Black Ghost Knife Fish

[Dezi]

I have not yet found any information on this fish in this forum. They are truly wonderful to keep and very very interesting to watch. You can even train them to eat from your hand! I didn't realise how big they grow so have to change my system very very soon to a much larger setup!!! Does anyone know if I can keep Barbs with this fish?
Dezi.

 

[minnnt]

Depends on which Barbs you choose as tank mates. BGK's can be very shy if kept with over boisterous tank mates.

 

[SLIM]

Yes you can as long as you keep the barbs in a large group, minimum of 8. The more barbs you have, the less agressive they are towards other fish.

 

[minnnt]

Yes you can as long as you keep the barbs in a large group, minimum of 8. The more barbs you have, the less agressive they are towards other fish.

Wouldn't fancy keeping one with Tiger Barbs no matter how big a shoal it is.

 

[fluttermoth]

BGK are best kept in a species tank, IMO. They don't need dithers and are too shy to cope with many tank mates; barbs would be far too boisterous.

 

[Dezi]

Yes you can as long as you keep the barbs in a large group, minimum of 8. The more barbs you have, the less agressive they are towards other fish.

Wouldn't fancy keeping one with Tiger Barbs no matter how big a shoal it is.

I don't know much about Barbs but really like the look of them! Was hoping to change my system to suit them but would hate to get rid of my BGK!!

Just think it is so awesome!! Funny enough, the Tiger Barb was my favorite.... until I read your post.....

 

[minnnt]

Tiger Barbs are indeed some of the most effective Barbs there is. In fact they're some of the most effective fish available in the hobby. And if kept in a large enough shoal of say 10+ then they would usually be ok. But i wouldn't dare risk them with a BGK considering the delicacy of them. They're basically just one flowing big fin and I think this would prove too much temptation for the Tiger Barbs to resist. Even the odd nip here and there would leave it looking tatty and open and prone to infections and disease due to the shy nature of them when kept with boisterous fish.

If altering your setup or indeed creating another setup to house Barbs, then there is quite a few to look at and research into.

Black Ruby Barbs
Golden Barbs
Checker Barbs
Cherry Barbs
Torpedo Barbs
Pentazona/Melon Barbs
Spanner Barbs
Arulias Barbs

The list is pretty long, and you will find alot of different behaviours from species to species.

 

[SLIM]

Sorry but i have to disagree

I have 10 Tiger barbs that live with rainbowfish, angelfish, rams, corys and tetras and the barbs havnt touched or nipped my other fish not even once. They are very peaceful and keep to themselves.
Ok what works for me might not work for you this is true, but you could say this about mixing any fish.
Any so called peacful fish can have a agressive temperment. It depends on the individual fish not so much the species.
Yes ideally BGK should be in a species only tank but they will mix with other fish too. There not THAT shy.
And how often do people set up a tank just for BGK? They almost always get mixed. Successfully too.
I personnally think 10+ juvenile barbs wont touch the BGK as they will be too busy with each other. Plus barbs tend to stay away from fish larger than themselves.
At the end of the day its a game of trial and error.
People also say dont keep tetras with angelfish but again, i dont have any problems with mine.
Theirs no right or wrong answer to this.

Good luck with whatever you decide

 

[Davo86]

Torpedo barbs (Puntius denisonii) are the only barb species that I would personally consider keeping with a BGK,

better choices would be medium sized rainbows, panchax, congo tetras plus other oddball types like ctenopoma and african butterfly fish

 

[minnnt]

Torpedo barbs (Puntius denisonii) are the only barb species that I would personally consider keeping with a BGK,

better choices would be medium sized rainbows, panchax, congo tetras plus other oddball types like ctenopoma and african butterfly fish

+1

 

[Dezi]

Thanks to everyone for this useful information. I don't really want to take a chance in getting my BGK hurt..... too fond of him!! <img src="http/www.fishforums.net/public/style_emoticons/default/kiss.gif">! Will do some research on the other fish you suggested and see what I come up with. Will hopefully send a great pic of my new tank soon.........<img src="http/www.fishforums.net/public/style_emoticons/default/fish.gif"><br><br>Dezi....

 

[Dezi]

Sorry but i have to disagree

I have 10 Tiger barbs that live with rainbowfish, angelfish, rams, corys and tetras and the barbs havnt touched or nipped my other fish not even once. They are very peaceful and keep to themselves.
Ok what works for me might not work for you this is true, but you could say this about mixing any fish.
Any so called peacful fish can have a agressive temperment. It depends on the individual fish not so much the species.
Yes ideally BGK should be in a species only tank but they will mix with other fish too. There not THAT shy.
And how often do people set up a tank just for BGK? They almost always get mixed. Successfully too.
I personnally think 10+ juvenile barbs wont touch the BGK as they will be too busy with each other. Plus barbs tend to stay away from fish larger than themselves.
At the end of the day its a game of trial and error.
People also say dont keep tetras with angelfish but again, i dont have any problems with mine.
Theirs no right or wrong answer to this.

Good luck with whatever you decide

Thanks to everyone for this useful information. I don't really want to take a chance in getting my BGK hurt..... too fond of him!! <img src="http/www.fishforums.net/public/style_emoticons/default/kiss.gif">! Will do some research on the other fish you suggested and see what I come up with. Will hopefully send a great pic of my new tank soon.........<img src="http/www.fishforums.net/public/style_emoticons/default/fish.gif"><br><br>Dezi....