Black Ghost Knife For 55G

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mprevost984

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Hello fish fans,
I am new to the forums but an intermidate fish keeper, im going back to keeping a community tank and am starting a new 55g with led lighting, I want to put a BGK in as the main focal point and center tankmates around its needs, I know a 55 is too samll for a full grown BGK but will do for a juvinile. At the lfs they are sellng them around 3 to 4 in. My questions are 1) can i put a red tail black shark in with the BGK? And 2) What are other suitable tankmates for this really awesone fish. I am getting rid of my african cichlids because i cant put anything in with them and moving my6 in green terror and his spotted sailfin pleco buddies to the african tank when they move out. Thanks for the help.
 
Personally i wouldnt do the bgk thing, they are slow growers so a 55g may be okay for a temporary home (a year or so maybe) but the thing you are after is a centerpiece/focal point for the tank and you just wont get that with a black ghost, they lurk in caves and shadows when the lights are on, you will barely see it during the day which is not something you want from a centerpiece fish. Dont get me wrong the bgk is a great fish but because of the small tank which he will outgrow and the want for a 'focal point' there are a lot better and more suitable fish out there! The african brown knife is a more suitable size knife but due to the nature of knives and their love of the dark they really aren't the 'focal point' fish you are looking for. I take care of my brothers 150gal amazon tank his ghost knife is a good 14inches and you never see it! More of a background fish than a focal point fish.
 
A BGK shouldnt be in that sized tank, when it is older that will be too small i sold my BGK to someone with a bigger tank and i have an 80g, it came with the tank i had bought. If you are considering buying a fish you should buy one that you intend to keep not to keep for only a while then sell on. As aether.ed has said they hide alot and only come out when feeding or at night, also they eat anything that will fit in their mouths. If a focal point fish is what you want there are many other colourful fish you could have that would be suitable for that sized tank.
 
A BGK shouldnt be in that sized tank, when it is older that will be too small i sold my BGK to someone with a bigger tank and i have an 80g, it came with the tank i had bought.

If you read properly, they planned to put it in there till it had grown on a bit and then move it to a bigger tank :/
 
I have a BGK in a 55 with Angel, Rummynose, Oto, Hatchet, and Blackskirts.....they all live together peacefully. Once he gets too big, I plan to exchange him with another smaller one. Already have it worked out with my LFS.
 
the_great_white said:
I have a BGK in a 55 with Angel, Rummynose, Oto, Hatchet, and Blackskirts.....they all live together peacefully. Once he gets too big, I plan to exchange him with another smaller one. Already have it worked out with my LFS.
 
Why would you do that? Why not just give it the tank it needs and keep it for life 
huh.png

Rather than growing it up and exchanging it for a smaller one because once you grow to a size that is way too big for a 55 gallons tank it's going to be harder for the LFS to pass on so they'll end up keeping it for the rest of it's life till someone with the correct tank comes along 
unsure.png
 
Paradise<3 said:
A BGK shouldnt be in that sized tank, when it is older that will be too small i sold my BGK to someone with a bigger tank and i have an 80g, it came with the tank i had bought.
If you read properly, they planned to put it in there till it had grown on a bit and then move it to a bigger tank
confused.gif
Unless I'm reading it wrong as well the OP doesn't say he has a bigger tank to move it on to - just that he knows it needs a bigger tank. He may plan to get rid of it when it gets too big. If this is the case then I agree 100% with Amy - I personally believe you should have the tank to be able to look after a fish for its whole life before you buy it. It's fine to say you'll get a bigger tank but things happen and circumstances change. You wouldn't get a puppy and get rid of it when it grows up
 
leighton_87 said:
 



A BGK shouldnt be in that sized tank, when it is older that will be too small i sold my BGK to someone with a bigger tank and i have an 80g, it came with the tank i had bought.
If you read properly, they planned to put it in there till it had grown on a bit and then move it to a bigger tank
confused.gif
Unless I'm reading it wrong as well the OP doesn't say he has a bigger tank to move it on to - just that he knows it needs a bigger tank. He may plan to get rid of it when it gets too big. If this is the case then I agree 100% with Amy - I personally believe you should have the tank to be able to look after a fish for its whole life before you buy it. It's fine to say you'll get a bigger tank but things happen and circumstances change. You wouldn't get a puppy and get rid of it when it grows up
 
Ah, sorry. I mis-read. My mistake. Though if the plan was to get it and house it temporarily and then move it into a bigger tank when it needed it that's fine as long as you are 100% you are going to get the bigger tank. Unlike the poster which has got one and is just going to replace it with another baby when it grows too big :/
 
I don't understand what the problem is with growing out a BGK as part of an agreement i have with my LFS. It's not like I'm just going to throw it out in the driveway when it get's too large for my aquarium.
 
the_great_white said:
I don't understand what the problem is with growing out a BGK as part of an agreement i have with my LFS. It's not like I'm just going to throw it out in the driveway when it get's too large for my aquarium.
 
No but what is the point of growing it up, giving it to an LFS for them to hold till it dies or someone with a 5ft tank buys it and replacing it with the exact same fish that will get to the same size which you will end up doing to same with.
 
Paradise<3 said:
 
 
No but what is the point of growing it up, giving it to an LFS for them to hold till it dies or someone with a 5ft tank buys it and replacing it with the exact same fish that will get to the same size which you will end up doing to same with.
 
even a 5 foot tank is too small for a full grown BGK so your point is invalid. to properly house a full grown BGK, you would need a tank around 500 gallons at least. not many here can actually properly house a fish that is 2 foot long. my LFS does large designer commercial fish tanks and would be able to put it in a proper environment.
 
the_great_white said:
 
 
No but what is the point of growing it up, giving it to an LFS for them to hold till it dies or someone with a 5ft tank buys it and replacing it with the exact same fish that will get to the same size which you will end up doing to same with.
 
even a 5 foot tank is too small for a full grown BGK so your point is invalid. to properly house a full grown BGK, you would need a tank around 500 gallons at least. not many here can actually properly house a fish that is 2 foot long. my LFS does large designer commercial fish tanks and would be able to put it in a proper environment.
Actually they don't need 500 gallons, they need 500 litres which is slightly bigger than a 5'x2'x2' - 540 litres. So take off stuff for decor, substrate and stuff and you have about 500 litres. Perfect for a BGK.
 
prankster705 said:
rofl, 2ft bgk. Nice one.
 
XD Potentially they can reach that but they generally only get to about 18-20" in captivity.
 

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