two knife fish in a 55g?

[exodus]

I bought a brown knife about 3 weeks ago for my 55, and today we got a 4" black knife in (I work at my LFS) and I couldnt resist.

Right now the new BGK is in my 10g because I wasnt sure about putting them both in the same tank. I've heard that they dont like being in the same tank becuse they both use electricity to find where they're going - but at work we've had 2 elephant noses and 1 BGK in the same tank for about a month now and they're not having any problems.

Both knife fish that I have don't bother other fish at all, so do you think I could try them both in the 55 and keep my eye on it?

There's plenty of hiding places in there too.

 

[Fruitbat]

You could TRY it but personally I'd be very careful to observe their behavior for a few days. Most knife fish are quite territorial and some individuals will not tolerate any other fish that they think even remotely resembles them. Be prepared to separate them if any damage is done.

(Sorry it took so long for somebody to respond to your question)

-Joe

 

[toddnbecka]

The BGK will outgrow a 55.

 

[Drake]

I had a BGK and he did very well by himself. Which is probably the best way to go with theses guys.

 

[exodus]

The BGK will outgrow a 55.

You know, I'm really sick of people telling me that. They can live very happily in a 55.

Is it optimal? no.

Will it still have a nice life?

yes.


Straight from liveaquaria -

It requires a minimum of a 50 gallon tank with excellent filtration.

My tank has a canister with crystal clear water, its 55 gallons and has 4 rams thriving, so I'd say I'm fine.



Not to jump down your throat, but I didn't ask if it would outgrow my tank. Thanks.

I had a BGK and he did very well by himself. Which is probably the best way to go with theses guys.

Yeah, I tried putting the little knife (BGK) in with the brown knife and all hell broke loose. I've never seen my brown knife bite another fish!


The BGK is fine though, back in my 10g. I inspected him for damage from the brown knife attacking him and he's absolutely fine.

So I guess the answer to my question is no, you can't put two in a 55g if you want them both to survive.

 

[Hara]

Not to jump down your throat, but I didn't ask if it would outgrow my tank. Thanks.

toddnbecka wrote:
The BGK will outgrow a 55.


You know, I'm really sick of people telling me that. They can live very happily in a 55.

Is it optimal? no.

Will it still have a nice life?

yes.

Please keep it civil, this borders on rudeness and people are just trying to help you. One of the reasons answers are expanded on is that many people over time will read this and that little bit of information may be helpful to someone else. Folks try to be a little more in-depth here.

Now for my two cents. I have had a BGK for many years. It is well over a foot long. It started out in a 55. It rapidly outgrew it. I cannot imagine it ever being "happy" in a tank that small. I strive to not be content with my fish not just surviving, but thriving. Therein lies the difference. YOU need to decide which type of hobbiest you want to be.

It is a shame the brown took after it like that. I guess that totally answered your question for you.

 

[exodus]

Not to jump down your throat, but I didn't ask if it would outgrow my tank. Thanks.

toddnbecka wrote:
The BGK will outgrow a 55.


You know, I'm really sick of people telling me that. They can live very happily in a 55.

Is it optimal? no.

Will it still have a nice life?

yes.

Please keep it civil, this borders on rudeness and people are just trying to help you. One of the reasons answers are expanded on is that many people over time will read this and that little bit of information may be helpful to someone else. Folks try to be a little more in-depth here.

Now for my two cents. I have had a BGK for many years. It is well over a foot long. It started out in a 55. It rapidly outgrew it. I cannot imagine it ever being "happy" in a tank that small. I strive to not be content with my fish not just surviving, but thriving. Therein lies the difference. YOU need to decide which type of hobbiest you want to be.

It is a shame the brown took after it like that. I guess that totally answered your question for you.

Sorry. It's been a long day. Didnt mean to come off like that.

 

[Squirt0170]

What I find is kind of strange about the 2 being together is at the LFS store for a month isthey are getting along fine... But trying it at home is a different story...

I have seen more than one brown knife's together at my fish store to, and they seemed to get along okay...

Now I'm asking this out of curiosity and trying to be learning about fish (not to start something I swear).... I know it's in-humane to overstock your tank but why is it that a fish store will have what seems like over 20 fish in a 20 gal. tank and it's okay.... but I don't understand how putting 1 black ghost knife is overcrowded in a 55 gal. tank.... I myself will be upgrading to that soon and will be moving my BGK to that when it's all set up, right now he fits well into my 30 gal because he is still very small... I would think that a 55 gal would be plenty of room for awhile... I'm living on the 2nd floor of an apartment and a tank any bigger might fall through the floor Nothing like dropping in on the neighbors with some fish friends of mine HA! HA! I heard you do inches to how many gallons you have but it doesn't seem to be the case on this forum....

 

[toddnbecka]

The 2 that didn't get along were a brown knife and a BGK, not 2 browns.
Fish are kept in small, usually bare tanks at the lfs to show them off to customers. They don't (hopefully) live there their entire life.
A smaller tank is fine for a small fish, a 55 will be fine for a while. Eventually though, a BGK will grow too large for a 4' tank to be a suitable home.
The inch/gallon standard is only a very general guideline for stocking. Some fish are fine with that, like tetras, or other small, schooling fish.
Cichlids, for example, are territorial fish, and demand more floorspace in a tank than the inch/gallon. Also consider, a 10" fish is not suitable for a 10 gallon tank
How many folks buy bala sharks, with no idea how large they will grow, or that they are schooling fish, best kept in groups? It's all too often that people but fish they like, but know next to nothing about what the fish does/will require. They take it home, then a few months later, after it has grown too large, eaten half of the other fish in the tank, and generally turned out to be a mistake, return it to the lfs.
I was at an lfs one day, and a woman came in, looking for dechlorinator. She said she had just been to Wal-Mart, and had bought some new fish for her 10 gallon tank. She had bought several guppies, and "A fish named Oscar". Any guesses where this was headed

 

[Squirt0170]

Oh WOW!! Yeah I know Oscar's get large... I can't imagine one of THEM in a 10 Gallon tank

 

[trotty]

An oscar in a 10 gal is nasty!!!! It will DWARF the poor thing. At my LFS there is a pair of salmon cats that are about 16 inches in a 15 gal 24'x14'x16' can't even turn around properly. The backs on the fish are startin to bow upwards to accomodate.

Oh BUGGER.... I just remembered what the topic was and got carried away!

OT I have 2 BGK that are about 9-10' and they fight in a 210 gal. Nothing too serious, but it gets nasty.!