Shy Black Ghost Knife Fish

[xXLeafeonXx]

Hi all my aunt has a black ghost knife fish in a 75 gallon tank and its really shy.Does anyone know how it can overcome its shyness?

 

[Electric Warrior]

They are natural shy fish in general, but your aint is gonna need a bigger tank tbh.

 

[xXLeafeonXx]

Why?Some people keep them in 55 gallon.

 

[Electric Warrior]

. Just google and research them. I think the general consensus is like 100g min. They can grow to over a foot in aquariums sometimes, but regardless of size, they are active swimmers and require a lot of space.
Some people keep goldfish in bowls, but it isn't right.

 

[xXLeafeonXx]

I did it said 75 gallon min.

 

[Paradise3]

I did it said 75 gallon min.

 
Black Ghost Knifefish need a 180x60x60cm(6x2x2ft) tank which is a bare minimum of 648L(143G) so your Aunt's tank is too small. These fish can grow to 20in long and they stunt so easily it's unbelievable so it's absolutely vital that they have the right sized tank. They are shy fish so need a heavily planted set-up as well.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Even a 60cm (2 foot) wide and deep tank is not big enough, BGKs easily reach 50cm if given decent husbandry and they are not that flexible to turn corners, your looking at a 6x3x3 as an absolute minimum (way beyond most of us).
 
African Brown Knife Fish (Xenomystus nigri) on the other hand are much more manageable, they typically reach no more than 20cm.

 

[Paradise3]

Even a 60cm (2 foot) wide and deep tank is not big enough, BGKs easily reach 50cm if given decent husbandry and they are not that flexible to turn corners, your looking at a 6x3x3 as an absolute minimum (way beyond most of us).
 
African Brown Knife Fish (Xenomystus nigri) on the other hand are much more manageable, they typically reach no more than 20cm.

 
Yes, sorry I got mixed up. Sorry about that. I did meant 3ft not 2ft I was thinking of another fish when I was typing...

 

[xXLeafeonXx]

 Black Ghost knifefish get to a maximum size of 20" in the wild, but usually stop growing at 12" in home aquaria, although they may grow to 15" in a larger tank.
and 
Unfortunately you're going to have all kinds of problems with that tank. As was stated ghost knives need a really large tank (75g minimum) as they grow quite long.

 

[ncguppy830]

Even a 60cm (2 foot) wide and deep tank is not big enough, BGKs easily reach 50cm if given decent husbandry and they are not that flexible to turn corners, your looking at a 6x3x3 as an absolute minimum (way beyond most of us).
 
African Brown Knife Fish (Xenomystus nigri) on the other hand are much more manageable, they typically reach no more than 20cm.

OP look at this again.
 
 
 
 

 

[xXLeafeonXx]

But wiki says they don't even grow that big in the wild.It says they usually stop growing at about 15 inches. 

 

[Paradise3]

But wiki says they don't even grow that big in the wild.It says they usually stop growing at about 15 inches. 

 
No. They don't . Pretty sure someone on here had one that was 20in long. They get to 50cm in the wild. Don't believe everything Wiki says.

 

[ncguppy830]

well do i need to quote TTA again? wiki isnt the best source for fishkeeping.

 

[xXLeafeonXx]

Well my aunt isn't going to get a new fish tank but if it gets too big she'll give it away.

 

[ncguppy830]

maybe its for the best that you do that then the fish might get stunted.