Help with Black Ghost Knifefish please..

[Bad Jeff]

Hello everybody....great site... My Black Ghost Knifefish (Pepe) seems quite happy in my 90g community tank... but I'm a bit concerned that he does not seem to be growing very much. I've had him since Feb of this year and he's stil no more than about 4 inches. (grown no more than 1/2 to 3/4 inch) Water quality has always been quite good and regular feedings on bloodworms, brineshrimp, mysis and tubiflex worms.(he won't take shrimp pellets) I'm almost concerned that he might have problems getting his share of food as i have lots of bottom dwellers. (12 dwarf frogs, 12 cory cats, 4 upsidedown cats, Goby Dragon, the rest are mid/upper tank critters.)
Any thoughts???? I have yet to find a quality site with good info on these fish.
(for reference 90g tank, Eheim 2217, 2x250w ebo heater, 15% water change every Sunday followed by 4-6hrs of Diatom XL filter, lots of plants and driftwood to hide in.)
Any feedback would be much appreciated.

 

[BrianNY]

Hi Jeff, and welcome to AA

It might be possible that your black ghost knife isn't getting his share with that many bottom feeders. How often do you feed the tank and what hours? Does he have a favorite hiding place? You might try leaving a cube of frozen bloodworms near his hang out just after you turn the light out.

 

[Menagerie]

[center:ddafe4d560] Welcome to AA, Bad Jeff! [/center:ddafe4d560]
If Fruitbat doesn't pop in, drop him a PM.

 

[Toirtis]

Another Calgarian...tres amusant!

OK, to start with, BGKs are slow-growing...but...with all those bottom-feeders, it is quite possible that he is not getting a particularly large share of the food. You may wish to toss in ome extra, meaty, sinking stuff just after lights-out. To lessen the competition, you really hould move that dragon goby to another tank...especially since G. broussonetti are a brackish, cooler water fish, and will do much better in the appropriate environment.

As an addenum, your dwarf frogs could end up as knife-food, once he does manage to hit 14"+.

Have you plans to be at the Calgary Aquarium Society meeting tomorrow night?

 

[Bad Jeff]

Hey Toirtis... what are the details (or where can i find more info) on the meeting. I would be interested.

 

[Menagerie]

http://www.calgaryaquariumsociety.com/

I will also be attending and I am trying to get Webmoose to go!

 

[Toirtis]

http://www.calgaryaquariumsociety.com/

I will also be attending and I am trying to get Webmoose to go!

Tell him I think he should go, too.

 

[Bad Jeff]

We'll see you there!

 

[Hara]

I got my BGK as a tiny fella and he is over 14 inches now. When he was smaller, I fed him ground up beef heart and he grew quite fast. Feeding twice may also help. Feed the tank in the evening to make everyone happy and then feed again after lights out for Pepe.