Finding Some Frineds For My Black Ghost Knife

Cam007

New Member
Joined
Jul 6, 2011
Messages
6
Reaction score
0
Hi! I just joined this website and was hoping for some advice. I have two black ghost knife fish in a 55 gallon (US) tank that up until recently (last 72 hrs) were tank mates with a rainbow shark, 5 tiger barbs, 2 plecto catfish somethings and two sucker fish ... all of these died within in 48 hrs (over the last weekend)and the ghost knife were the only survivors. I had them all for approx 6 months. I had never seen any problems between the fish apart from a little chasing etc. The tiger barbs hung out in the same area as one of the BGKF, but it seems this could be rare? I want to get some other fish but need some advice on what would be the best. Thanks for any help!
 
I would get your water parameters checked just to make sure your water is fine. For all those fish to die in 48 hours something has to be very wrong. BGK get a good size, so two in a 55g may be a bit tight as they get bigger.So adding more fish may not be a good idea. In terms of tankmates you would need to go with something that is peaceful and large enough so that they cannot fit into the BGK's mouths.
 
I agree with Fish Guy; you need to find out why those other fish died before you even think about re-stocking (which, tbh, you don't have the room for anyway).

I should also poit out that BGKs get increasingly territorial as they grow, so you're going to have to re-home one or almost certainly one will end up killing or badly injuring the other.

The remaining one will need a much larger tank; BGKs can grow to nearly two feet in length.

I'm sorry to sound like such a misery, but it really is for the good of your fish that we say these things.

Welcome to the forum anyway!
 
We had the water tested and there was no problem with that, the temperature was fine (perhaps a degree or two too cold)and have now changed almost everything in the tank in case there was something wrong there. The reason why we got two was that when we bought them we were told it was best have two of each species! So am learning a lot as we go along!

Thanks for all the advice.
 
What were the actual numbers from the tests? How are you maintaining your filter and what water changes do you do?

It's just not normal to lose that many fish in that short a space of time; something, somewhere has gone very badly wrong.

For example, I have 6 tanks, with well over 100 fish, and I haven't lost one in for getting on 18 months. You need to get to the bottom of it, really, before risking any more fish.
 
We weren't given the numbers, but the person at the fish shop said that the nitrates were slightly high but not enough to warrant all of them dying. We change the water (partial change) every couple of weeks and we have three filters in there that we change as well. Im sorry I cant be more specific ... as you probably guessed we are a little new to this. Of course we are trying to figure it out as soon as we can.
 
Thanks for all the advice. Unfortunately the two knife fish have just died. So now we are really confused. We are now going to completely empty all the water, clean it and start again. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, seeing as 11 fish have all died in just under a week.

Thanks in advance.
 
Now that you have no fish (sorry for your loss) you can start again, properly, and cycle it properly and have a good, compatible stocking.

I suggest you clean everything with boiling water, including decor and filters, get new sand/gravel and read up on fishless cycling. oh and get a liquid test kit, youll need it for cycling.

again, sorry for your loss.
 
Thank you. It was awful seeing this happen. Appreciate your advice and good to know to use boiling water.
 
I know it is, i lost a harlequin this afternoon, was horrible pulling him out , so i cant imagine what pullin 2 BGK out of the tank is like :(
 
I realize your first instinct was to clean everything but now you've essentially wiped out your biological filter. Unless your filter media was salvaged? It wasn't necessary to start over(not that that helps you now but it's something to consider in the future). You will need a water testing kit of your own for the future as it's not always good to rely on what the local fish store(LFS) tells you. Check out the beginner and tank cycling threads on the forum to help you be successful.

Good luck and sorry about your fish.

Welcome to the forum as well :)
 
Thanks for that info. and thanks for the welcome! I saw the beginners thread so am going to check that out like you said. Hopefully next time round we will be more successful.
 
I suggested cleaning everything including filter because we dont know what killed the fish, i would suggest an internal bacteria or parasite, i just wouldnt want OP's filter housing any nasties and having it happen all over again,
 
I lost my bgk. He committed suicide. Jumped out at 4am. Heartbreaking to say the least. So sorry for your loss. As mentioned above, now you can start all over. Make sure to cycle your tank. Get a good liquid test kit. Don't try to keep two bgks in the same tank, unless you have a very big tank. Mine was almost 12" when he jumped. They can get large and territorial, but they are lovely fish. Welcome and good luck! :good:
 

Most reactions

Back
Top