My BGK has become very scared of others fishes

[Dollz222]

Friends, help ... I have 2 black ghost knife , one gold fish and one sucker catfish. The male BGK had been very active and playful from the time we got him home. Few days ago in the morning when I was feeding them he jumped out of the tank and was on the floor. I ran and put him back in the tank with a scoop ( he is small hardly 3 inches ) since that incident he has been always hiDing , not eating , lying on the bottom of the pipe sleeping and is very scared of other fishes in the tank. I am very worried
Please help

 

[rigby]

Since you have the goldfish in there, what temperature is the tank at? Parameters? What do you feed him? It’s normal behavior for the black ghost knife to be hiding, but dimming the lights could help him come out more.

 

[tlindsey]

Welcome aboard

I agree with rigby and would add that some species of Knifefish are territorial. How big is the other BGK?

 

[Kelly_Aquatics]

Yes BGK are known to hide and also it could be he is stressed outafter jumping I have had fish take two weeks after jumping and living before they stop hiding

 

[jjohnwm]

Can BGK be sexed at any size, let alone at 3 inches?

Scaleless fish can be easily damaged if handled dry, or by landing on a dry floor or carpet. It's also a good idea to wet your hands, nets or any other implements used to come in contact with them, as picking one up with dry fingers off the floor can add to the trauma inflicted on the skin. Hopefully it will recover from the jump, but perhaps isolation for a while might be in order?

Also, I've never tried keeping more than one together, but a lot of sources seem to state that BGK don't get along well with each other. If that's the case, then keeping two together is just about the worst number possible, as the dominant one will focus all his aggression on the lone subdominant specimen. Is it possible that aggression is what caused the jump?

 

[Dollz222]

hello friends... sorry i did not reply to your responses.. unfortunately my BGK died.. in his memory i got one more pair and they are doing fine.
Yes i have not kept any gold fish with them. But have just added 2 suckermouth catfish to the tank because of algae infestation.
Last week i got home a flowerhorn

 

[Kelly_Aquatics]

dont add a flowerhorn with the BGK the BGK will be badly beaten and probably die what sizw tank are they in

 

[Fishnerd360]

Question: what suckerfish are you referring to and what size tank? If it’s a common pleco, you’ll need a 125 gallon atleast. As said above, a flowerhorn probably won’t be able to coexist with the black ghost knife. I feel as if you are not doing much research when buying the fish, a flowerhorn is a great solo fish but not a community fish.

 

[Dollz222]

Question: what suckerfish are you referring to and what size tank? If it’s a common pleco, you’ll need a 125 gallon atleast. As said above, a flowerhorn probably won’t be able to coexist with the black ghost knife. I feel as if you are not doing much research when buying the fish, a flowerhorn is a great solo fish but not a community fish.

sorry I did not elaborate . My black ghost pair and sucker catfish are together in one tank . And my flower horn in a separate tank solo

 

[FJB]

Something else to think about-
It sounds as if you are adding newly acquired fish straight into your tank. Never a good idea regardless of where they come from, algae infestation or not. I hope I am mistaken.
Good luck!