size is supposed to be. if you have a 8" adult bgk, either it got stunted, or you got a dwarf(rare). maybe you should go with some smaller knives like a african brown knife or something

 

[Daveo]

Ooops haha Dorkhedeos has a point. I was thinking of the African knife when I wrote the length. The Ghost will get quite large in comparison to most fish, still not as large as the clown Knife and bigger than the African Knife. But considering your tank is only 55gals I would say that it wouldn't grow much past a foot.

 

[ArauraDiscus]

It is a very bold fish actually. It's nocturnal and hides in the day but can be very friendly and bold. It will hardly hide and never be seen again. It can be agressive but with what you have, you should be fine. And it isn't brackish whatsoever. It cannot stand any salt as it's from the amazon where the salt content is basically nill.

 

[Midwife33]

I have a Ghost Knife and he's no more shy than many others in my tank! He loves the frozen bloodworm cubes I buy and eats it out of my hand. I think the key is to have lots of cover for them to hide in if they feel danger is near. My tank is heavily planted so there's always somewhere nearby for him to duck into if he feels threatened. You might have guessed he's my fav fish!!! Here he his....

Lisaxx

 

[weston adam]

I have one and I get to see plenty of it at feeding time , a store that I don't shop at all that often sold me a pair, two days later one was daed, I checked with my local shop that I get most of my fish from and he told me they should never be sold in pairs, anyway if you decide to get it enjoy.

Hello everybody -- This is my first post, and probably won't be my last

Anyways, I currently have a 55 gallon fish tank (brackish) with a Freshwater Snowflake Eel and a Silver Needle Nose Gar, but the tank feels a bit empty (even when I have 8 minnows swimming around). I am a fan of "rare" or aggressive fish that you usually won't find in your everyday tank (as my choice of a Needle Nose and Eel, hopefully, show).

While browsing the isles of a fish store (as I waited for the employee to net some feeders), I came across the Black Ghost Knifefish. This fish was very interesting -- It floats in a dark spot, hovering around like a ghost, and it wasn't very expensive ($11.99). Sadly the woman working didn't know anything about it, and I am not a fan of buying now and asking questions later... which leads me here.

And now to my question/need of advice: Would a Black Ghost Knife be a suitable choice for my tank? Will it be eaten by my Eel or Gar? Or will it end up harassing them? And finally, what kind of food does it eat and how big does it really get?

My biggest concern is getting along with the other fish or not growing too big for the tank. My tank has plenty of dark spots, two full out caves, PVC Piping (though that's for the eel), as well as short to tall plants, going from front to back respectively, throughout the tank. I'd much prefer if the Ghost Knife enjoyed either Frozen Krill, Blood Worms, or feeder fish, but I'd be willing to adjust.

Any help is greatly appreciated!