Compatibility - Black Ghost Knife and Crabs

[bubo]

My fiancee and I have fallen in love with Black Ghost Knife fish, and I have started to put together plans for a tank to house them in.

I've had little luck finding specific information on Black Ghost's, only finding online lfs and personal websites with minimal information on compatibility. I know that they can be aggressive, are electric, and can grow rather large.

If anyone has a good informative website that includes Black Ghost's I would really appreciate it.

What I'd like to know is whether they are compatible with Fiddler or any other freshwater crabs, and if they are compatible with larger fish. The information I have found indicate that they will eat snails (my babies and usual tank cleaners), and are aggressive towards fish that bother them. I don't think Plecto catfish would help with substrate cleaning very well, and I'm afraid that Cory Cats will annoy the Black Ghost into killing them. I'm hoping that a pair of crabs or possible a large freshwater shrimp (I believe bamboo shrimp grow large, but am not certain) will be the clean up crew that get's along with the Black Ghost.

Also, all of the information indicates that Black Ghosts should not be housed with other Black Ghosts because they confuse each other and end up fighting. However, the lfs I saw them at had a large number of them in a single tank, and they appeared to be schooling. Has anyone successfully and happily housed multiple Black Ghosts in the same tank, and how big of a tank would you recommend for how many Black Ghosts? Also, anyone managed to breed Black Ghosts?

Thank you for your assistance.

 

[Terry]

Try these and see how you get on

www.liveaquaria.com
www.badmanstropicalfish.com

HTH

 

[sweetsuvvyb]

Here's the liveaquaria link on the ghost, which has a lot of info:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=21&pCatId=857

I don't know very much about them, other than the electricity is only used for locating food.

My pleco does an excellent job keeping my tank clean.

 

[bubo]

Thank you both for the links. I've already visited the liveaquaria information, and while it has good information concerning water quality, it is a bit lacking in information about it's compatibility. Badmanstropicalfish had a bit more information about compatibility, and the feeling that I'm getting from reviewing various posts is that the Black Ghost will eat many things that will fit in it's mouth. Not a problem when they are still 3", but properly cared for they will grow to about a foot to a foot and a half in length. 8O I'm still debating on the Fiddler crab, but I'm also considering a few clams if I can get a nice current setup in the tank, and maybe that giant apple snail that grows to the size of a softball.

I've seen some posts that say they get along with Cory Cats, and some that say the don't. :? I'm also hoping to find some information on how many can be kept together per size of tank. I would like to keep two or three of them, but cannot afford two or three tanks at the moment.