Black Ghost Knifefish Advice

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confusedfishmom

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Feb 2, 2014
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Hi - new here. My kid likes to dance to the beat of a different drum, so he's dead set on a BGK fish. We are not completely new to fish but I've never had a tank over 20 gallons so we're in uncharted territory. We have a 39 gallon tank. Just getting it set up. No fish yet. We only want to keep the one BGK in it. Any advice on the tank set-up and advice for keeping this fish alive appreciated. Is it ok to keep just one fish in a tank?
 
A bgk gets way to big for that size tank. The smallest size I've seen suggested was 150 gallons. If you really want to get one you will need a much larger tank.
 
Yeah I realized that after we started researching it. Fish store guy said it would be fine, a bit frustrating. I'm hoping it will be ok until it grows a bit larger then maybe we can get a larger tank. I've seen tank size recommendations from 40-150. Hoping if we keep him solo that will help too.
 
They also said we could keep a betta and a BGK together. Which is a big no no I found out later.
 
They also said we could keep a betta and a BGK together. Which is a big no no I found out later.

This is where you learn not to trust your lfs. I generally go in and ask feeler questions that I know the answer to when I go to a new lfs.

If he wants something eel line I would suggest a school of kuhli loaches instead. I would avoid a knife fish like the plague.
 
Yeah I'm pretty unhappy with the lfs so far. Told us we could have the tank set up and ready in 24 hours too. I think they were just trying to make a sale. Also everything is non-refundable so I begged them to let me exchange the 40 gallon for a larger tank (which i bought, based on the advice THEY gave me) but alas - no go. So we're planning a BGK in 40 gal tank, solo. If he survives we will upgrade later.
 
Why not get a bichir instead? Petsmart sells "dinosaur" bichirs. (Also called a senegal bichir or cuvier bichir I think) They are much more active and would be much more appropriate for that size tank.

Also what about rope fish?

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I think a rope fish or some type of fw eel (tire track, fire) would be better. Smaller tank, bigger than yours but smaller than 150.
 
If you want a eel type fish for that tank look into Lublin loaches or peacock eels. But the BGK needs a bare minimum of a 125 gallon.
 
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