BGK Tank Mates.

[sturgeonlover]

I think you over estimate the BGK's aggression, they really aren't that aggressive they will just eat anything small enough to fit in thier mouth. As long as its decent sized and peaceful you will probably be alright.

My BGK killed and popped the guys of a spotted gar twice his size. they were in the tank for months, no problems, randomly just went for the kill. LOST ALOT OF EXPENSIVE FISH cause of my BGK, finally got rid of that b@s@#$!
Good tankmates would be bichirs, syno cats and maybe some semi-aggressive cichlids. I had my bgk with a severum...they were fine, but still i was still wondering when he would go for the eye and kill him too. (i had a 10 inch BGK). FINALLY HE IS GONE!!! WOOT WOOT (gave him away, sold him for only 30$)

 

[sturgeonlover]

I think you have a nice idea in mind. The senegal bichir, black ghost knife fish and two bala sharks. That's a nice set up. I would leave out the koi. Those are more pond fish and I think they are cold water. BFKs don't do well in cold water. I would probably add one of the more gentle cichlids to finish it off. Have you considered a severum cichlid or a geophagus? Here are some pictures of the geophagus altrifon: http://www.google.com/images?q=Geop...tle&resnum=1&ved=0CB0QsAQwAA&biw=1259&bih=587

You could also add a shoal of larger cory catfish. Green cory's grow to about 4 inches. You might want to choose half a dozen of these or a half dozen of yo yo loaches to finish your tank.

I'd recommend something like this:
1x Black Ghost Knife
1x Senegal Bichir
1x Geophagus OR Severum (A Gold Severum would look AWESOME in contrast with a BGK!)
2x Bala Sharks
6x Yo Yo Loaches OR Larger Cory Catfish Species (You may actually be able to do both the cory cats and the yo yo loaches together in a standard 6' 125 gallon tank. You'll just have to be the judge of the space and use your eyes.)

DO NOT EVER ADD CORY CATS with BGK, they WILL EAT THERE EYES out for no apparent reason. MY BGK throughout the 3 years I had him popped the yes of 23 cory cats...and 12 of them were my expensive sterbai corycats. Yes my bgk ate out of my hands, and played with my fingers and let me pet it... but those sterbais were beautiful creatures.

 

[blackghostknife]

maybe its just yours. mine gets along fine with all of my fish. including two dwarf gouramis, no problems what so ever. Are you sure it's a bgk?

 

[cdubel01]

Cool, so if the BGK finds the cave the Rapheal is hiding in, will it just find another cave? If it does, will it just move to another cave and keep moving untill the BGK finds a cave he likes and sticks to it? Or will the BGK just keep moving to all the cavesclaiming them all? I have 2 caves now, and am planning on getting atleast 2 more and a couple logs, and possibly a small root system.

(Also, when cleaning the tank, should i remove the fish? I noticed some other people on a dif website said you should remove fish when cleaning the tank, like the walls and water change.. if so, how do i remove the cats without the barbs getting tangled up and hurting them?)

Removing the fish to clean the tank causes additional stress to the fish. I have a 72 Gal and I leave all fish in when cleaning the tank. The larger ones may freak a little as the water level goes down, but I would definately leave them in the tank. As far as catching fish with barbs, I would try to heard them into a small container (tupperware, cleaned out butter bowl, etc) as they will not have anything to get caught on. I moved a pictus cat once with a net and had to cut my net apart to get the fish out and he had an injured fin for a while.
As far as feeding the Bichir, i have a senegal and it eats anything. I feed the majority of my fish flakes, and he will eat that as well as fresh boiled veggies and sinking pellets....he should be fine, but getting the BGK to eat was what I foulnd to be difficult. Just feed in the evening with the lights out and you should be fine...