Black Ghost Knife Compatibility

[MicroFish]

Ross & I are considering setting up our other 50gal tank (maybe these are 55gal??) and getting a black ghost knife to inhabit it. I would like to put some live plants in it as well as a couple of tankmates. Any suggestions? I would like to add some pakistani loaches, perhaps, or maybe some kuhlis, as bottom feeders... but what I was wondering about most was whether or not angelfish would be suitable tankmates for it. Does anyone here know? If not angels, how about emperor tetras or perhaps some cardinals?

TIA for any advice/suggestions!

Sheila

P.S. I realize the black ghost knife will likely need a larger aquarium at some point, but the particular fish we are interested would be fine in the one we have for quite a while.

 

[Allivymar]

Definitely not the tetras...in fact, nothing that would fit into a knifefish's mouth (they WILL eat em). They are semi-aggressive as well; I don't think angels would make good tankmates either. Also, they prefer dimly lit tanks with lots of places to hide n lots of plants.

I know some peeps on here have knifes; maybe they can suggest some more appropriate tankmates.

 

[MicroFish]

Thanks. I just looked around online a bit and found that angels were actually recommended tankmates on several sites... but I would like to know if anyone has actually done it before doing it myself. *grin*

My planned tank, unless I find that it is completely unsuitable, was to include live plants, 4 angelfish, the black ghost knife, and a couple of bottom feeders (probably loaches of some sort). Still researching and won't be doing anything until the tank is set up and finished cycling... so no worries.

By the way, I just measured the tank and calculated the size - it is indeed a 50gal, as I suspected.

Sheila

 

[possum]

I would think the angelfish would be perfect tankmates, cuz i dont care what anyone says mine were never very peaceful lol

 

[madasafish]

I think a dwarf gourami male and female pair would probably do well, as the DGs are generally hardy and only aggressive to conspecifics.

I imagine a peacock eel would do well in the tank, too. They grow to about 1 foot, and can fare for themselves. They're also nocturnal, so a black light might work for both of them!!!

Boesemanis would prob also do well in the BGK tank. I imagine any rainbowfish would, as they are fairly able to cope for themselves.

 

[Allivymar]

Wow, I apologise. I had no idea angels would make good tankmates for the BGK; guess I was thinking you want lights on to see your angels, but need the lights low for the BGK LOL

 

[MicroFish]

That's okay. I thank you for your input. We're still doing lots of research before we take the plunge... all opinoins and experience are welcomed.

I imagine we'll have pretty subdued lighting in this tank, what with the live plants, but we shouldn't have any trouble seeing the angels if we go w/ them. The "centerpiece" will be the Black Ghost; the others will basically be in there as accents and of course the "cleaning crew".

Hmm... don't know about dwarf gouramis as BGK tankmates. I have two dwarf gouramis and they did NOT get along... one constantly harrassed the other and wouldn't let it eat. I just had to move the picked on one to another tank........ oddly, the aggressor is perfectly well mannered to the rest of the fish.

Sheila

 

[Allivymar]

You're welcome I'm always open for learnin a new thing, specially when it involves my babies (love fish, but I ADORE angelfish). Of course, I'm hurt the angels won't be the centerpiece *grin*

 

[possum]

would a black ghost be good with oscars?

 

[Hara]

i have a bgk that is close to 15 inches long. I got him when he was about 3 inches. He has been in a 30, then a 55 and now a 150 gallon tank. All his tankmates transfered with him whenever we upgraded. The tankmates included gouramis, plecos,angels, dwarf gourami, clown loaches, black skirt tetras, cory cats, pictus cats and german and bolivian rams. I have even had oto cats in with voodoo and he never bothered them. the only fish that he has ever had 'issues' with, is a plecostamus that would continually get in his cave. His favorite food is ground up beef heart. He will eat kidney, bloodworms and mysis shrimp.
hth

 

[madasafish]

Microfish: kinda important to read carefully.

You probably have that Dwarf Gourami problem for a reason. Are your Dwarf Gouramis males or females? You almost certainly have 2 males, in which case they will definitely fight. (Sorry if I'm incorrect, but IME LFS only ever sell males.) Choose any species of fish, put two males together and they'll fight (perhaps some exceptions....).

If, however, you get a male and a female, you won't have the same problem.

And, as you yourself observed, and as I mentioned before, conspecific aggression is usual in gouramis, however they are almost never aggressive to other fish if they are in a large enough tank. The gouramis would, if paired correctly, and as Hara mentioned, make a fine addition to the tank.

Also, live plants will not do well in an aquarium with subdued lighting. Plants usually need a fair amount of light, and often need a specific type of very high intensity light (18,000 K is what I have). Again, some rare exceptions. My anacharis do fine in my 55 with regular lights, but they are renound as really hardy plants.

Hope that doesn't sound grumpy. 8O

 

[MicroFish]

I should have qualified "subdued lighting"... what I meant was, with the plants we will have in the tank, the light will likely not be too bright at the bottom for the Ghost. I realize live plants need special lighting and they will get it.

I have a male and female gourami (supposedly!), but for some reason the male was very agressive to the female. The female is very shy and wasn't eating very much... but she is doing fine now that I seperated her. She seems to like being alone. They were in a 20gal w/ 4 danios and a lemon tetra - far from overcrowded; they just didn't get along for whatever reason. You're right though - the male gourami is perfectly fine w/ the other fish.

Sheila

 

[madasafish]

Sounds good on the lighting. Water sprites are a good choice.

What characteristics are you using to sex the gouramis? Female dwarf gouramis (neon, powder, standard are all Colisa lalia) all look alilke. The female should a) have a rounder dorsal fin and b) have a much more drab, sivery color. Here's a pic: http://www.aquariumfish.net/images_01/gourami_neon_blue_female.jpg

If my suspicion is wrong, sorry! It's entirely possible that you have a really aggressive male who can't even put up with a female sharing his space. You might want to check to clear up the record. I'm quite sure that the fish in your gallery are males (but I'm not sure if the pictures are of the same fish, or not). Supposedly, males and females get chummy enough that they swim around together. But I've had such an impossible time getting females that I haven't seen this behavior!

Have you thought about buying a "ghost tube" to facilitate viewing diring the day and to put the BGK at ease?

Good luck with the BGK tank. I envy you, and really want to get a BGK soon! Post pics and let us know how it goes!

 

[MicroFish]

I will definitely post photos when we get the BGK situated. They are simply incredible!

The gourami pix in my gallery are of the same fish... the male. hehe We picked him up at PetsMart (they only sell males). We got the female from a breeder in the area but it's entirely possible that they sexed her wrong... she does sort of look silvery, especially compared to the male. She's also smaller, but I think she's still young (and we've had the male for a while). I'll have to check on the dorsal fins........... either way, I won't be putting them together again. *G* She's eating fine now that she's alone and seems to be a lot happier. She's quite timid, where the male is really outgoing. I had to move some fish around since my quarantine tank is in use at the moment, and I wasn't sure if the gourami would be okay w/ my three fancy guppy males but he doesn't seem to mind them at all.

The guppies, by the way, are gorgeous. I've never been a guppy fan but these guys are "leopards" or something like that, and orange tails w/ black spots on them... they are really fantastic looking fish!

I'll keep ya'll posted on our progress w/ the BGK. I'm awaiting a larger filter (bought a Marineland Emperor 400 at Ebay) for the tank and will set it up well in advance of the Ghost's arrival. Would it be possible to take one of the BioWheels off of our current tank to speed up the cycling process on the tank?? If so, I would still want to add some fish to cycle it, right? I don't have a clue about "fishless" cycles at this point. But I do have plenty of danios who would LOVE to swim around in a 50gal tank for a few weeks. hehe

Sheila

 

[madasafish]

Well, Allivymar is the expert on fishless cycling... But, I've gathered a lot about it over the last couple of months, and it seems that everyone has come a consensus over Bio-Spira. Ppl says it's the best (and most humane--you could lose cyling fish) way of cycling a tank, and it's certainly the fastest!!! Marineland makes it, and you should be able to get it from either a LFS, or online. See below...

How much did you pay for the Emperor 400? Did you try www.BigAlsOnline.com? They have amazingly low prices if you're looking in the future (no I don't work for them, but I certainly sing their praises a LOT).

Look forward to the BGK pix!

 

[MicroFish]

I got the emperor for $43 (about $15 less than what PetsMart and PetCo charge for it)... including shipping. I would have been happy to save $10, to be honest. LOL I bought a smaller Penguin filter for a friend so I actually saved a bunch on shipping through Ebay since I bought them from the same seller.

I've not heard of Big Al's but thanks for the link! I'll be sure to check it out - looks like theirs is only $38! I'm planning to get another one for the tank (unless having two of them on a 50gal would be a bad idea??) so I'll keep them in mind........

I was also thinking of putting another Penguin 330 on our 50gal freshwater tank... good idea or bad? We "inherited" this tank recently and the gravel is just nasty. Did my first real gravel vaccuum tonight and the water in my bucket was opaque. *shudder* The water in the tank is crystal clear, however, and the fish seem to be doing really well. These fish (all of the ones in the 50gal "Barb tank" at my link below, except for two of the green tiger barbs) were living in this tank w/ no filter at all for who knows how long. They didn't seem to mind it, really, but the water was always nasty. We put the Penguin 330 on it the second night it was here and the water was clear within 12 hours. Unbelievable. But we're still slowly working on cleaning the gravel... since it was the ONLY source of bio "filter" they had, I didn't want to kill it off by cleaning it all at once. Instead, we're doing it slowly until the biowheel on the filter is sod. I'm STILL rinsing filter media a few times per week from all the gunk that was in there... how gross.

Anyway, now I'm just ramling. Would the second filter be a good idea, do you suppose?

Sheila

 

[madasafish]

Well, I had precisely the same question in my mind with my 55. I chose to buy the second 330, and my water does look cleaner. *Technically* a (*oops. made a mistake--edited) Pengiun 330 is fine for any tanks up to 70 gallons, but we all know what that really means... it's better to overfilter unless you have fish that will be sensitive to a lot of surface action.

If the tank is for the BGK, DEFINITELY get a second filter, or perhaps a powerhead. BGKs love currents, and will thank you for any additional water movement!

 

[MicroFish]

Thanks for your input. If we go w/ angels in the BGK tank, will they be okay w/ the extra current too??

I think we're going to go ahead and put two emperors on that tank and get another 330 for our barb tank....... I really want their water to be clean, clean, clean.

Sheila

 

[madasafish]

Yep, that's another thing the BGKs like--clean water!

 

[MicroFish]

Speaking of clean water... Instead of replacing my filter cartridges each month, I am just rinsing them thoroughly under cool water each week when I vaccuum the garvel. Is this a problem?? My intent was to keep any bacteria in the filter in there, but I suppose since I'm using BioWheels, this is a moot point... what is the usual protocol here? Will the BGK be alright w/ this routine as well or should I replace the filter cartridges on that tank monthly?

Sheila