Can I Had A Black Ghost Knifefish?

[defoecurtis]

Hello all can i had the black ghost knifefish to my tank 
 
tank and fish specs
 
TANK:
Fluval Roma 240 (240L) (120 x 40 x 55 cm)
25kg Silver Sand
One Power-Glo Fluorescent Aquarium Tube 40W 106.68cm (42in) T8
One Aqua-Glo Fluorescent Aquarium Tube 40W 106.68cm (42in) T8
Fluval 306 External Filter
Fluval E Series Heater 300watt,

PLANTS:
2x Ludwigia Arcuata
2x Nymphaea Lotus
2x Nesaea Crassicaulis
2x Java Fern
2x Echinodorus rose
4x Cabomba Caroliniana
Hydrocotyle Tripartita

FISH:
6x Golden Barbs (4 female / 2 male)
5x Kuhli Loach
3x Harlequin Rasbora (3 Male)
5x Mollys (4 Female/ 1 Male)
4x ??? shrimp
4x Corydoras
3x Platies (1x Red/ 2x half gold and black all Female)
3x cherry shrimp
3x fry (molly) not in main tank yet
3x Furcata rainbows (All Female)
2x Glass Catfish 
1x Electric Blue Ram

 

[Sickbound]

That sounds like a lot of fish already in the tank.
You should have more Corydoras, also. They like to be in groups of 6-10.
It does sound like you have all small fish, though. 
I don't know much about knifefish but they get pretty big don't they?

 

[Wills]

No sorry they are a big fish when adult and should attain well over a foot long. Also when adult they could be a risk to your smaller fish as they do become predatory and do have surprisingly large mouths.
 
Trying to think of an alternative for you but I think even the smaller African Brown Knives would be a bit cramped in your tank...
 
Wills

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I think the short answer is basically - no.
 
Some (many) of the fish you have are actually shoaling fish that should be kept in larger numbers, and you already have a fairly heavily stocked tank.  The remaining bioload space should be reserved for: more harlequins, more of the same species of corydoras, more upside down catfish and more rainbows.

 

[DJH584]

Like Sickhound, I second upping your cory numbers BUT you should also up your Rasbora numbers as they prefer a minimum of 6.
Whether or not you would be able to fit those additions into your tank, I will leave others to decide.

 

[defoecurtis]

the tank looks empty lol (Aquarium Measurements: 120 x 40 x 55 cm)...the rasbora's was just for the cycle iv tried adding more but these 3 just fight them. think they are happy just the 3 of them.. the cory's will be putting anoter 4 in at sumpoint..and one of the female mollys will be going soon.. iv seen many tanks on youtube with the big knifefish with neons and same size fish of mine..but ill trust you guys and reed more bout them...

 

[fluttermoth]

Please don't use YouTube videos as a fishkeeping guide! I've never seen a larger collection of poorly maintained, badly stocked tanks in my life...
 
The only place that's worse is yahoo answers

 

[Blondielovesfish]

A 500 Litre tank is pretty much a minimum for black ghost knife fish.

 

[Wills]

Totally agree with Fluttermouth - Youtube is for anyone to upload a tank and so many are dreadful - dont get me wrong though its a fantastic resource when your looking at the right channel or video.
 
There is one video on Youtube that I was looking for but I cant find it right now - its got a bgk in it attacking a syphon during a water change but its good because it shows the jaw structure on it - its not just the tiny little mouth you see on the front its like the cheeks are elastic and the jaw kind of stretches down a bit like a snake.
 
Wills

 

[zoopkamol]

Water temps for these fish are all over the place too
 
=> 71.6 - 80.6F: Glass Catfish
=> 78.8 - 86F: Blue Ram
=> 69.8 - 80.6F: Red Cherry Shrimp
=> 64.4 - 75.2F: Golden Barb
=> 75.2 - 86F: Kuhli Loach
=> 71.6 - 77F: Harlequin Rasbora
=> 64.4 - 82.4F: Molly
=> 66.2 - 82.4F: Panda Cory
 
What would be the "ideal temp"?
79 be to high for Barbs, rasboras
anything below 79 be to low for ram
 
In my opinion just a bad mix of fish.

 

[Ninjouzata]

Totally agree with Fluttermouth - Youtube is for anyone to upload a tank and so many are dreadful - dont get me wrong though its a fantastic resource when your looking at the right channel or video.
 
There is one video on Youtube that I was looking for but I cant find it right now - its got a bgk in it attacking a syphon during a water change but its good because it shows the jaw structure on it - its not just the tiny little mouth you see on the front its like the cheeks are elastic and the jaw kind of stretches down a bit like a snake.
 
Wills

Is this it? ^.^ http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZO_wyslrVE Sorry no idea how to make the actual video appear ;-;

 

[MBOU]

Dear god, I knew they ate fish easily but I have *never* seen a ghostie open its mouth like that!!

 

[Wills]

YES!!! Thankyou Ninjouzata proves the point exactly They are an ambush predator so the mouth just expands around the prey and its gone...
 
FYI though I do think that tank is terrible, looks reasonably big but the fish are bigger and its a crap mix of fish, Im amazed that puffer survives with the redtail in there but this thread is not about that....
 
Hope it proves a point that small fish are not safe with them around though.
 
Wills

 

[defoecurtis]

Water temps for these fish are all over the place too
 
=> 71.6 - 80.6F: Glass Catfish
=> 78.8 - 86F: Blue Ram
=> 69.8 - 80.6F: Red Cherry Shrimp
=> 64.4 - 75.2F: Golden Barb
=> 75.2 - 86F: Kuhli Loach
=> 71.6 - 77F: Harlequin Rasbora
=> 64.4 - 82.4F: Molly
=> 66.2 - 82.4F: Panda Cory
 
What would be the "ideal temp"?
79 be to high for Barbs, rasboras
anything below 79 be to low for ram
 
In my opinion just a bad mix of fish.

my temp min is 27c with no heater on and with just light on and no heater its 28c (and im in the UK lol) and all the fish are very happy!
so i could put one in till its bout 9inch, then move it to another bigger tank and what fish wud be ok with this fish.?
 
aquarium filtration capacity for above selected species is 86%
Recommended water change schedule: 22% per week
aquarium stocking level is 78%

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Water temps for these fish are all over the place too
 
=> 71.6 - 80.6F: Glass Catfish
=> 78.8 - 86F: Blue Ram
=> 69.8 - 80.6F: Red Cherry Shrimp
=> 64.4 - 75.2F: Golden Barb
=> 75.2 - 86F: Kuhli Loach
=> 71.6 - 77F: Harlequin Rasbora
=> 64.4 - 82.4F: Molly
=> 66.2 - 82.4F: Panda Cory
 
What would be the "ideal temp"?
79 be to high for Barbs, rasboras
anything below 79 be to low for ram
 
In my opinion just a bad mix of fish.

my temp min is 27c with no heater on and with just light on and no heater its 28c (and im in the UK lol) and all the fish are very happy!
so i could put one in till its bout 9inch, then move it to another bigger tank and what fish wud be ok with this fish.?
 
aquarium filtration capacity for above selected species is 86%
Recommended water change schedule: 22% per week
aquarium stocking level is 78%

Do not, I repeat do not use that stocking site as a stocking guide... Its name is not printable on here, it is awful!
 
Your tank is unsuitable for BGK by a country mile, not just by tankmates, but also tank size. It would be irresponsible to buy a BGK baby knowing you cannot house it for life and risking your smaller fish. Especially when your tank is already overstocked (~200cm of adult fish in a 240l) and inappropriately stocked (social fish in non-social numbers, temperate fish like Golden Barbs with high-end tropical Electric Blue Rams etc.)
 
I have an African Brown Knife Fish, I bought it last September, it is currently ~12cm and should grow to ~20cm as a hobby specimen (wilds typically reach ~30cm). It is currently in my 120x30x37cm with one ~7cm SL African Butterfly Fish; four ~10cm SL Leopard Bushfish; one young ~10cm Ornate Catfish (which has grown ~6cm since last September) [all carnivores, so high protein diet, ~3x 50-75% water changes every two weeks]. I have an operational ~181x43.5x38cm waiting to put the knife and my Ornate in, albeit I need to rescue ~12 Steatocranus newborns (and quite possibly the adults, the Ornate has a massive mouth already!) from the tank before that can happen (but I have 8 tanks including a "dormant" garage 5x2x2).