BGK Question

[HopefulHobbiest]

I currenly have a 55G tank which is still being cycled with a fish in cycle using

1 Eclipse Catfish
6 Cory Cats(3 peppered, 3 albino)
4 sunburst platy

once the tank is cycled i plan on buying a BGK(and yes i know i will eventually need to updgrade...hence the following question)

which is better for the BGK, 125G or 150G??

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

i think i should also mention that i'd like to get some clown loaches as well... but i'm not entirely sure of compatibility with CL & BGK

 

[Shane87]

Bigger is always better for the fish, it depends on you space and funds. I keep a BGK with clown loaches and I have never had a problem.

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

well thats good, that just means i'll have to save my money now to get a 150G cause i want to get the tank and stand as one this time instead of piecing everything together.. would you say its safe to get a BGK now while it's still small?

 

[Shane87]

If you mean tank size then yes, I have had mine over a year now in a 95g and he is still only 6 inches at most so has plenty of room, but they are very sensitive to water quality so make sure your cycled 1st. Apart from that make sure the food is small and reaches the bottom ( I feed at night ) make sure he can hide, a lot of people use plastic pipe but I have plenty of rocks and bog wood so I didn't have the problem and you don't need it but I would recommend a low light night light because that is when you will see him at his best. They look Awsome swimming around good luck, hope this helps

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

If you mean tank size then yes, I have had mine over a year now in a 95g and he is still only 6 inches at most so has plenty of room, but they are very sensitive to water quality so make sure your cycled 1st. Apart from that make sure the food is small and reaches the bottom ( I feed at night ) make sure he can hide, a lot of people use plastic pipe but I have plenty of rocks and bog wood so I didn't have the problem and you don't need it but I would recommend a low light night light because that is when you will see him at his best. They look Awsome swimming around good luck, hope this helps

yes i do plan to wait until cycle is completed and then about an extra week just to be safe, can i feed the BGK the same shrimp pellets i feed my eclipse catfish?? and as far as hiding goes i have a few places in my tank but i'll pick up a plastic tube or something like that for the BGK.

as far as low light night light goes, would you reccommend a black light to be used at night?

 

[Shane87]

As long as it is small enough they have quite small mouths for their size and IDK about a black light :/ I use a blue led night light for a marine set up I got from eBay but I am interested by the black light idea, if you try it re-post and let me know

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

Yea it's pretty small, each pellet is about the size of a piece of rice(roughly)..
I'll test the black light theory and post here what the results are... But it might be a few weeks lol

 

[Shane87]

Yea the food should be fine. And ok thanks good luck with your new tank.

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

Thanks

 

[Cynic]

I currenly have a 55G tank which is still being cycled with a fish in cycle using

1 Eclipse Catfish
6 Cory Cats(3 peppered, 3 albino)
4 sunburst platy

once the tank is cycled i plan on buying a BGK(and yes i know i will eventually need to updgrade...hence the following question)

which is better for the BGK, 125G or 150G??

BGK don't grow that quick so you've got a while with a 55G.

I will warn you however that your BGK will likely kill your cory cats.

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

Well that's good, I'm glad to hear I have a little while before I have to upgrade .

I've also heard the bit about the BGK's and Cory's...
Is there another type of fish I could use as a cleaning crew?? I could probably rehome the Cory's to my brother's 20G Goldie tank... Unless that would be a bad idea :/

 

[Cynic]

I've also heard the bit about the BGK's and Cory's...
Is there another type of fish I could use as a cleaning crew?? I could probably rehome the Cory's to my brother's 20G Goldie tank... Unless that would be a bad idea :/

I've kept plecos (Including small plecos like young brisltenose) and clown loaches (Obviously they get large as well) with my BGK over time with no issues.

I guess cories/neons just have particularily delicious eyes compared to bristles/clowns

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

Ok, good to know. I'll check out some plecos

 

[Shane87]

Hi again did you get round to trying the black light idea?

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

Haha sadly no not yet, still waiting for chems to balance out... I have a few fish in the tank and now have a slight ich outbreak that I'm treating... I've heard BGK are very sensitive so I want everything leveled out before I even think about the BGK... But I promise to post here once all is settled...

 

[Shane87]

Oh no how are you treating it? I would recommend the high temp approach, especially if your perameters are unsettled, and BGK are very sensitive to treatments and other chems as well. Just a heads up for the future. Hope it settles down soon.

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

People have told me to avoid adding meds to kill it so they suggested the temp method of turning it up to 84-86 for two weeks and water changes every day... Today is day 2 of the two week period

 

[Shane87]

Yea it feels like it takes forever lol make sure you "vacuum" the substrait really good because that's where it goes when it's not on the fish

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

very true, i've been vac'ing every day...

using:
EHEIM Quick Vac Pro - Aquarium Maintenance - Fish - PetSmart

i vac first then do a 45-50% wc... a lot of 5 gallon buckets to lug around but do to the placement of the tank i'd have to spend decent money on a real "water changer" vac and the extension hose with it... but i don't really mind the 5 gallon buckets, gives me my daily workout since i work IT and sit on my butt all day...