bgk- convince me
- Thread starter BIGtyme
- Start date
Price will vary regionally... in my area $20 is the expected price... Which seems like the norm for most US regions...
I've had several over the course of many years... The seem to shoot from 3" to 10" in about a years time... then grow very slowly. My oldest one is 12", purchased 5 years ago at 3". I'm personally convinced that 12" is the norm for home aquaria, 16" is rare but heard of... 20"+ may be possible in the wild, but has not been reported in home aquaria.
They work with a huge array of tankmates. My smaller one (10") is in a 75 gal with a 134" Oscar and a 10" Dempsey... neither Cichlid picks on him... My larger one (12") is in a 125 gal with (approx) 50 2" dempseys and (approx) 25 2" Geos... I've never seen him chase any of the little guys and to my knowledge hasn't eaten any.
One warning I would like to offer is they love to eat eggs/fry. I had a young pair of Dempseys (4" & 5") in a tank with a BGK (10") and everyone got along fine... until the Dempseys spawned. Then the BGK would eagerly attack the nest fighting back both Dempseys and eating eggs at the same time. Once the eggs hatched the BGK was so persistant the parents abandoned the fry.
They do hide alot, but I see mine out from time to time during the day. They do not demand much space for a territory and create very little waste, therefore they make a wonderful addition to most larger (75+ gal imo) low to medium aggression Cichlid community tanks.
I've had several over the course of many years... The seem to shoot from 3" to 10" in about a years time... then grow very slowly. My oldest one is 12", purchased 5 years ago at 3". I'm personally convinced that 12" is the norm for home aquaria, 16" is rare but heard of... 20"+ may be possible in the wild, but has not been reported in home aquaria.
They work with a huge array of tankmates. My smaller one (10") is in a 75 gal with a 134" Oscar and a 10" Dempsey... neither Cichlid picks on him... My larger one (12") is in a 125 gal with (approx) 50 2" dempseys and (approx) 25 2" Geos... I've never seen him chase any of the little guys and to my knowledge hasn't eaten any.
One warning I would like to offer is they love to eat eggs/fry. I had a young pair of Dempseys (4" & 5") in a tank with a BGK (10") and everyone got along fine... until the Dempseys spawned. Then the BGK would eagerly attack the nest fighting back both Dempseys and eating eggs at the same time. Once the eggs hatched the BGK was so persistant the parents abandoned the fry.
They do hide alot, but I see mine out from time to time during the day. They do not demand much space for a territory and create very little waste, therefore they make a wonderful addition to most larger (75+ gal imo) low to medium aggression Cichlid community tanks.
BIGtyme;2516656; said:
I assume it depends on what you feed as my BGK grew very quickly (but I have also heard others that have had very slow growth) mine is currently about 14" long so they do need some room to move. Mine also lays down on top of the plants to rest out in plain sight. Also they are great to teach to feed by hand.
Start by pinching a small piece of Earthworm or nightcrawler between your fingers, and slowly bring your hand to the area he's in. You should see an immediate reaction, and by all rights he should come to you and investigate. If you don't want to get your arm wet everytime you feed him, try 'luring' him to the top of the tank, and givng it to him there. Mine will sprint to the top of the tank during feeding time, and when I put my fingers/hand in the tank, he knows he's about to eat.BIGtyme;2552685; said:
Just be patient and it should work over time. Some BGKs learn quicker than others. Let me know how it turns out.
Stump;2552725; said:Start by pinching a small piece of Earthworm or nightcrawler between your fingers, and slowly bring your hand to the area he's in. You should see an immediate reaction, and by all rights he should come to you and investigate. If you don't want to get your arm wet everytime you feed him, try 'luring' him to the top of the tank, and givng it to him there. Mine will sprint to the top of the tank during feeding time, and when I put my fingers/hand in the tank, he knows he's about to eat.
Just be patient and it should work over time. Some BGKs learn quicker than others. Let me know how it turns out.
Also another tip is to feed at the same time of day or have a que that will let your BGK know it is feeding time. I started by always hand feeding my BGK when I turn the light in the morning. Now he comes out regularly to the top just in case I feel like giving him a treat. Which I do intermitantly so that he is occassionally rewarded for coming out of his cave. Just like training dogs reward the behaviour you want, ignore those you don't want.
benzjamin13;2558403; said:I've tried hand feeding mine...guess it still doesn't like me
How long have you had your BGK for and how long did you persist. It doesn't happen overnight. (Well it didn't for me anyway).
