Black Ghost Knife?

[DeirdreHoyle]

My boyfriend and I go to our local fish store pretty often and we always see this black ghost knife (though we only see part of it because it's always hiding in a rock). My boyfriend fell in love with it and wants to buy it but before I do, I want to ask you guys! What size tank do they need, what tank mates do they like etc. Any input is appreciated

 

[MJSerik]

They get to be over a foot I think.

 

[Kushgodrex]

They can grow to a foot, they are pretty aggressive and will eat smaller fish while they sleep, mine munched on my neon dwarf gourami while it slept. They are picky on food. Mine won't eat flakes, I feed him frozen brine shrimp and I believe he eats pellets over night. I am in the process of training him to eat from my hand though! I heard they can become really tame and handheld. Not out of water though haha

 

[hackerbee]

liveaquaria.com suggests a 150 gallon tank minimum with excellent filtration and that as a carnivore, this fish will tend to harass smaller fish.

Tropical Fish for Freshwater Aquariums: Black Ghost Knifefish

It's a beautiful species!

 

[Kushgodrex]

Oh and they are nocturnal, and almost completely blind, bright lights scare they because they are shy in the light. That's why he hides.

 

[MJSerik]

How do they eat in their sleep?

 

[DeirdreHoyle]

How do they eat in their sleep?

I think he meant he eats other fish while they sleep. I have a bunch of tetras and rasboras soo prob not going to get one! It is pretty cool looking though. What other fish do you have with it?

 

[Kushgodrex]

Yeah, I did mean that lol. I keep some angels, algae eaters, guppies, and killifish. I've only seen one fish pass. But I am expecting more. I try to keep him in a dark corner away from the groups.

 

[josh7]

What size tank do you have and what type of fish do you have already?

 

[GodFan]

220 gallon absolute minimum tank size. Bigger is better. Check out african brown knife fish instead

 

[josh7]

220 gallon absolute minimum tank size. Bigger is better. Check out african brown knife fish instead

Idk about that? That's a little excessive for a minimum tank size I think a 125 is plenty of space for a Black Ghost Knife.

 

[GodFan]

Idk about that? That's a little excessive for a minimum tank size I think a 125 is plenty of space for a Black Ghost Knife.

Sorry disagree. It is a very active fish and gets over a foot long. A 220 is small imo. Maybe enough room to turn around.

 

[josh7]

Sorry disagree. It is a very active fish and gets over a foot long. A 220 is small imo. Maybe enough room to turn around.

Alright that's fine it's your opinion. I still think the 125 is suitable. But it's fine.

 

[MJSerik]

Liveaquaria says 150, I'd go with 150

 

[GodFan]

Lol poor op we are all telling them different things! Ok look at the dimensions of the tank and the lenght/activity level of the fish and decide what you think is ok. Just try to take into consideration that this fish will be trapped in a very small area compared to the wild. Would you like to be trapped in a closet? Im not trying to advocate any specific tank size in this post just to consider carefully.

 

[Bichir Bro]

I'm siding with GodFan. They're large fish and very active. They get very long so they need tons of room to turn around/ go up and down and stuff like that.

 

[josh7]

Regardless of tank size here. What size tank does the OP have?

 

[Mcgolg76]

Don't know why petsmart sells them. How many people going into petsmart to buy fish have a tank that big

 

[Fishman88888]

Lol poor op we are all telling them different things! Ok look at the dimensions of the tank and the lenght/activity level of the fish and decide what you think is ok. Just try to take into consideration that this fish will be trapped in a very small area compared to the wild. Would you like to be trapped in a closet? Im not trying to advocate any specific tank size in this post just to consider carefully.

Do you own a bgk?
They don't swim like a normal fish...... They can swim backwards and I always see mine swimming vertically at night ... During the day he swims horizontally and moves from cave to cave... They bend like licorice too lol... They're more than capable of thriving in a 125-180 6 footer because of their manoeuvrability

 

[Fishman88888]

Mine is 10 1/4" right now... If he gets to 18"+ ... I will consider getting a bigger tank. We'll see if his growth slows down. He's only a year old