Hi all,
First post on these forums. I am glad you guys have a dedicated knife fish section!
I came here because I was looking for information on BGK fry. I have two BGK which I bought from a friend of a friend recently (very cheaply) and have kept for the last 3-4 months in a 5x2x2 foot tank with some other tropical fish. Until I saw this I never really even wondered what sex my fish were (note: gravel is about 5-10mm)
IMG_5307 by thejimmydimple, on Flickr
IMG_5308 by thejimmydimple, on Flickr
IMG_5306 by thejimmydimple, on Flickr
IMG_5305 by thejimmydimple, on Flickr
The other fish in my tank (of which there are more than one) are: neon tetra, blue tetra, rummynose tetra, scissortail rasbora.
Here's a picture of what I believe is my female BGK:
Apteronotus albifrons (black ghost knife fish) by thejimmydimple, on Flickr
Which can be identified by the slight potbelly and shorter, more triangular face. Unfortunately I don't have any good photo of my male BGK as he is much more timid and hides nearly all the time, but I do have two OK photos:
Apteronotus albifrons (black ghost knife fish) by thejimmydimple, on Flickr
Apteronotus albifrons (black ghost knife fish) by thejimmydimple, on Flickr
Until I took the photos above I had never really read into BGK breeding. When I saw them I read mostly that it was nigh-on impossible to breed BGK in a typical aquarium so I am sceptical about it, and given especially that I was never trying to breed them, I am doubtful. But then again, a look at the first picture of the fry above - the shape of the tail and head, and the little beady eye - what else could it be?
I only discovered these (three I saw definitely) when doing a complete rescape of my tank and stirring all the gravel up. They were quite strong swimmers, able to (just) push against the current in the tank, but as soon as I uncovered one it would immediately dive down into a crevice in the gravel and hide itself as you see above.
Since I took these photos I haven't seen them again, so hopefully they are OK and hidden somewhere.
First post on these forums. I am glad you guys have a dedicated knife fish section!
I came here because I was looking for information on BGK fry. I have two BGK which I bought from a friend of a friend recently (very cheaply) and have kept for the last 3-4 months in a 5x2x2 foot tank with some other tropical fish. Until I saw this I never really even wondered what sex my fish were (note: gravel is about 5-10mm)
IMG_5307 by thejimmydimple, on Flickr
IMG_5308 by thejimmydimple, on Flickr
IMG_5306 by thejimmydimple, on Flickr
IMG_5305 by thejimmydimple, on Flickr
The other fish in my tank (of which there are more than one) are: neon tetra, blue tetra, rummynose tetra, scissortail rasbora.
Here's a picture of what I believe is my female BGK:
Apteronotus albifrons (black ghost knife fish) by thejimmydimple, on Flickr
Which can be identified by the slight potbelly and shorter, more triangular face. Unfortunately I don't have any good photo of my male BGK as he is much more timid and hides nearly all the time, but I do have two OK photos:
Apteronotus albifrons (black ghost knife fish) by thejimmydimple, on Flickr
Apteronotus albifrons (black ghost knife fish) by thejimmydimple, on Flickr
Until I took the photos above I had never really read into BGK breeding. When I saw them I read mostly that it was nigh-on impossible to breed BGK in a typical aquarium so I am sceptical about it, and given especially that I was never trying to breed them, I am doubtful. But then again, a look at the first picture of the fry above - the shape of the tail and head, and the little beady eye - what else could it be?
I only discovered these (three I saw definitely) when doing a complete rescape of my tank and stirring all the gravel up. They were quite strong swimmers, able to (just) push against the current in the tank, but as soon as I uncovered one it would immediately dive down into a crevice in the gravel and hide itself as you see above.
Since I took these photos I haven't seen them again, so hopefully they are OK and hidden somewhere.
