black ghost info anyone?

[Lady Elizabeth]

i recently bought a fish called the black ghost.. LFS told me i could feed it flakes or worms... any suggestion is welcome on how to take good care of it so that it will grow fast and healthy also i would like to know its real name or scientific name. it looks like an eel because of its fins, it tail is thin with black and white vertical stripes... thanks!

 

[savga]

Well I don't have one of these fish, but since no one else has answered I'll tell you what I know. Black Ghost Knife fish are predatory fish. Don't keep him with smaller fish or with other knife fishes. They prefer small live prey like small feeder fish or worms, but will eat frozen and sometimes even pellets. I hear they can be trained to take food from your fingers. They are not known to eat flake. They sense their prey using an electric field. They also enjoy having a place to hide. A piece of pvc pipe will do. Hope this helps.

 

[Vip]

Hi lady, congrats on getting such a wonderful fish.

First off these guys get really big, big as in 20" is or so, so make sure your tank is at least 24" wide so he can turn around, they will eat just about anything and they will sometimes acept flake but its not there fav. The best way i have found to feed them is to turn off your lights so then they can come out fully and eat. Its best to keep only one in a tank as they are a eletric fish and dont seem to like each others company. Keep with other large fish as well i just seen a 8" BGK kill a couple of corys and catfish.

Hope it helps.

Damian.

 

[unicorn2tears]

Just posted a moment ago elsewhere about this fish! The BGK is my absolute fave. I've had mine for about half a year so I'm sure others with more experience may be more helpful. Generally they are shy fish and like lots of hiding places. I keep the lights low on my tank and it's densely planted so my ghost is out about 80% of the time. I tried the PVC pipes and the special "ghost house" they sell but mine hated both and prefered a more natural looking (feeling?) cave. If given the choice, the cave always won.

Also, mine will eat pretty much anything, even flake food, but I've been told meaty foods are best. I started mine eating from hand way back while it was in QT and now it will still do so in the community tank. Be careful with tankmates. Too shy and the ghost will pick on them. Too active and your ghost will hide more.

For scientific name, that's tricky. When I tried an on-line search I would get as many as four different names! A book I have claims it's Sternarchus Albifrons, but I wouldn't trust that since this same book also claims that the adult size is 8" :?

As Vip said, they get BIG...

 

[savga]

www.fishbase.org says they get to be about 20 inches (that IS big) and the accepted scientific name is Apteronotus albifrons (at least for the time being :? ).

 

[bassholedrifter]

A site that is dedicated to this fish is http://www.aquarank.com/out.php?id=allknife&url=http://www.allthingsknife.net check them out lots of info on the BGK

BASS

 

[Lady Elizabeth]

thanks guys! i fell in love with this fish the first time i saw it.... i think it's beautiful and gentle, i was not able to buy one right away because my tank is only 10 gallons and i already have fishes in it, i keep on coming back to the LFS just to look at them. i bought a 15 gal for my black ghost and im planning to buy a larger tank when it gets bigger.

 

[Bad Jeff]

I too have a BGK... he is one of my favorites... Does anyone happen to know what a "normal" growth rate is for this fish?? Mine doesn't seem to be growing much if at all. I picked him up in Feb/04 and it is probably not even 4 inches long now. He is in an active 90 gal tank with various fish (Bala's, tetra's, upsidedown cats, cory cats, dwarf frogs) There are lots of hiding spots (lots of plants...plenty of driftwood and a few pirate ships). I find he has one favorite spot and never emerges from it during the day time.. Could the activity from the other fish be encouraging him to hide?? I did start giving the tank a small feeding after lights out recently to help him out ... any thoughts???
thanks

 

[Toirtis]

I too have a BGK... he is one of my favorites... Does anyone happen to know what a "normal" growth rate is for this fish?? Mine doesn't seem to be growing much if at all. I picked him up in Feb/04 and it is probably not even 4 inches long now.

They ae slow-growing, but yours sounds like he is growing slowly for even a BGK....he may not be getting much in the way of food, even with that small 'lights-out' feeding.

Have you seen all the BGKs and brown ghost knives that Riverfront Aquariums got in last week?

 

[Bad Jeff]

No.... sounds like a must see! One more question if I may.... I was planning on moving a bunch of fish from my 90g to a 40g i just finished cycling.... I was planning on moving the following to the 40g : 12 cory cats, 1 Violet Goby Dragon, 4 upsidedown cats and 6 glass cats. Do you think Pepe (BGK) would be happier in the smaller tank with lots of bottom dwellers or should I keep him in the larger tank with the mid/upper dwellers?? I suspect I'm having food competition issues with the amount of bottom dwellers.
Toirtis... you seem to be a catfish pro... do you think my 40g "cat" tank is a good blend of species???(compatability wise)
I just want Pepe to be happy.

 

[Toirtis]

I was planning on moving the following to the 40g : 12 cory cats, 1 Violet Goby Dragon, 4 upsidedown cats and 6 glass cats.

The violet goby would be happier in a seperate tank of his own....brackish, cooler, darker.

Do you think Pepe (BGK) would be happier in the smaller tank with lots of bottom dwellers or should I keep him in the larger tank with the mid/upper dwellers??

Keep him in the bigger one.

I suspect I'm having food competition issues with the amount of bottom dwellers.

I would suspect as much, as well.

Toirtis... you seem to be a catfish pro... do you think my 40g "cat" tank is a good blend of species???(compatability wise)

Yes, but without the goby.

 

[Bad Jeff]

Much apreciated.... Looks like Santa will be bringing me another tank this year.

 

[Lady Elizabeth]

it's so nice to know that there are so many BGK lovers out there... i think this fish is really beautiful. My black ghost is my favorite do anyone of you know the life span of this adorable creature?

 

[Mofo2713]

They can live up to 20 years...

 

[Lady Elizabeth]

wow, that's great! do you know how big they can really get inthe wild? i know they can get up to 2 ft but can they get any bigger. what country is it native?