New Black Ghost knife fish wont eat

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twinturbo11

twinturbo11

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Aug 12, 2006
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Hey guys... hope all is well... I have a 20 G tank with 6 neons, a tiny cory, two small gouramies, and 1 also small red-tail black shark. I just bought the last fish I want to add to my collection: a small 3-4 inch black ghost knife fish. (I realize these fish will grow and am ready to setup a larger aquarium eventually). When I saw the black ghost at the pet shop, I asked the pet shop owner to feed him. He fed him some sinking pellets, and the black ghost instantly went after them and ate them. It's been now 2 days that the black ghost is in my tank and every time I put the same sinking pellets, he doesnt try to go after it. Eventually the food is eaten up by the other fish. He looks healthy in my tank and swims around. I just am not sure why he's not eating. Any ideas? My water parameters seem to be fine and my tank is well planted...
 
liv2padl

liv2padl

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Oct 30, 2005
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few black ghost knives will eat dried commercial foods. think live .. microworms, grindal worms, white worms, meal worms, pieces of shrimp, krill ... etc.
 
twinturbo11

twinturbo11

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Aug 12, 2006
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but that's my point exactly - since i dont want to bother with live foods, i made the store owner put in sinking pellets to prove that the black ghost would eat them, and indeed he did enthousiastically right in front of me... i just dont understand why in two day now he didnt, even though my water is perfect, he has had nice hiding spots, and the aquarium is very well planted....
 
Ghost_knife

Ghost_knife

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Nov 17, 2005
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betta food the love. Mine grew to gargantuan proportions eating it. use a new turkey baster to administer it.
 
Sully

Sully

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Jan 24, 2003
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A couple of things. A BFK is primarily nocturnal. It is a photosensitive fish. It will eat out of the water column (even your hand if trained) but it is also a very efficient botom feeder. a bgk will vacuum the substrate well into the midnight hours sucking up uneaten foods.

try a chunk of zuchinni--they love the stuff. quarter one--rubberband it to a rock--and let it settle. You can blanch it first to soften it a bit. They will go for it if the competition is not too threatening.

Frozen black or blood worms. krill, the little sun dried shrimp is great since it floats the surface. sort of cool to hear the snapping sounds that the bgk makes.

your bgk should easily acclimate to non-live foods. when a fish is hungry it will eat.

i just noticed the size of your tank--return him. the tank is inadequate for a bgk the size you have.
 
Last edited:
Pallen81

Pallen81

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Jun 20, 2006
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black ghost knives are like any other fish in that sometimes they take a few days to a week to feel comfortable in your tank. He's prolly just settling in so I wouldn't be too worried at this moment. like the other post said, my dwarf puffers took a full week to eat and I was worried but they are fine now.

i fed my bgk live blackworms and sinking shrimp pellets....

also I fed him near nighttime after I had turned off the aquarium hood light. He was much much more inclined to eat when you start turning down the light intensity. maybe even turning off the room lights will help to ease his nervousness. that's when he'd hunt in nature. maybe not the funniest time to observe your fish, but nature is nature.

good luck.
 
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