keeping ghost knifes

[wezel815]

i bought a ghost knife about 6 months ago because i thought it was the coolest thing ever!!
i bought it the ghost knife tube (house). and he's never even went in it unless it was the only thing in the tank.
hes always been fine as long as he has a place to hide. right now hes using a fake hollowed-out tree stump. he just looks soooo miserable in it now. his head is sticking out one end and his tail the other. i believe he dont use his house i bought.(basically a clear tube about a foot long) because the light in the tank shines thru.
i feel the tube is a waste of tank space and money.
can someone give some insight. does anyone have or had ghost knifes? or direct me to a place to read about their care

[Nobodynotime]

How long is he? Ive had one for about 4 months now and he is also living in a fake hollowed out stump, he has plenty of space but the stump is pretty big and he is only about 4 inches maybe a little more. And he seems pretty happy because hes in the darkness. I also have a little tube type deal in there but it lets in light and he wants nothing to do with it, so maybe an opaque tube would be the best bet, I use a disguised length of PVC for my pike that has the same habits. I've also heard that lilly pad type plants that can provide shade to the bottom of the tank can make for a happier ghost knife, I've just added one myself, I think its a water lilly its just grew 5 in in two days. This is the second one I've had and the first one lived to be about 5 years old and about 10 in long, they are one of the coolest fish I've owned! Good luck

[wezel815]

yeah i have a piece of pvc tube that i used in my cichlid aquarium. i used caulk to glue the small pea gravel medium to it to make it more attractive.
im thinkin about doing that to the tube to make it more shaded in the tube so maybe he'll like it.
my ghost knife is about 4 or 5 inches long but the stump is smaller than yours im assuming.

i had a house that i used and he liked but it is a little large really for my tank its a 38 gallon and this house takes up 1/3rd of my tank LOL so id rather not use it for one fish

[mac]

Hi,
The Ghost Knife fish will eventually need a 100 gallon tank. Once they are fully grown.

[cocoa_pleco]

is it a black ghost? if it is, he needs a 300g fullgrown

[wezel815]

wow i was never told he'd need that big of a tank. whats their life expectancy?
again does anyone have a place to read about them?

[gm72]

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[cocoa_pleco]

they get up to 24" long, and ive raised one close to that. for a 24" fish, youre looking at a tank at least 72x36x24, which is 270g

[gm72]

they get up to 24" long, and ive raised one close to that. for a 24" fish, youre looking at a tank at least 72x36x24, which is 270g

Totally agreed, no question.

[Oscar_freak12321]

Now, how big is your bgk? Because if he's still fairly small, you can still go to your lfs and get some hiding places for him. They are very rewarding fish, but you have to have at least two hiding places for them.

[cocoa_pleco]

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