Black ghost knife fish

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jwitty

Plecostomus
MFK Member
Dec 27, 2018
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Got a new BGK. He’s been doing really good. When I bring blood worms down to his hangout he comes around and eats it out of my hand and even swims against my palm. But he doesn’t like coming out much with light which I knew they are really shy. And it doesn’t help he’s so new. Is there anything I can do to get him to come out when the light is on?
 
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Varies. Some will get used to it once bigger and come out when feeding then return to the shadows. Others will just stay hidden till lights are out. They are nocturnal after all. Try some floating plants to create dark areas and see if that helps.
 
Varies. Some will get used to it once bigger and come out when feeding then return to the shadows. Others will just stay hidden till lights are out. They are nocturnal after all. Try some floating plants to create dark areas and see if that helps.
I’ve thought about floating plants but don’t really like the look of them and I think it would just be too crowded.
 
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I don’t know, I think some water hyacinth floating around with their roots hanging down and creating some dark shadows with a little dappled lighting making it through to the rest of the tank would look pretty cool.
Especially with that ghost knife lurking around in the darker areas.
 
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I don’t know, I think some water hyacinth floating around with their roots hanging down and creating some dark shadows with a little dappled lighting making it through to the rest of the tank would look pretty cool.
Especially with that ghost knife lurking around in the darker areas.
Biggest problem would be to talk my dad into it. I take care of the tank and him and mom say yes or no to what it looks like lol. I thought it would be cool or at least try it out but not to them
 
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Water hyacinth is cheap, grow easily, don’t need bright lights because they float close to the lights, multiply readily, and will help improve water quality by absorbing nitrate and fish waste.
If they don’t like the way the tank looks just pull them out.
You can tell mom and dad all that and see if you can sell them on the idea.
 
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Congrats on the very cool black ghost knife.
How big and what size tank is he living in and what are the other tank mates.
If the bgk eats out of your hand already I would just keep feeding him that way but move your hand further and further from the cave until he comes to the top of the tank for food. My bgk comes to the top for food. Wash your hands very well with natural soap.
Might have to go 2 or 3 days without food but eventually they will come to top. Also every time I feed mine I tap on the top of the tank a few times and that conditions them to associate you with food. They can be shy and the floating plants are a bomb idea. Dim lighting is a good way to go. I usually just have moonlights and sunset settings on my lights.
Good luck and let's see some pics bgk are awesome fish!
 
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F52BBD78-76EF-4698-BD09-040D2F5110BC.jpeg
Congrats on the very cool black ghost knife.
How big and what size tank is he living in and what are the other tank mates.
If the bgk eats out of your hand already I would just keep feeding him that way but move your hand further and further from the cave until he comes to the top of the tank for food. My bgk comes to the top for food. Wash your hands very well with natural soap.
Might have to go 2 or 3 days without food but eventually they will come to top. Also every time I feed mine I tap on the top of the tank a few times and that conditions them to associate you with food. They can be shy and the floating plants are a bomb idea. Dim lighting is a good way to go. I usually just have moonlights and sunset settings on my lights.
Good luck and let's see some pics bgk are awesome fish!
He’s around 2.5ish inches. And he’s in a 120 gallon with lots of binding places. He’s an awesome fish and I hope I can keep him to stay healthy. I’ll see if I can post a video of him. He’s with two balas, a few sisortails, couple different tetras, couple different gouramis, some mollies, and rainbow too. Only concern is the rainbow shark gets in his face every once in awhile I’ve been waiting if he gets any more agresseive I’ll take him out and hope the fish store will give credit, they have before.

Sadly I couldn’t get he video to upload. Here’s a screenshot of the video where he swims up in front of the glass for a bit. Cool lookin dude
 
Bro that is an awesome photo!
Great fish tank! Keep an eye on anything that will chase the bgk tail. Even though they are fast there tail can be vulnerable to nipping.
That's my male bgk he's a good boy and feeds from the top. I will get some better pics for us soon.

20170122_143431.jpg
 
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Bro that is an awesome photo!
Great fish tank! Keep an eye on anything that will chase the bgk tail. Even though they are fast there tail can be vulnerable to nipping.
That's my male bgk he's a good boy and feeds from the top. I will get some better pics for us soon.

View attachment 1351385
That guy is huge. I hope it’s awhile before mines that big lol
 
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