Bgk And Betta?

[CPQ]

my boyfriend wants to get a tank and these are the two fish he desperately wants. would they work together??

 

[Straydum]

i'm not too sure but i would advise against it. bgks get up to 20 inches, and being nocturnal, could make a meal out of your sleeping betta. through experience, bkgs are kinda rough on tankmates. mine tried to eat my fire eel which was of almost the same size.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Hmm the bgk would probably eat the betta, although i can't say this from exprerience.
You only need a tank of 2gallons or more to keep a single betta, why not get both fish but just keep the betta in its own 2gal tank and the bgk in its much larger suitably sized tank? That way you could have the best of both worlds .

 

[CPQ]

ok thanks guys!

phoenix - sounds like a plan! cheers!!

one more question - could anyone suggest ideal BGK tankmates. i know you're not to get anything that will fit in his mouth. But would something semi-aggressive like a pair of Kribs be ok? Or do they need more peaceful tankmates?

 

[xweeqtx]

Hmf, the BGK I had was an idiot. The daftest fish I've ever known. It was only a baby right enough, but still, was so silly. It ended up killing itself trying to squeeze between the filter and the glass.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

ok thanks guys!

phoenix - sounds like a plan! cheers!!

one more question - could anyone suggest ideal BGK tankmates. i know you're not to get anything that will fit in his mouth. But would something semi-aggressive like a pair of Kribs be ok? Or do they need more peaceful tankmates?

kribs would probably still be too small to keep with a BGK. remember, we're talking about a fish that grows to 18" or longer.

if you're wanting cichlids with your BGK, then i'd suggest trying severums or uarus. you don't want anything too terribly aggressive.

 

[CPQ]

ok so ... if we forget about the betta for the time being ... can anyone tell me what sort of size tank i would be looking at for the BGK and compatible tankmates??

We've seen a (just over) 50 US gal tank which is quite nice. is that too small? and if not, what, if anything, would fit in there and work well with him??

and also - this tank comes with an external filter - is that preferable for a BGK (I dont like them personally - that;s why i ask) or does it not matter??

Thanks

 

[Gankutsuou]

too small. The minimum is 80gallons, and the "Ideal" is 120.

Ideal tankmates include most any time of pleco, as they're not gonna be able to be picked off the glass and are too tough

another kind of tankmate could be Synodontis catfish that are 8 inches or bigger. Perhaps a featherfin?
You'll have to arrange specifics for this cat though!

And perhaps a Senegal Bichir. All three of these could enjoys a mixed diet including bloodworm and shrimp pellets.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

We've seen a (just over) 50 US gal tank which is quite nice. is that too small? and if not, what, if anything, would fit in there and work well with him??

and also - this tank comes with an external filter - is that preferable for a BGK (I dont like them personally - that;s why i ask) or does it not matter??

Thanks

yes, that tank is probably too small for a BGK. you need to think about this in terms of dimensions--a BGK will be at least 16" long, so it needs a tank that is at least 18" wide and 48" inches long. since a BGK would be about 6" tall, the tank should also be at least 18" deep. that's roughly a 75 gallon tank. (Remember that not just any 75g will work! you need to pay attention to the shape of the tank.)


i'm not aware of any internal filter that would be powerful enough to maintain even a medium-sized predator tank. you would need to go with an external of some sort. if you don't like the "hang on the back" style, then you should consider spending a bit more to get a canister filter. canisters are generally more efficient and also quieter than HOB filters, but they don't do much to agitate the water's surface (which can cause problems with surface films).

 

[CPQ]

oh that sucks!!

This tank is 36x18x18 ... so we're looking for an extra foot of length!! wow!

thanks for ur advice - the only reason i ask about the filter is the tank we looked at comes with an external but i've no experience with them and would have been happier with an internal - but i guess (should we ever find anything suitable) I'll just have to learn! lol

 

[Fishsauce]

But would something semi-aggressive like a pair of Kribs be ok? Or do they need more peaceful tankmates?

I had to get rid of my krib because he would not leave my BGK's tail alone. It's okay though because I knew in the long run the krib might become lunch anyway.

 

[DarkEntity]

When buying for a specific fish look for its maximum potential size, with Black Ghost Knifes the larges ive seen was nearer 26" in length....so id look for a tank large enough for a 20" + fish.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

When buying for a specific fish look for its maximum potential size, with Black Ghost Knifes the larges ive seen was nearer 26" in length....so id look for a tank large enough for a 20" + fish.

are you sure that was a BGK and not a Clown?

 

[Jules H-T]

I have had no problems with a pair of Kribs in with my BGKF. The BGKF is a good 13"+ now and really beefing up, and they've lived together for over 2 years. Also share with some clown loaches, danios, a plec, khuli loaches, red line torpedo barbs. No problems at all. In fact, the Kribs had babies and one of them has made it to adulthood in that tank.

 

[branjie]

I have the below fish (other than the Bettas) in together. It's a very harmonious tank, but the ghost will probably eat the Tetras when he grows up. Then again, I have heard of ghosts living with tetras and not eating them, so hopefully we'll get lucky there. I'm upgrading to a 6ft tank to accomodate the ghost. Bettas are best kept on their own.