Tank mates for Black ghost knife fish

[ember04]

I always use black ones.

great thats what ill use and nice video I love the movement of the fin

 

[FF_Member146894]

you can make hills of substrate on top of the pipes if you're worried about aesthetic

@Byron why only 5 banjo catfish, this is a huge tank, especially considering that he doesn't have many fish that will fight over the bottom of the tank

 

[FF_Member146894]

The knifefish doesn’t.

why not
have you ever tried to keep one in a planted tank and failed or are you guessing based on behavior

 

[Byron]

does everyone think roman nose anglefish (pterophyllum leopoldi) would work well i think they are really intresting fish in a large group

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Angelfish do work well with the black ghost knifefish. They share the same requirements respecting light, water flow (minimal), lots of branches, etc. You will be best with a sand substrate, as this species especially (among the Pterophyllum) likes to sift the sand for food.

Other information, may be of interest to some:

In 1998, Sven Kullander erected the subfamily Cichlasomatinae for several genera including Pterophyllum. P. leopoldi was the last of the angelfish species to be described, and that was done by J. Gosse in 1963, although he placed it in the old genus Plataxoides because he thought the name Pterophyllum had been used for a genus of insects; Schultz in 1967 ascertained that the insect genus is actually Pterophylla, so under the rules of the ICZN Pterophyllum was available. The genus name comes from the Greek pteron [= fin, sail] and phyllon [= leaf], meaning "winged leaf" which is a reference to the dorsal fin. The species epithet honours King Leopold III of Belgium (1901-1990) who collected the type specimens from which Gosse described and named the species.

In 1979, Warren Burgess considered P. scalare and P. altum to be variants of the same species, and for a time in the literature they were subspecies known as P. scalare scalare and P. scalare altum respectively, with the "second" distinct species P. leopoldi. In 1986, Sven Kullander determined there are three valid and distinct species, P. scalare, P. altum and P. leopoldi.

This species (P. leopoldi) is very rare in the hobby; when it is imported it is sometimes under the incorrect name Pterophyllum dumerilii. [This invalid species name was originally assigned to a specimen of P. scalare by Castelnau in 1855 who described the fish and called it Plataxoides dumerilii. Guenther sorted this out and decided on Pterophyllum scalare as the valid name; there is to date no distinct species P. dumerilii.]

 

[Byron]

you can make hills of substrate on top of the pipes if you're worried about aesthetic

@Byron why only 5 banjo catfish, this is a huge tank, especially considering that he doesn't have many fish that will fight over the bottom of the tank

A larger group is fine, not sure where the five came from but I think it was the OP's suggestion... .

 

[FF_Member146894]

A larger group is fine, not sure where the five came from but I think it was the OP's suggestion... .

you suggested "maybe five" in a previous post
nevermind though

 

[ember04]

A larger group is fine, not sure where the five came from but I think it was the OP's suggestion... .

yeah that 5 was just a ruff esitmate but ill proberbly do a group closer to 10

 

[ember04]

Angelfish do work well with the black ghost knifefish. They share the same requirements respecting light, water flow (minimal), lots of branches, etc. You will be best with a sand substrate, as this species especially (among the Pterophyllum) likes to sift the sand for food.

Other information, may be of interest to some:

In 1998, Sven Kullander erected the subfamily Cichlasomatinae for several genera including Pterophyllum. P. leopoldi was the last of the angelfish species to be described, and that was done by J. Gosse in 1963, although he placed it in the old genus Plataxoides because he thought the name Pterophyllum had been used for a genus of insects; Schultz in 1967 ascertained that the insect genus is actually Pterophylla, so under the rules of the ICZN Pterophyllum was available. The genus name comes from the Greek pteron [= fin, sail] and phyllon [= leaf], meaning "winged leaf" which is a reference to the dorsal fin. The species epithet honours King Leopold III of Belgium (1901-1990) who collected the type specimens from which Gosse described and named the species.

In 1979, Warren Burgess considered P. scalare and P. altum to be variants of the same species, and for a time in the literature they were subspecies known as P. scalare scalare and P. scalare altum respectively, with the "second" distinct species P. leopoldi. In 1986, Sven Kullander determined there are three valid and distinct species, P. scalare, P. altum and P. leopoldi.

This species (P. leopoldi) is very rare in the hobby; when it is imported it is sometimes under the incorrect name Pterophyllum dumerilii. [This invalid species name was originally assigned to a specimen of P. scalare by Castelnau in 1855 who described the fish and called it Plataxoides dumerilii. Guenther sorted this out and decided on Pterophyllum scalare as the valid name; there is to date no distinct species P. dumerilii.]I

Im looking now Im sure my local fish shop has had them in once before, if I can find them I will denfinalty add them to the as I love them

 

[ember04]

Ill try to special order the angles when I'm next at my local fish shop, they tend to get rare fish in if people special order

 

[Ichthys]

Angelfish do work well with the black ghost knifefish. They share the same requirements respecting light, water flow (minimal), lots of branches, etc.

As mentioned previously, bgks are only found in fast flow.

I actually wouldn’t do banjos, because I think you’ll have problems feeding them. They’re nocturnal, and will only usually move in the dark. Meanwhile a bgk will be all over the tank hoovering up all the food very quickly.

 

[ember04]

As mentioned previously, bgks are only found in fast flow.

I actually wouldn’t do banjos, because I think you’ll have problems feeding them. They’re nocturnal, and will only usually move in the dark. Meanwhile a bgk will be all over the tank hoovering up all the food very quickly.

Yeah I get that point, I may still try them as I've had lots of fish that need target feeding so I have experiance there, if they don't work I can allways move them to another tank

 

[ember04]

I also plan to try and hand train my bgk so this maybe will increase the chance that the banjos will find food

 

[ember04]

ive also found this video of banjos eating in the day

 

[Byron]

As mentioned previously, bgks are only found in fast flow.

Yes, in the dry season, but we agreed in the wet season they live in the flooded forest. I guess what is occurring here is little issues from the intended combination of species in one tank. Notwithstanding the space, one does have to be careful not to have too many; fish communicate via chemical signals, regardless of space.

 

[ember04]

Yes, in the dry season, but we agreed in the wet season they live in the flooded forest. I guess what is occurring here is little issues from the intended combination of species in one tank. Notwithstanding the space, one does have to be careful not to have too many; fish communicate via chemical signals, regardless of space.

ok i get that im very quickly realising this tank may be much harder to stock than I origanlly though, maybe I drop bottom dwelling fish all togther as if banjo cats wont work im not sure of a good replacment