BGK in a 55 gal?

[happygirl65]

Hello again!

I really love the BGK but do you think it will get too large for a 55 gal tank? The tank is 48 inches long and 13 front to back.

I also like the brown ghost which from what I am seeing does not get quite as big...anyone know anything about them? They dont appear to be as easy to find as the BGK.

Thanks!
Tori

[physicsdude]

Hi- yea, u can house one in a 55 gallon. I bought one that was 4" long and put him in my 20 gallon and it loves it- plenty of swimming room and such. Plus, they grow sorta slow. I feed mine 2x daily with flake food, which he absolutely goes nuts for! It was 4" about 4 montsh ago and now its around 5.5-6". According to their growth rate in NATURE, they get around 16" or so. Yet, most owners I have met usually have ones that top off at around 12-14", and thats in the big 125 gallon tanks where they're 2' feet wide! If you buy a small one like I did and grow him out, it should be fine.
As it is, I plan on getting a 30 or 38 to house my fish, so that base is covered. Some here will consider it animal cruelty to house them in a 55, but I think that as long as it isnt some overgrown 2' monster of a knife, a 10-12" specimen would be all right in your tank.
Besides, Dr. foster and Smith have a good article on them:
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...cfm?pCatId=857
Just note that that max size is the documented size in the WILD- obviously it would be a contradiction to write its aquarium size as 2' when the tank size recommended is a 55 gallon!! And I think that they're capable enough to not make that mistake!
Good luck! I guarrantee u'll love them!

[hc8719]

i have a BGK in a 55 currently, he's only like 4 inches. trotty and hara though have bigger BGKs, you'll have to ask them what there tank is. from what i understand they only grow 12 " captivity, so probably will be too small, but that will take years. i believe hara said hers was 12" in 6 years too, all the more reason to ask.

if you do plan on upgrading your BGKs tank, dont be intimidated by some lps $600 kit, most lfs are usually alot cheaper

as far as the brown ghost, ive never seen them in stores, they are alot smaller than BGKs, i wouldnt put one in with the BGK though, they dont like each others electric signals, and when the BGK gets big enough, may kill the brown ghost to get rid of the electric signal

EDIT: physics dude, isnt a 6" fish in a 20gal tank a little small? and you dont feed yours frozen blood worms? i dont think flakes have enough protein for a BGK. if you think they go crazy for flakes, put in some frozen blood worms...

[Hara]

Plus, they grow sorta slow. I feed mine 2x daily with flake food, which he absolutely goes nuts for! It was 4" about 4 montsh ago and now its around 5.5-6".

I am sorry, but you are wrong. They do not grow slow. When fed CORRECTLY, they grow quite fast. Your statement also says yours grew almost 2 inches in 4 months, how can you consider that to be slow growth?

I think a BGK would be ok in a 55 gallon tanks for a couple years or so. Ulitimately, it should have a bigger tank.

[hc8719]

exactly...

[happygirl65]

Thanks you guys! When I mentioned the brown ghost I was thinking of it as an alternative to the BGK just because of the smaller size. Since I dont think we will be upgrading our tank anytime soon....although I am not against it I think it would be a hard sell to my husband considering he just built me this beautiful set up for my 55.
Thanks to all, I do plan on having more tanks eventually if I can ever figure out a place to put one, perhaps I could get something 100 g+ that would be AWESOME!

Thanks again, you all are great!
Tori

[Elmware2000]

You can put a BGK in a 29 gal. even. Do not put two or more BGKs in the tank though because their electrical fields which they use to navigate will confuse each other.

[hc8719]

how do you figure?

[Blazeherd2306]

Originally Posted by Elmware2000

You can put a BGK in a 29 gal. even. Do not put two or more BGKs in the tank though because their electrical fields which they use to navigate will confuse each other.

Sorry, but a 29 gal is way too small for a BGK. If I remember correctly, they can grow up to 18".

A 55 gal will be ok temporarily, but only temporarily.

[Blazeherd2306]

Originally Posted by physicsdude

Hi- yea, u can house one in a 55 gallon. I bought one that was 4" long and put him in my 20 gallon and it loves it- plenty of swimming room and such. Plus, they grow sorta slow. I feed mine 2x daily with flake food, which he absolutely goes nuts for! It was 4" about 4 montsh ago and now its around 5.5-6". According to their growth rate in NATURE, they get around 16" or so. Yet, most owners I have met usually have ones that top off at around 12-14", and thats in the big 125 gallon tanks where they're 2' feet wide! If you buy a small one like I did and grow him out, it should be fine.
As it is, I plan on getting a 30 or 38 to house my fish, so that base is covered. Some here will consider it animal cruelty to house them in a 55, but I think that as long as it isnt some overgrown 2' monster of a knife, a 10-12" specimen would be all right in your tank.
Besides, Dr. foster and Smith have a good article on them:
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...cfm?pCatId=857
Just note that that max size is the documented size in the WILD- obviously it would be a contradiction to write its aquarium size as 2' when the tank size recommended is a 55 gallon!! And I think that they're capable enough to not make that mistake!
Good luck! I guarrantee u'll love them!

To me, it seems like you are implying that the fish will only grow to the size of its tank. That is a myth...the fish will continue to grow, except it will become stunted with a deformed spine. Stunted fish live nowhere near as long as one would if given an adequate amount of swimming room.