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Hi to all,

I am concidering getting a black ghost knifefish, as it is a species that i have always had a soft spot for, but i have never had the room of money for before.
What i was wondering was, what sort of tank size would i need for a fully grown black knife, i've heard they can reach 20 inches. I have a spare 55 gallon that i could start it off in, but wasn't sure how big a tank i would need for a fully grown adult.

Thanks in advance

Hi,
I've seen them in many tanks hovering inside a glass
chimney with the rippling fins. Until your question
I never thought about how big they actually grow.

This is one of several sites I found concerning them:
[link=http://fish.mongabay.com/species/Apteronotus_albifrons.html]http://fish.mongabay.com/species/Apteronotus_albifrons.html" style="COLOR: #FF00FF[/link]

As you can see, the 55G tank will be fine...for a while,
and then you will want to go to, say, a 6ft tank.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

i have had over 20 BGK and my largest was around 1.5 feet. a 55 would only be able to house 1 until it gets larger.

Yeah a 6 foot is about what i thought i would need, not sure i have the space for something that large at the moment. Thanks for the advice guys

Hi i have a baby BGK at the moment, about 3in long, for now he is in my 30g tank which he seems to like alot, it well planted and has lost of good hiding spots.

A friend of mine has his 11in BGK in a 4ft tank with 5 discus, its a low light heavy planted tank and it does very well.

its quite easy to get them to eat from your hand, i findblood worms, earthworms, fish meat to work well, they also really like live food.

hwo can u train them to eat from ur hands? i had a recent death of mine.. very sad but ive got new water and rocks and everything.. comepletely re setup the tank.. working great wanting to get a new one there so cute hehe

i wouldn't try and feed them by hand. who knows the electric organ may short circuit, and , but in general, i wouldn't feed a fish like that.

It's perfectly fine to hand-feed Black Ghost Knifefish. True, they constantly give off an electric charge, but it is so weak that it cannot even be felt by humans.

If you tame him, he will no longer see humans as a threat and will be less inclined to hide all day. I try to hand-tame as many as my fish as possible, and also many of them I sell at work.

---

I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

know any good ways to do so? any certain light settings.. like red or somthing so they think its night?

I've hand fed all three of my BGKs since I bought them as babies and have NEVER felt anything of an "electrical charge" although I have been bitten a fews times when I'm not quick enough with their food but it doesn't hurt anyway
BGKs train to hand feed very easily and the first thing you have to do is forget the rubbish about them only feeding at night, they feed whenever they're hungry but they will do most of their "hunting" at night so that's a good time to put some extra food in (before turning out lights) to keep them happy and less inclined to hunt for other small tank mates.

Live mealworms and earthworms are a good way to train your BGK. Take one or two down to where you BGK is hanging and tempt them by putting it in front of them (slowly) and if they don't take it after a bit just let it go, close to them so they know exactly what it is you're trying to give them. Next time try the same thing but don't let it go if they don't come to it, take it back and give it to another fish if you want. The BGK will soon work out that if he really wants that worm then he's got to be brave and come get it It really shouldn't take more than a couple of days.

You'd be looking at a tank of at least 5x2x2ft for an adult BGK to keep them happy but yours will be happy in the 55gl for about a year if it's only small now

Hi, im about to move my BGK into a 100g tank that im setting up, he is still quite small though.

As far as the eletric organ goes, it cant be very strong, my clown loaches sleep with the BGK in a hollow log, they seem to really like it when he tickles them with his fin.

hey thanks for the advice once i get me a knew BGK i will do that.. i recently moved my violet goby (dragon fish) back into the 55 gal and he wont stay hidden hes all over the place