44 replies to this topic

[temptazn]

I have a 3ft tank... which may seem small at first but the bgk are small as well... abt 10cm each...

wat do u call fighting?? haha... really one just chases the other away when they get too close...

there are also quite distinct landmarks in the tank that they can use i guess... one on each side... but my photos also show that they like each other's company.. so i dont think its a territorial thing...

Oh well im gonna try get a new one soon... hopefully one of the opposite sex... think mine right now is a female

Congrats to Benckie again for the new fries

[monobono]

Hey temptazn

Looking at your tank, it might pay to reduce lighting or add wood to "tan" the water, as the brightness could be the reason your Black Ghost died. They are nocturnal, so during the day often they will like to hide in an ornament (I highly recommend adding two of these aswell).

But apart from that, tank looks nice.

oh and if you plan on keeping two BGK, you will need to upgrade from a 3ft tank eventually.

[diamondgirl]

Yep I agree with Monobono, in addition perhaps some more plants to help them feel a bit more secure.

wat do u call fighting

You obviously haven't seen them in action then! Not a pretty sight. Actually I doubt you would see that behaviour during the day. When I caught mine it was because I had just added another BGK which I acquired from a friend of mine and the largest of the originals wasn't happy at all! They all get on ok now tho.

[Mintox]

Reading this thread, I now want to buy another BGK. I think my tank would be perfect for it, quite dark and has one of them fake backgrounds it could hide in. My first one died, this really annoyed me as I find them very interesting.

The tank has neutral water, what are other people keeping them in?

[temptazn]

Hi.. thanks for the suggestions

my old and new bgk seem quite happy lately... even in the light... they tend to come up to the surface when i feed them. then i spend a few minutes playing with them literally... like ppl do with dolphins i guess (thats wat it reminds me of). seriously... they are attracted to my hand maybe coz they recognise it as the food giver-er haha... dont believe me? go ask Dramat1c... ive sent him a clip of it hahaha
so i dont think lighting is THAT bad atm...

abt the plants... well they dont grow overnight so just give it some time... the 'tan' water looks yuk to me... it looks tan now coz of the tannin in the water but hopefully that'll clear up and the plants will be big enough to cover most of the light as suggested...

fighting... ive seen the huge ones at vebas... go look urself seriously.. the massaive ones they have (3-4) just hang out in one tank all mellow like... i think once they get comfortable with the tank and each other they fight less... even i have noticed that the past few days... less so called 'fighting'.

[temptazn]

hey pleco

yeh haha maybe.. or maybe is the smell of my skin...
either way they are so cute haha

GO FOR IT Mintox haha... u wont regret it

they like slightly acidic??? dunno.. apparently they can live in the dirtiest of waters and the cleanest

[benckie]

i find this all very intresting

[temptazn]

hey all

i have added a youtube video on the net of me 'playing with blackghost knife fish'

the link is:



enjoy!!

[Mintox]

Nice video temptazn, I hope mine becomes as friendly!

I've been feeding my BGK bloodworms, brine shrimp and flakes. Today it became a lot more adventurous, much to my delight. I noticed it rummage by a flake lying on the gravel and it didn't seem to eat it. Does anyone feed their BGK flake? I really hope it's getting its fair share of food. What are people feeding their BGK's?

Thanks Peter

[diamondgirl]

Mintox, mine will eat everything I put into the tank, flake, wafers, vegies, pellets, bloodworms, live crickets.

If your worried about it not getting enough you could drop some food in a little after lights out as they are nocturnal.

[Mintox]

Thanks for the response diamondgirl.

I have been turning the lights off in its tank minutes after I've introduced the food. The rather large flake vanished soon after I had turned the lights off, so I hope it was the BGK who ate it.

You must have a decent sized BGK for it to eat live crickets, would be an awesome sight to see.

[diamondgirl]

I have three of them. The crickets are actually for my African Butterfly Fish, but sometimes he just isn't quick enough and the largest of my BGK's gets them.

My biggest isn't really that big ... about 18cm but they have huge mouths.

Have you had yours long? Sometimes they take a while to adjust to the tank. Mine all feed with the rest of the fish with lights on. When I feed them bloodworms I actually hold the cube or swirl it around in the water while it melts, generally they will eat it from my hand. Its very cool!

[temptazn]

yeh i handfeed mine bloodworms as well
which is probably y they are so comfortable with the presence of my hand. mine also eats flakes but they are kinda clumsy and take several shots to actually get one in their mouths haha. mine dont seem to like vegies of anytype, they sniff around algae wafers but dont like it...
where can i get the crickets? are they the ones u buy at the LFS?
y do u guys turn the lights off when feeding?? watching them eat is the best part IMO haha...

[Mintox]

I only got my BGK a week or two ago, it's around 12cm long.

I had another one a few years ago, sadly it died. It died after around a few weeks. Its death really annoyed me as it started to play around my hand like in Temptazn's video.

[temptazn]

huh? u mean its a curse? touch of death? haha jks
im sorry to hear abt ur ex-bgk... i had one die after abt 2 weeks as well as mentioned in my previous posts... oh well... maybe its a stress thing... who knows...? can any1 speak black ghost?? mine are doing good nowadays... i have re-scaped my tank and has lots of hiding places.. i will post up a picture of my new tank once i have completely finished it...

[diamondgirl]

The crickets are available at some LFS.

I've taken a few from the garden as well BUT ... be very careful where your getting them from, obviously the garden will hold some residues of ferts, etc. I wouldn't recommend you do that.

I dont turn the lights off to feed mine, but in Mintox's case, where he was concerned whether his was getting his fair share, it might be a good idea. I agree temptazn, they are awesome to watch feed. Mine eat zucchini, I soften it a little in the microwave before I put it in, they just love it - have you tried that?

I just love these fish and could talk about them all day

Cheers - Denise

[temptazn]

haha
denise... i have the same illness haha... i call it bgk-itis
my friends talk abt cichlids all the time.. hard to get a good convo with them abt bgks haha...
zucchinis hey... i might give that a try.... if they dont like it then i guess i'll eat it lol
thnx
vic

[Dramat1c]

lOL i may get BGK soon HOHO

Richard

[temptazn]

good...