View Full Version : Black Ghost Knife myth busters needed
loach43
12-30-2005, 6:19 AM
I've probably seen hundreds of black ghost knifes in my life. Who hasn't?
After recently seeing some nice ones at my LFS I thought hmmmm, might be cool to keep one in a tank by himself, so I got on the net to do some basic research.
The info I found varied so much that I'm pretty confused, mostly on how big a BGK can get. I've never seen one over say 10-12" but according to many sites I've visited, some say they can get 20"-26" in length. That's believable to me since so many other knifes like carapo, aba-abas, etc. get huge, but alas, I've never seen a black ghost knife that big, not even in a photo. What do they look like as large adults and how big do they REALLY get? Are they evil killers as adults? Do they fade into a putrid grey and lose the white markings with age?
Pics pleeeez!
jason34
12-30-2005, 11:51 AM
our LFS has a few of bgk in,all from about 12or 13inch to the size of your little finger.the big ones look cool,nice big head on them and nice slim bodys.
i also have one and he is coming on grate,at the min i would say he is 7to8inch and geting bigger all the time,il soon have to get him a bigger tube.
we have ours in with all sorts of fish,small and big and never had any probs with him eating the smaller ones but im not saying he couldnt he could if he wanted.
he seems to love mussel's,he gets it and swims around like mad ripping big bits off.
very nice fish and good to watch.like all fish some are diffrent than others you could get one that will try to eat every think then again you could get one that wouldnt.
sypher
12-30-2005, 12:29 PM
my BGK is 10" in length and is the best fish in my tank... i have to caves set up for him and he goes back and forth between them... i have some small fish in my tank and the BGK doesn't bother them at all, the one fish it doesn't mess with is the 12" pleco i have in my tank... real fun to watch... when i first got my blue rams a couple months back all i thought about was was my ghost going to eat my new fish so i watched the tank everyday and counted my rams everyday... to my surpise he never touched them but loves to hit the bloodworms and shrimp... as for BGK get between 20" --> 26" in size i don't know but i too research the net and saw that average size is around 18" before i got mine...
Miles
12-30-2005, 12:38 PM
Mine is about 14".. It would probably be bigger if it hadn't lived its whole life in a 55g. I inhereited it after it from the wifey's parents when we got togethor, because they were sick of caring for it.. Its only tankmate is a 8" elephant nose mormyrid. They have been around for about 8 years..
My exporter said he has seen them as big as 18", and I have been requesting 'XXL' ones on every Import.. I really hope someday I can bring in a 20"+ wild one!! That would be AWESOME!!
loach43
12-30-2005, 6:53 PM
Wow, he's a beauty. Elephant looks nice too. Well there's one question answered. Your knife seems to be retaining his color nicely for being large and relatively old.
What I'm really hoping is that someone will post a pic of a 20" specimen or give the link to a site that has a photo of one that big. I can't find a photo of a jumbo BGK on the web anywhere.
Thanx Miles!
Thomascl
12-31-2005, 2:15 AM
Iv seen a 52cm (20") BGK he was awesome and still very black with a blue tinge.
Thomas.
Leviathan
12-31-2005, 5:59 AM
[QUOTE=Thomascl]Iv seen a 52cm (20") BGK he was awesome and still very black with a blue tinge.
I went to a fish farm and i ask them how large BGK can grow and they said 36inch has been keep before.
Josh
loach43
12-31-2005, 9:51 AM
!!!! That's huge!!!! Well, looks like I'm back to square-one on not knowing how big a BGK can really get but I appreciate the feedback. Still haven't found any pics on the web with some guy holding up a giant Black Ghost Knife the length of his own arm.
Cai Man
12-31-2005, 9:58 AM
The internet has been both a pain and a blessing. We can now access way more info, but it has also given more power to this saying than ever before. "An opinion is like an *******, everybody has one"
yeah, im pretty sure the can reach their maximum sizes.. i've seen one thats about 16" for sale in one of the lfs here before ;)
Fahaka Man
12-31-2005, 11:36 AM
Where did you get your fish?
ThisIsTong
01-01-2006, 12:07 AM
BGK are pretty crazy fish
Gr8KarmaSF
01-01-2006, 12:57 AM
Gr8 pics...a XXL would be a nice addition to anybodies collection
Thomascl
01-02-2006, 6:29 AM
[QUOTE=Thomascl]Iv seen a 52cm (20") BGK he was awesome and still very black with a blue tinge.
I went to a fish farm and i ask them how large BGK can grow and they said 36inch has been keep before.
Josh
\
WOW that is huge, would love to see a pic of that.
Thomas
starrfish71
01-03-2006, 12:10 PM
I have seen one grow to about 18 " in a 55gallon tank- one things I have noticed through my experience is they tend to grow somewhat slowly. I currently have a baby that I bouhgt not quite two years ago, it was nose to tail maybe 2.5 inches, and now it's pushing 4 inches. It eats everything I drop in there, frozen or dry food, loves all it's caves, glass tunnels, plants and to swim upside down whenever in the mood.
I have had some that when put into a tank with tetras the tetras tend to lose thier eyeballs at night, and small things like neons or guppies might disappear. Other than that, they seem to not be very fierce predators, and are very safe for general community tanks, minus small tetras.
Most of the ones I have seen that are more than 12 inches are more than 10 years old.
They are electric- and terretorial towards other electric fish- I am amazed that the elephant nose and the black ghost are getting along in the pictures posted here.
They had one on Abyss that was HUGE. I believe that they inherit a smaller size in the home aquarium due to their inability to "sense" food. If you ever watch them in the dark they are constantly savaging for small shrimp, snails, and critters. they are probably in a constant dark in the wild and eat a lot more.
mackino7
01-05-2006, 10:27 PM
interesting
loach43
01-06-2006, 2:49 AM
Thanks for all the info everyone. What I'm trying to get a grasp on is: what would be a good sized tank to keep one for life with no other tank inhabitants? Would a 40gL eventually become a torture chamber in say, 8 years?
Opiate
01-09-2006, 1:19 AM
Yeah they get freakin huge, my ex gf's is like 12 inches long and it's kept in a self contained jebo tank...i'd love to put it ina larger tank and watch it sprout out!
look at this monster...and no its not hers! :)
Opiate
01-09-2006, 1:21 AM
LOL i didnt even know that, that pic was from here :P
loach43
01-10-2006, 9:59 AM
Yessss! That's what I'm talkin' about!
I'm elightened! :D
flagtailpc
02-14-2006, 6:30 PM
I've probably seen hundreds of black ghost knifes in my life. Who hasn't?
After recently seeing some nice ones at my LFS I thought hmmmm, might be cool to keep one in a tank by himself, so I got on the net to do some basic research.
The info I found varied so much that I'm pretty confused, mostly on how big a BGK can get. I've never seen one over say 10-12" but according to many sites I've visited, some say they can get 20"-26" in length. That's believable to me since so many other knifes like carapo, aba-abas, etc. get huge, but alas, I've never seen a black ghost knife that big, not even in a photo. What do they look like as large adults and how big do they REALLY get? Are they evil killers as adults? Do they fade into a putrid grey and lose the white markings with age?
Pics pleeeez!
my own experinces with the noble BGK says 10-12" right, 20" wrong. discolourations i have seen only in instances of desease neglector near death,
speaking of myths and death the indigenous native people of the BGK South
American habitat believe that the BGK carry the spirits of their departed relatives
and leave them alone lest they seek revenge on the living for disturbing the dead
i wouldn't trust any BGK with any tankmates that will fit in their mouths(this will
change as your BGK grows) however i have not known them to be aggressive
with reasonably sized tankmates with the exceptions of territorial struggles
over the best place to Hide/sleep (this applies to other species who may want the
same spot as wellas too many BGK, too little space )They are one of the coolest
fish around they will also need frozen or live foods, i have seen and feed dry
food myself occasionally but not as a steady diet
my bgkf has grown from 3in to about 13in in two years , eating mostly blood worms with feeder guppies and the odd tankmate.
i had him in a 3ft until he got too big , then 4ft and now an 8*2*2, apart from a bout of fungus 6months ago on his fin which left a hole he is totally happy and healthy.
i have been wondering if there were any monster bgkf out there, let me know if you want a pic of mine
ps i put another one in the tank with him to see if they could co-exist. it was the most awesome fish fight ive seen , they have huge mouths and twist around each other to get leaverage to bite,
cheers dan
loach43
02-16-2006, 2:01 AM
Well um....lessee.
YES! Pic please!
Big knifes make my heart beat faster :headbang2
look at this monster...and no its not hers! :)
FYI.. That is not a black ghost knife ;)
loach43
02-16-2006, 7:42 AM
FYI.. That is not a black ghost knife ;)
Yeah, I thought it looked strangely non-BGK but gave it the benefeit of the doubt since some fish just look way different as older adults than they do as young adults. Classic example: chinese hi-fin loaches.
So what is that beast anyway????
mudskipper
02-16-2006, 2:40 PM
there is a 3 foot clown in a display tank for people to pay money to wach it eat a town or 2 away from mine (grand Island, NE)
Daniel Machado
02-16-2006, 9:45 PM
:iagree: with Miles... Looks like a "duckhead knife"/ Apteronotus anas to me. ;)
Best regards.
Daniel.
Miles
02-17-2006, 10:33 PM
my own experinces with the noble BGK says 10-12" right, 20" wrong.
I saw a 16-17" one at a public aquarium.. I own a 14" one..
I am trying hard to obtain a 20" one. We will see!
loach43
02-18-2006, 2:09 AM
Hope you do. I want this myth to be busted!
Sly_Marbo
02-18-2006, 5:56 AM
Could I keep a BGK with fish 3'' and smaller?
Plates
02-18-2006, 5:57 PM
Do there electric feilds bother other fish I hear they do and I hear they dont
They are very commom here in brazil (and cheap). People use them like life bait!!!
The biggest one i've ever seen was about 20in!! And It was completely the same as little ones!!
loach43
03-03-2006, 10:06 AM
They are very commom here in brazil (and cheap). People use them like life bait!!!
The biggest one i've ever seen was about 20in!! And It was completely the same as little ones!!
From previous things said so far, I believe you. Sounds like 20 inches is the rough max (wild) for the much loved BGK. Lessee, tank depth would need to be about 24 inches for life assuming they max at around 16-17 inches in captivity right??
Thats the main thing I had on my mind when I started this thread. :D
wannaarro
05-04-2006, 4:08 PM
To dredge up an older thread:
You guys seem to really know your stuff about BGK's--I'm new to them, but have got them under my skin now!!
One question:
Do you think a BGK would do well in a Malawi Rift Lake environment, or are pH/kH/gH levels too different?
Thanks, and the photos are awesome! ~r
rhinod56
05-04-2006, 4:19 PM
From what I've read and seen, in the wild I hear just over 20" around maybe 2ft, captive grown from my own eyes, and talking with the lfs people, usually top out around 18"...
Aescleah
05-06-2006, 4:20 AM
i have never saw one over 5 inches
Ashley
WhiteLineRacer
05-17-2006, 9:24 AM
There you go
is that an eel under your bgk?
Keeper of the Ropes
07-04-2006, 5:10 AM
WOW that pic is awesome! What species of eel is that in the lower right hand side of the picture? Peacock? Tire track?...
WhiteLineRacer
07-04-2006, 8:52 AM
Yes it's a Tyre Track :) or Whiffle as she is known as
Vince
07-10-2006, 12:22 PM
To dredge up an older thread:
You guys seem to really know your stuff about BGK's--I'm new to them, but have got them under my skin now!!
One question:
Do you think a BGK would do well in a Malawi Rift Lake environment, or are pH/kH/gH levels too different?
Thanks, and the photos are awesome! ~r
The Rift Lake biotope would not match the environment for the BGK. The pH would be high, since in South America, with all the rotting leaves and driftwood would make the water acidic. But you could be the first to do it :)