Black Ghost Knife fish acts dead at the exact moment when lights come on!

[29Gsaltaquatics]

Hello, I am new to the "Aquarium Advice"
So now into the problem, I have a 3 inch black ghost knife fish in my 29 gallon tank, (I will switch him to a bigger tank someday) and I bought him a week ago along with a ghost tube. I heard to take out any hiding spots out of your tank so he learns to go into the tube. So I did and ever since that he acts dead when I turn the lights of, and doesn't move his anal fin and his pictorial fin just hangs out. He eats and doesn't have any tears in his fin. He changes color at night, to a shiny gray color, but only half of his body. (he is the biggest fish in the tank
Tank Mates are: 1 Small marbled angelfish, 1 dwarf gourami, 1 bristle nose pleco, and 1 dojo loach.
Known Parameters: Ammonia:0ppm Nitrite:0ppm, Nitrate:1ppm, Ph 6.9
dKH:3ppm, phosphates:0ppm.
So should I get a dark PVC pipe for a hiding spot, and give some hiding spots back. BTW I cycled my tank with Seachem Stability. I have done saltwater before so I know the newbie things. Thank You.

 

[SherLar]

Not to sound preachy, but he needs to be moved sooner rather than later, to at least a 120g tank. 3 inches can quickly turn into 18 inches, and a 29g tank is way too small, sorry. Otherwise, I think it's behavior is because it's stressed. I would give it back some hiding spots.

 

[29Gsaltaquatics]

SherLar, Thank you!

 

[kashif314]

In order to reach his full 18 inches requires five years.

I have a black ghost knife fish and is doing fine with lights on. Let him adjust to your tank surroundings. Mine took three days to come out from hiding and start eating. Now he is eating from surface without any shyness. I suggest you to train him for floating foods. In this way he will swim more.

I might sound strange but I didn't put a Ghost tube on purpose to let him get familiar with tank and swim more. If you have enough hiding spots like plants or driftwood or rocks he will find his hiding spot himself and will move from one to another and swim more. Mine is very comfortable and swim around in tank. Are you sure your specimen is healthy? I never seen Ghost knives change color.

Yes you should put him in big tank but to grow him to 18 inches requires minimum four years. They are very slow growers. Will reach to like 8 inch soon but even that not very soon. He will grow about half a inch every one or two months. Then at about 8 he will slow down and it will feel as he stopped growing.

To reach its full size requires years.

 

[29Gsaltaquatics]

In order to reach his full 18 inches requires five years.

I have a black ghost knife fish and is doing fine with lights on. Let him adjust to your tank surroundings. Mine took three days to come out from hiding and start eating. Now he is eating from surface without any shyness. I suggest you to train him for floating foods. In this way he will swim more.

I might sound strange but I didn't put a Ghost tube on purpose to let him get familiar with tank and swim more. If you have enough hiding spots like plants or driftwood or rocks he will find his hiding spot himself and will move from one to another and swim more. Mine is very comfortable and swim around in tank. Are you sure your specimen is healthy? I never seen Ghost knives change color.

Yes you should put him in big tank but to grow him to 18 inches requires minimum four years. They are very slow growers. Will reach to like 8 inch soon but even that not very soon. He will grow about half a inch every one or two months. Then at about 8 he will slow down and it will feel as he stopped growing.

To reach its full size requires years.

I am sure he is a healthy one, because he swims normal, eats normal, acts normal now after I put the ghost tube back in, but when I turn the lights on he scurries on his side swimming as fast as he can towards the tube. He now has a small bump on the side of his mouth, do you know what it is, I started a new thread about that to, and a picture.

 

[cgthebeast]

Personally, I would rehome it now or trade it into a pet store, it's a lot easier now then with a 18+ fish. Not all fish grow at the same rate either, and keeping it in such a small tank could cause stunting which would really hurt the fish (stynting is where the skeleton of the fish stops growing but it organs do not, thus smothering it to death from the inside) also not to mention the electric field that could mess with you other fish.

I've been here before, I once bought a "upside down" catfish and it turned out to be one that could grow 2ft, an African squeaker. P

 

[abw0004]

On what everyone else said, he needs a new tank. We said the same to kashif.

 

[29Gsaltaquatics]

On what everyone else said, he needs a new tank. We said the same to kashif.

It is a brand new tank, and cycled

 

[29Gsaltaquatics]

Ok, everyone I am an experienced aquarist and I know a lot about black ghost knifefish, I know i will have to switch to a bigger tank, but right now he is 3in. So I am fine right now and I have already solved this problem. Thank you

 

[abw0004]

Not to sound rude (I am really not), but if you know what you are doing, then why are you putting a fish in a tank that is 4 times smaller than that fish needs? And how is a brand new tank cycled? Unless you mean brand new as in 6 months old or something. I can tell these answers aren't the ones you want to hear, I was there a few years ago. But they are the right answers. Good luck with your tank.

 

[29Gsaltaquatics]

Not to sound rude (I am really not), but if you know what you are doing, then why are you putting a fish in a tank that is 4 times smaller than that fish needs? And how is a brand new tank cycled? Unless you mean brand new as in 6 months old or something. I can tell these answers aren't the ones you want to hear, I was there a few years ago. But they are the right answers. Good luck with your tank.

Thank you, I am keeping it in a small tank while it is very small and putting it in a larger tank in a 1 or 2

 

[kashif314]

Thank you, I am keeping it in a small tank while it is very small and putting it in a larger tank in a 1 or 2

Don't worry man. You are good. Its growth will stunt if you don't switch him to big tank later when he starts growing. Like I said Ghost knife is very very slow grower. After eight inch it almost stops and grows very slowly.

I don't understand the bump and his behavior. I somehow suspect maybe you bought a sick specimen. I m not sure. My Ghost was very timid wheb I introduced him. Now he swims all the time because I feed him floating food so he make effort to swim around looking for food and not only at bottom. He is fine with coming out with lights on. But then different fish of same species have different characters too. Maybe your fish is very shy by nature. But they should not change colors. Also no bump should be there.

 

[29Gsaltaquatics]

Don't worry man. You are good. Its growth will stunt if you don't switch him to big tank later when he starts growing. Like I said Ghost knife is very very slow grower. After eight inch it almost stops and grows very slowly.

I don't understand the bump and his behavior. I somehow suspect maybe you bought a sick specimen. I m not sure. My Ghost was very timid wheb I introduced him. Now he swims all the time because I feed him floating food so he make effort to swim around looking for food and not only at bottom. He is fine with coming out with lights on. But then different fish of same species have different characters too. Maybe your fish is very shy by nature. But they should not change colors. Also no bump should be there.

Thank you for your help, he is acting normal but no one knows what the bump is. I bought a new twig catfish the other day and that is when the problems started happening. [emoji16]

 

[kashif314]

Thank you for your help, he is acting normal but no one knows what the bump is. I bought a new twig catfish the other day and that is when the problems started happening. [emoji16]

Hmm. Maybe catfish attacked him? Catfish have big mouths. I don't know about twigs but they are predatory.

Oh and I forgot to add one thing. Some people say the electric pulses from Ghost knife is harmful for other fish which is completely untrue. Its such a small charge and won't hurt ir stress any other fish. You can read about that. Also just make sure u don't put any other fish who have the same mechanism for example an elephant nose.

 

[29Gsaltaquatics]

Hmm. Maybe catfish attacked him? Catfish have big mouths. I don't know about twigs but they are predatory.

Oh and I forgot to add one thing. Some people say the electric pulses from Ghost knife is harmful for other fish which is completely untrue. Its such a small charge and won't hurt ir stress any other fish. You can read about that. Also just make sure u don't put any other fish who have the same mechanism for example an elephant nose.

Thank you, i did know about that. The catfish is smaller than that and they are "lazy" fish so they don't swim much. They are prone to MANY skin diseases.

 

[kashif314]

Thank you, i did know about that. The catfish is smaller than that and they are "lazy" fish so they don't swim much. They are prone to MANY skin diseases.

Yes I understand but you know usually when lights are turned off there predatory instinct wakes up lol. Just keep an eye on him. By the way what you feed your black ghost? He comes for food immediately or lazy?

 

[29Gsaltaquatics]

Yes I understand but you know usually when lights are turned off there predatory instinct wakes up lol. Just keep an eye on him. By the way what you feed your black ghost? He comes for food immediately or lazy?

I don't see him eat, how I feed him is this:
1.) Defrosted half a block of frozen blood worms
2.) use a tube to get worms to knife fish
3.) turn lights off (night time)
Bye morning he is fat
He kind of scavengers around for it
So not immediately but not lazy

 

[kashif314]

I don't see him eat, how I feed him is this:
1.) Defrosted half a block of frozen blood worms
2.) use a tube to get worms to knife fish
3.) turn lights off (night time)
Bye morning he is fat
He kind of scavengers around for it
So not immediately but not lazy

Well they come for food like crazy. I never feed mine after lights off. Maybe u try to feed him during lights on. Let him open a bit. Also I m using one technique and my fish always understand its meal time and they gather around surface. I always shut off all filters etc and they are use to this and understands its meal time if water is not moving. Once they finished eating I again turn on everything back. Its like a signal. Doing it for years and all my fish adapt to it.

 

[kashif314]

You can see in this video how eager black ghost is. I turn off my filters and my Ghost knife comes out and start looking for food.

https://youtu.be/E9oASepVHnY

You can try to tame your as well. I didn't gave mine sinking food so he can swim more.

 

[29Gsaltaquatics]

That is cool, I put some flakes in right now and I know they normally only eat frozen or live, but he immediately went after them and ate them (shredding them up and sucking the pieces in)