How Clumsy Are Black Ghost Knives?

[cuticom]

I've never read anything about them being clumsy, just lots of comments about their ability to use electric pulses to navigate. I got my BGK a few days ago and he seems in good health, he eats a cube of frozen food himself, swims around, acts like a moray eel popping his head out of his 'bottle' now and then. He lives in a clear glass bottle within in the tank, he does come out it's just his favorite hiding place, but all though he navigates perfection most of the time, as soon as he smells food he forgets where the entrance is and starts running into the sides, would this just be normal food frenzy behavior or something else?

 

[dnn3]

i'm not really sure but consider yourself lucky. i see my bgk for about 30 seconds every morning. when i turn on the tank light he heads for his hiding place. probably the best 30 seconds of my day though. hopefully somebody has an answer because i would like to know also.

 

[cuticom]

Really have you tried putting a clear glass bottle or vase in? their virtually blind so find the clear glass as safe a hidey hole as somewhere dark.

 

[Snooks1!]

I've heard that if you dimmed your lights that they come out much more during the day. Possibly add a light shade, or some floating plants to block out some of the light.

I'm saying this from what I have read, not experience....So keep that in mind.

 

[Mr._Fishy]

i'm not really sure but consider yourself lucky. i see my bgk for about 30 seconds every morning. when i turn on the tank light he heads for his hiding place. probably the best 30 seconds of my day though. hopefully somebody has an answer because i would like to know also.

If you provide them with a heavily planted tank with some driftwood they generally are much more "brave". Mine certainly is.

Ryan

EDIT: If you do what Snooks1! said, that will also help them come out more.

 

[dnn3]

fake plants or real ones? i have seen it done both ways so i don't know which is better. oh yeah, no ones answered yet. are they clumbsy?

 

[darknirvana217]

Knives aren't necessarily clumsy. They use electrical impulses as their navigation system which bounces off other fish, wood, plants, and so on. hes in a new enviroment that he is trying to navigate and put together in his head. He is trying to find the food and at the same to avoid a collision with his surroundings. There's nothing wrong him, hes just trying to navigate around the tank. Imagine a blind person and a cane in a new area. They do like dimmer lights, they are primarily nocturnal, and do like wood and plants in their tank.

 

[invader]

Imagine a blind person and a cane in a new area.

That really is the best way to describe the way a knife acts in a new environment.

I, too, thought there was something wrong with my knives when I first got them (don't have them anymore, but kept them for a while). They eventually get used to it and stop running into things. Also, he might have trouble getting a signal with the glass bottle. Who knows?

 

[cuticom]

Okey dokes thanks.

The tanks set up for him so the light is just a ten watt clip on which is very very dim, as in doesn't reach the corners of the tank, doesn't seem to affect him at all.