Black Ghost Knife Aquarium

[Supalah17]

I agree with what Ben said.
As for TT or Fire eels, both of those species will reach 30" and thus way too big for the size of tank you're looking at. I don't know generally how spiny eels do with knife fish, but size-wise you should have a look at Mastacembelus Dayi or M. Tinwini.

I have 1x black spotted eel and 1x peacock in a 125g with some mellow SA cichlids right now, but I really want a Fire Eel at some point (they're gorgeous fish!). I've heard people say that they are very sedentary and usually don't require much tank space, but im thinking if a 150 is still too small for both of those fish in one tank, I could end up saving for a 200 or 225g. Ive seen them together in massive tanks, but idk of those were jut lucky matches with temperament...

 

[Supalah17]

I agree with what Ben said.
As for TT or Fire eels, both of those species will reach 30" and thus way too big for the size of tank you're looking at. I don't know generally how spiny eels do with knife fish, but size-wise you should have a look at Mastacembelus Dayi or M. Tinwini.

I have 1x black spotted eel and 1x peacock in a 125g with some mellow SA cichlids right now, but I really want a Fire Eel at some point (they're gorgeous fish!). I've heard people say that they are very sedentary and usually don't require much tank space, but im thinking if a 150 is still too small for both of those fish in one tank, I could end up saving for a 200 or 225g. Ive seen them together in massive tanks, but idk of those were just lucky matches with temperament...

 

[Supalah17]

120g or 150g is fine. As for tankmates, I had mine with Serpae Tetras before and found a few of them with one eye. I had some Buenos Aires Tetras in my planted tank to find all the new growth being nipped away. I think you would find Neons dwindling down as time rolls on. So it might be trial and error to find the right Tetra for you. I love Congo Tetras, but not sure how they would be with a BGK (should be fine, but not sure if they would end up like the Serpae). If Tetras aren't set in stone, Denison Barbs would look great with a BGK! Angel Fish and Discus also come to mind.

As for decor, lots of hiding spots so it can explore and pick it's territory. Plants are always a plus, but I'd focus on the hardscape making sure the rocks aren't jagged...smooth stones/boulders with some driftwood and simple plants such as Anubias and Java Fern always looks good. Any substrate will do. I prefer sand and I would go aquasoil (even though it's a bit pricey) over clay planting substrate just due to the soft/smooth texture.

My father was an angelfish breeder and I have a several in a 125g right now, I love the fish, but i think it might finally be time (when I get this new tank setup) to delve into the notoriously difficult discus (provided their water conditions/temps line up). Tetras are definitely not set in stone, I just like to have some dither fish in with my monsters, I'd really like to get into some more interesting dithers.

 

[Supalah17]

Y

120g or 150g is fine. As for tankmates, I had mine with Serpae Tetras before and found a few of them with one eye. I had some Buenos Aires Tetras in my planted tank to find all the new growth being nipped away. I think you would find Neons dwindling down as time rolls on. So it might be trial and error to find the right Tetra for you. I love Congo Tetras, but not sure how they would be with a BGK (should be fine, but not sure if they would end up like the Serpae). If Tetras aren't set in stone, Denison Barbs would look great with a BGK! Angel Fish and Discus also come to mind.

As for decor, lots of hiding spots so it can explore and pick it's territory. Plants are always a plus, but I'd focus on the hardscape making sure the rocks aren't jagged...smooth stones/boulders with some driftwood and simple plants such as Anubias and Java Fern always looks good. Any substrate will do. I prefer sand and I would go aquasoil (even though it's a bit pricey) over clay planting substrate just due to the soft/smooth texture.

I think I'll end up sticking with sand (all of my tanks are sand except 1 "no maintenance" 20g which has aquasoil). I'm thinking 2 large pieces of driftwood covered in moss with some anubias placed around them. Then have some smoother stone accents around the base of the driftwood. George Farmer did a large planted tank that looked exactly like what I want... now to find that video...

 

[Supalah17]

This is a very similar scape to what I'm aiming for, the finished one anyway.

 

[Supalah17]

So I'm seeing a lot of forum posts around here saying 300 gallons for a Fire Eel... well. Looks like I'm saving up for a 300+ gallon aquarium! I'm not gonna skimp or try and force anything smaller, I want this bad boy to get as big and comfy as he can be, probably going to end up going with a 150 for the BGK and then make the Fire Eel a much later project!

 

[thefredpit]

I don't know how I missed this thread but here are my 2 cents, I have 2 fire eels, 1 black spotted eel, 9(I think) fancy plecos, 4 elephant nose, 9 bichirs, 1 afer knifefish, and 2 butis butis with my BGK. In my experience eels tend to ignore knifefish. With plecs you do rn the risk of slime sucking however if you stay away from the Genera Pterygoplichthys(commons and sailfins) that risk is drastically reduced. Also to increase the time you see your BGK try to make your hides visible to you an example is I have driftwood leaning against the glass. You may consider mormyrids like the elephant nose but they should be kept in groups of 4 or more or they get depressed, plus the bigger the group the funner they are to watch

 

[FriedFlowerHornFillet]

Oh also I've been running Fluval FX6s on all my tanks over 100g, I like the overkill and the flow they add for most of my fish. Also have a couple air stones in each tank, but I feel like these guys might need a couple bubble wands at least for proper oxygen? Might DIY a sponge for an FX6 if that seems reasonable. Also what's the reasoning in the shrimp colony, I feel like they'd all just end up as food, or is that the point?

Food is always the point w BGK's if you can secure a renewable resource for them you're a head of the game. My fire eel Jetsom gets along with my Knife but my Tire track got really nasty towards it and I had to re-home Flotsam

 

[Experiment397]

if youre going to be running the tank with a sandy substrate how about a school of corys on the bottom, once you get into double digits with them its really an impressive sight, would be like a moving carpet under your knife. as far as other tankmates go what about annostomus, barred silver dollars, discus, dwarf cichlids or hatchetfish?

 

[FriedFlowerHornFillet]

sometimes corydoras can get victimized by the BGK they're both kind of on the same level in the aquarium