Mixing knifefish

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I

Industrial

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 22, 2010
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Buffalo, NY
So I remember there were some rules about mixing knifefish in the past.

All I remember was African Brown Knives can be mixed and that BGKs shouldn't (but people say males and females are fine together).

I am thinking of setting up a swamp kind of aquarium in the future with my campylomormyrus rhynchophorus and I would like to add knives. Right now, I have access to African Brown Knives (which appear to be very nippy), a Centipede Knife and Brown Ghost Knives.

Does anybody know the general idea of what can and can't be mixed? Does it apply to knifefish in the same family/order but different genera?
 
Alright, here is my experience. ;)
-African Knives with BGK Good
-BGK with Centipede Knife Bad
-African Knives with Centipede Knife ?
Centipede Knives are a pretty delicate species of Knife from my experience, and do not do well with a fairly large array of fish. Even little Neon Tetras can cause problems. :irked:
I'm not exactly sure as to how they would do with African Knives, but I think you would be the first to try. ;) It may or may not work, but you never really know until you give it a try.
I've never really had any problems keeping African Knives and BGK's together, and I do know that there has been some troubles keeping two BGK's or more together in a tank over a long period of time. Generally, when the two or more are added to the tank at about the same time, it seems to increase the chances of the combination working out in the long run. That way they can both establish territories at the same time, as opposed to one taking up the entire tank, and introducing a new one to an already established territory. (Of which usually ends very badly) Sometimes it just doesn't work at all, but there is always a chance that it will. ;)
 
I would worry about the Centipede Knives. They are more delicate and can't really handle any aggression. ABKs are pretty mellow and so are Brown Ghost Knives. They could work out providing they have plenty of swimming room and territories.
 
Industrial;4806764; said:
I think ABKs are out of the question. The ones we had at worked killed one of the congo eels and appear to be very aggressive. I still am liking the idea of a centipede knife, but I am worried exotic knives that pop up that I really want could kill it.
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Once again, if you go with the Centipede Knife it's probably best to go with a species only tank. ;)
EDIT: Well... I'm sure that some species may work. But I'd stick more with a community setup.
 
Centipede Knives would definitely do better as the only Knife species in the tank.
 
my ABK thinks its a cichlid and therefore could care less about my BGK, but they are small, and actually not in same tank anymore.
 
i have 2 ABKs and 2 BGKs in the same tank, i've never had problems with the ABKs and the BGKs. my ABKs are very docile

the BGKs chase each other only when one encroaches on the other's hiding spot

just my 2 cents
 
I've kept African Knives with a BGK before. Ive also kept a BGK with a clown knife. You just need to make sure the BGK has a couple good hiding spots.

I think it depends on the individual fish.. Also when adding a new fish of any kind I take out the most mature/ dominant fish. Move all decore around then add the new fish and the mature fish shortly after.

I would avoid the centipede knife in my opinion. Goodluck
 
you could have MANY glassknife fish as they are the only schooling knife i know of. i have one and i love him!
 
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