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im happy /:'

Congratulations, I remember the first BGK I had, which was over 30 years ago. I think it had to be one of the best travelled fish around as we made 4 major moves over 8 years with a total travel distance of around 3,000 miles.

They are great fish and make neat pets.

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

I hope your new fish is in a nice large aquarium. Only Black Ghost Knife Fishes can grow to be quite a size.

Also, you might want to check out the placement of certain electrical items in the proximity of your aquarium. Black Ghost Knife Fishes generate weak electric fields for navigation in turbid waters where vision is impaired by suspended matter. Fishes such as this, and numerous other weak electronavigating fishes such as Eigenmannia virescens, various Mormyrids etc., become stressed if certain high-tension equipment is positioned too close to the aquarium. The following items should be positioned at least 3 feet away, and in some cases, preferably more:

PC System Boxes
PC Monitors
Hi-Fi Amplifiers (DEFINITELY keep these a good distance away)
Hi-Fi Loudspeakers (DEFINITELY keep these a good distance away)
Televisions
Two way radio communications equipment

I would also think twice about leaving a mobile phone on top of the aquarium hood with one of these fishes too.

I wouldn't worry about the electrical influence of HOB filters or external canister filters, but you may find that if your filtration system relies upon an internal canister filter or a powerhead, the fish spends quite a bit of time investigating the internal canister filter or powerhead.

Incidentally, if you can devise some means of picking up the electrical field pulses from weakly electrical fishes such as Black Ghost Knife Fishes, then converting those impulses to sound, each fish species has its own unique signature. Two wire probes connected to a 4.5 volt amplifier and a speaker from a battery powered transistor radio will do the job nicely if you are a dab hand at home electronics projects.

If you perform that little experiment, you may find your Black Ghost Knife Fish's electrical signals convert into some interesting noises ...


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

If you want instant fun, just pop a fork into the tank.

Cup!

What size tank have you got for you BGK imverystupid?

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Before you criticize someone walk a mile in their shoes. That way you're a mile away and you have their shoes.

is the fork thing serious?

my BGK hides in my plants a lot and I dont see it very much, I wish t would come out more often.

If i were to get a voltmeter, and stick it in the tank, will I get a reading from the fish?

im afraid my tank may be too bright for him, are they really that bothered by light?

I added him about 24 hours ago, and i havent seen him at all, he usually hides in my plants, should I take my plans out, ad darken the tank up a bit?

What size is the tank??


Come Play Yahtzee With Me!
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First of all, chances are you could pick up a reading with a voltmeter. Not a large reading, but if your voltmeter is capable of reading millivolts, then you'll DEFINITELY pick up a reading. Bear in mind that the electric field it generates isn't static, so your voltmeter needle or digital display is going to do some gymnastics.

Ideally, when that fish is adult, long term maintenance calls for an aquarium whose dimensions are of the order of 6 feet long x 3 feet wide x 2 feet deep. That's over a thousand litres, or around 270 US gallons. So if you've put it in anything less than a 75 gallon to start with, you're in for a shock ... yes, it grows that big. It's a 26 inch fish when fully grown. Because it tends not to be a particularly flexible fish, it needs that space to allow it to turn around.




Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

ok, i do have a question, he seems to be going in my plants, and laying in them without moving.

i have never had one of these fish before, but is that something they do? Or is it going to die? I saw it eating last night, so im assuming it is ok, but like I said i have never had one before (i feel like a first time clown loach owner seeing their loach underneath a rock upside down..

I am starting to wonder why the poster
refuses to say the tank size

BGKs need a tube of some kind to hide in.
They are incredibly shy.


Come Play Yahtzee With Me!
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i have a tube for it.

i forgot to buy one, so I just stuck a tube from a gravel vac in the tank.. seems to work perfectly, but it doesnt use it

he keeps hanging out by the heater, do you guys think it is disturbing it?

You have to by the tubes for him, they are designed for him. He is always going to be in it unless you take him out. THe purpose of the tube is to trick him into thinking he is hiding.

"Party it up, Drink it down"

i put a tube in, and he isnt using it

It just may take a while for him to locate it and realize what it is.

Is he eating? It may take a few days for him to settle in, but if he isn't eating then you may have some concerns.

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

i saw him eating the first night i brought him home, and he was eating today.. i want him to eat the flake food though

He is probably never going to eat processed food... I have never gotten any BGK to eat flakes with any regularity. Live or frozen foods are a must with this species. Their diet mainly consists of worms and small arthropods. As they get older, however, they will prey on small fishes.

Hiding is perfectly normal for BGKs. In fact, if he was swimming around during the day, that is something to worry about. Some Black Ghost Knifefish will venture out during the day when they are being fed, but this is only after they have been established in the tank for a long time.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

I agree with Natalie. I never got any BGK I ever kept to take anything but live or frozen foods also.

One of the favorite foods was meal worms which they just relished, also as they got larger they loved red worms and even night crawlers which they slurped up like spaghetti

Jim

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Water, taken in moderation, cannot hurt anybody. -- Mark Twain

thanks, thanks.. he was eating the food i put in there, but spitting it out, as all new fish do.

I always say they will get used to it, but i hope BGK's arent stubborn enough to not eat a food even though it is there.

Ill go down the LFS and get some frozen bloodworms/shrimp because im almost out anyways