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no you cant put one in a 5g you should start it out in a 55g at the least and the permanent tank should be a 75g bare minimum and 125g being a lot better

I have many cichlids with my BGKs including red jewels (not breeding of course) rainbows, blue and bolivian rams, angels and a cockatoo dwarf. As long as the cichlid is relatively peaceful and not territorial to the bottom of the tank, this is why some of the smaller types of american cichlids do well, AND given enough room most of the not so aggresive cichlids are fine with the BGKs.

are black ghost knofe fish's compatable with cichlids

"My clown knifefish lived for many years, one over 12 years in a 2 foot wide tank. The pair that I have seen, that have bred in an aquarium, did so in a 150 gal tank, 6 foot long, 18 inches wide. "


You had better call that guy up, as this would be the first spawning ever of any species of mormy/related species ever achieved in the home aquarium. Furthermore, clown knifes get larger than 30 inches in length, regularly about 35" in the home aquarium (I've handled my fair share with Sea World SD). Even with a 2 foot wide aquarium, there would be no way for the thing to turn around once it hit 30", therefore it would likely compensate by stunting, which is probably what happened to your CK, etc.

All 3 of my BGKs rarely swim totally vertical as such, they swim in every other direction but vertical really
But by all means wait if you feel something's not quite right with that guy.

Last edited by RustyBlade at 04-Jan-2005 20:08

one of the bgk at my work doesnt seem to want to swim verticaly. he swims at an angle, but the other bgk seems fine. would it be safe to get the healthy one or should i wait to the next shipment just incase if the healthy one starts acting strange?

i had an african brown knife. he was like 5 inches long or so. got around ok in my 29 gallon, but he was about at the limits for that tank. he needed a bigger one. he died over x-mas vacation though. not sure what happened. he was acting funny before i left (see my post in the hospital about help with my brown knife).

I'd keep a clownknife in a 6*2 tank however I would be concerned that it might outgrow it considering they have been seen 2 and a half feet long.

I must agree, that a 2 foot wide tank, is all that is needed for one of these fish, even full grown.

Black ghost knifes get 2feet and cannot turn around easily in a 2foot wide tank.

And why would a 2 foot long fish have problems turning around in a 2 foot wide area? When a fish turns, it is not stretched out completely, but is curved.

Two feet wide is plenty big enough to house a full grown BGK, you must be thinking of a Clown Knife

My clown knifefish lived for many years, one over 12 years in a 2 foot wide tank. The pair that I have seen, that have bred in an aquarium, did so in a 150 gal tank, 6 foot long, 18 inches wide.



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There is always a bigger fish...

i had one a few years ago that died - i don't know what was wrong, but he wouldn't eat anything so he must have been stressed out. the one i have now though started eating right away and has survived for the last 3 months and has already grown an inch!!

Sorry, I just had to add something.

Isn't this fish very delicate to water parameters

No, not at all. As long as your water is at least reasonably healthy, they're quite hardy. My BGK was very forgiving of my early attempts at fishkeeping
I think the main problem with the BGK is introducing disease to their tanks with other fish, then you can have real problems treating them

I think they're saying 2ft long in the wild and very rarely reach that in home aquaria.
I did see a very healthy over 7 year old BGK recently and he's around 16 inches so unless they do more growing in the later stages of their lives I'd be guessing that you would'nt really need any more than the 2ft wide tank for a fully grown BGK. Like all fish, there may be an exception.

I'm feeling safe with my 6x2x2ft tank anyway

BGK's dont need 6'x4' tanks.

That is around 340 gallons (for a really short tank (24" high))

If you had a tank that big, you could almost have an irridescernt shark in it...

Isn't this fish very delicate to water parameters. I know someone who had 1 in a 70 gallon & he got sick rather easily when the other fish in the tank were fine. I don't know what he had, just like gray patches. He had for like 2 weeks then bought it back b/c it wouldn't recover.

By all means marry; if you get a good wife, you'll be happy. If you get a bad one, you'll become a philosopher.
Socrates-
I happen to have become a philosopher

While searching through online profiles to try and find one that says it reaches 2 feet in length I found a site with some very poor information on the BGK.

Name: black ghost knife
Compatibility: Community except with very small fish
Feeding: Frozen bloodworms and daphnia
Size: Up to 20cm in captivity larger in the wild
Remarks: The nicest of all the knife fish, best kept in at least 2.

Note the size and the remarks section.

On a side note the biggest I've been able to find in a profile is 50cm.

Where's Rusty he know more about BGK's than most people I know.

I have never seen or heard of a BGK reaching 2 feet in length, nor have I read it in any profiles. How many of these people suggesting a 4 foot wide tank actually have a BGK??

Black ghost knifes get 2feet and cannot turn around easily in a 2foot wide tank. A 4foot wide tank like john metioned isthe best for a full grown bkg

6 foot by 4 foot?? I think that's a bit excessive isn't it. I have no intention of keeping mine in anything bigger than the 6*2*2 that it's in at the moment and I'm sure the other BGK owners on this forum don't intend on getting a 6*4 thank custom made. Two feet wide is plenty big enough to house a full grown BGK, you must be thinking of a Clown Knife.

im getting a new 55usg next week, but for now could i put him in a semi-aggresive tank with some gouramis and leporinus 55usg?

You can keep a black ghost knife in a 55g untill it reaches about 7 inches long. The perminate tank needs to be at least 6 feet long and 4 feet wide, which is VERY uncommon for comercial tanks. This fish will need a custom made aquarium.

Tank mates can include anything that do not fit in it's mouth and will not harass it. So large cichlids and small schoolers are out.