12" black ghost knife-75g tank

nick2206

AC Members
Nov 26, 2006
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A friend of mine is getting out of the hobby and has a 12" black ghost knife that I want to take of his hands. Would a 75g tank be big enough? If it is big enough what other types of fish would get along and how many could I get? The tank has no fish currently in it.


THANKS!
 
I was advised on monsterfishkeepers, that a 6'x2'x2' was the ideal for a fully grown adult, which they said was in the region of 18".
 
most stay smaller because they dont have the room to grow
that's called stunting. fish maintained in tanks which are too small or in conditions which are too crowded, develop severe stress syndrome. these fish do not exhibit proper color, do not develop proper fin form, do not exhibit proper metabolic development, do not exhibit normal behaviour, do not develop proper musculature, do not develop properly functioning organ systems and as a result, slowly lose their inherant resistance to disease. this results in a significantly shortened lifespan and along the way, lots of diseases for which the poorly conditioned fish is a good target.

IMO, if one isn't going to maintain a fish in a tank size which can facilitate its living a full and healthy life, one shouldn't keep that fish at all. yes, you can say, "well, if i don't take the fish, somebody else will, and they'll probably keep it in a 55 gallon tank or something". i have no argument for that ... i just choose to be a part of the solution and not to be a part of the problem.
 
This is a bummer for me. Black Ghosts are my favorite fish (even though I don't know anything about them). I recently discovered them in the LFS, they were 6", the sign said they get to be 12". I figured someday when I had a big tank (and I'm thinking like in the 55g range) I would get one.

What a bummer!!!
 
This is a bummer for me. Black Ghosts are my favorite fish (even though I don't know anything about them). I recently discovered them in the LFS, they were 6", the sign said they get to be 12". I figured someday when I had a big tank (and I'm thinking like in the 55g range) I would get one.

What a bummer!!!


Don't be bummed out. A 75 gallon will be fine for that fish. They don't grow 25" in captivity, in fact most max out at the size you have right now, 12-16 inches. Here's a very reputable fish website that will confirm this:

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=857

They don't need as big a tank as other fish thier size becuase they are not very active...they lay in caves or ghost houses about 20 hours out of the day and only come out to eat and hunt.
 
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Badmans Tropical fish list them at 20"
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile66.html
Aqualand has them at 50 cm or 19.7"
http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_aptero.php
wikipedia lists them as 20"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apteronotus_albifrons
Mongabay lists them as 19"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apteronotus_albifrons
Pet Education 20" (divisision of Drs foster smith)
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=16&cat=1911&articleid=2219

so do I need to go on? They need a much bigger tank than 75 or 90 as they both have the same footprint. I 125 most likely will not be wide enough so your best bet for a commercialy made tank is a 150 short. As you can see most places will do anything to sell a fish Drs Foster Smith may list them as 16 but there own site pet education lists them as 20".
 
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