BGK needs friends

[BobandBecca]

I have a new 55 gallon tank with just my Black Ghost knife right now.
looking for some stocking adive to keep him company.

 

[bettaowner]

You'll need a 100 gallon tank eventually. I'd say angelfish or spiny eels.

 

[Samzter]

A type of gourami would work well. That fish will need a 125-150 tank .

 

[BobandBecca]

i have heard that they will get large. i wonder how long it would take for this guy to get to that 18" size. i got him from liveaquaria and that said 50 minimum. if this was a perfect world i would have three 150 gallon tanks.
i do understand that they are in the business of selling fish too, maybe thats why the say 50g minimum.

 

[Samzter]

Either way even if they don't grow to 18" they will still need a big tank

 

[jetajockey]

I have a bgk that I've had for nearly a year now and he's about 5-6". He hasn't grown much, so it leads me to believe that they may grow slowly, or it's always possible that he is just a runt or has had his growth stunted at some point along the journey. I've always kept him in a 120 except when I stripped the tank down and kept him in a 40b for a few days.

At his current size and until he starts noticeably growing, I wouldn't hesitate to keep him in a 40b. As long as you keep in mind that the potential size of these fish is huge and you can upgrade accordingly you should be fine. As far as tankmates go, pick fast peaceful fish if possible. My bgk is very timid but I've heard stories of them eating the eyes out of other fish.

 

[Cynic]

My BGK is an eye eater and as such I wouldn't recommend any small middle-bottom dwelling fish like cories or tetras. Surprisingly mine has never harassed my clown or Bristlenose Pleco so they'd be good tank mates in my experience.

Top dwellers like guppies are also safe in my experience.

 

[BobandBecca]

Thanks everyone for all the advice, im sure i can keep my bgk happy and healthy.

 

[vanimal]

I have one and I agree with jeta they do grow slowly and mine is in a 220. For food feed blood worms and eventually most will accept pellets. For tank mates in a 55 I would do
1 Bristlenose Pleco
3 Angel Fish
1 Blood Parrot could work if you like them
1 Rainbow or Red Tail Shark
Any type of Gourami
4 Silver Dollars

 

[vanimal]

I would do this out of all the fish I mentioned.
1 BGK
1 BN Pleco
3 Angels 1 m 2 fm
4 Silver Dollars
1 Blood Parrot
1 Red Tail Shark
Eventually an upgrade will be required but with good filtration and enough weekly pwc's it should work out fine.

 

[Pipedreamer86]

I'm still troubled by this eye eating thing! How do they manage to do that? How do they catch anything that moves as fast as a Cory or tetra? They seem so docile.

 

[vanimal]

I'm still troubled by this eye eating thing! How do they manage to do that? How do they catch anything that moves as fast as a Cory or tetra? They seem so docile.

I wouldn't do a BGK with small fish. I believe it happens at night when the fish are sleeping.

 

[BobandBecca]

I would do this out of all the fish I mentioned.
1 BGK
1 BN Pleco
3 Angels 1 m 2 fm
4 Silver Dollars
1 Blood Parrot
1 Red Tail Shark
Eventually an upgrade will be required but with good filtration and enough weekly pwc's it should work out fine.

I really like that set up. But he will probably be in this 55g tank for a while until i can afford a larger one. How long do you think i could pull this setup off?

 

[vanimal]

I really like that set up. But he will probably be in this 55g tank for a while until i can afford a larger one. How long do you think i could pull this setup off?

All those fish could last for life in a 55 except for the BGK. But make sure you have multiple logs in your tank. One for your Red Tailed Shark/Rainbow and one for your BGK.

 

[jetajockey]

All those fish could last for life in a 55 except for the BGK. But make sure you have multiple logs in your tank. One for your Red Tailed Shark/Rainbow and one for your BGK.

That stock list is way too much for a 55 over the long term.

 

[vanimal]

That stock list is way too much for a 55 over the long term.

I think it could work with good filtration and adequate water changes.
Pleco and Rainbow (or Red Tail) on the bottom. Angels top and blood parrot on the low middle. The 4 silvers in the middle. And you could always drop an Angel if needed.

 

[jetajockey]

It's a 55g tank, that stock list just gets too large. Both bp and silver dollars get the size of a softball easily and you know the max size of bgk.

Drop the bgk completely and pick a small schooler in place of the silver dollars and it's more feasible.

 

[vanimal]

It's a 55g tank, that stock list just gets too large. Both bp and silver dollars get the size of a softball easily and you know the max size of bgk.

Drop the bgk completely and pick a small schooler in place of the silver dollars and it's more feasible.

Yes but I think 4 Silvers would be fine and I have had Blood Parrots qtfor a while now and they are the slowest growing fish in my tank. It would easily be fine for a few years

 

[jetajockey]

Yes but I think 4 Silvers would be fine and I have had Blood Parrots qtfor a while now and they are the slowest growing fish in my tank. It would easily be fine for a few years

No offense but IMO that's just bad stocking advice. If you don't believe me you can plug it into Aqadvisor and it'll probably come up at over 200% with the best filter on the market, and I'm sure other people will tell you the same.

How long have you had a blood parrot for exactly? How slowly do you think silver dollars grow?

I understand that some fish, like a BGK, take a long time to grow to the massive size that they eventually become, but that's not something you can apply across the board. It's understandable to make some sort of exception for a single specimen but putting several potentially large fish in a small tank is just asking for multiple problems down the road.

Angelfish are not 'top dwellers' btw.

If the OP definitely plans to upgrade to a 125 or bigger in the near future it would work out a lot better size-wise, I don't know about compatibility between the species though.

 

[vanimal]

No offense but IMO that's just bad stocking advice. If you don't believe me you can plug it into Aqadvisor and it'll probably come up at over 200% with the best filter on the market, and I'm sure other people will tell you the same.

How long have you had a blood parrot for exactly? How slowly do you think silver dollars grow?

I understand that some fish, like a BGK, take a long time to grow to the massive size that they eventually become, but that's not something you can apply across the board. It's understandable to make some sort of exception for a single specimen but putting several potentially large fish in a small tank is just asking for multiple problems down the road.

Angelfish are not 'top dwellers' btw.

If the OP definitely plans to upgrade to a 125 or bigger in the near future it would work out a lot better size-wise, I don't know about compatibility between the species though.

My angel fish spends most of her time in the top area of my tank. Never near the bottom. My BPs are about a year old and still pretty small. It could work out for a year or two.