Black Ghost and my tank

T

trafty7

AC Members
Sep 18, 2005
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hello everyone...im new to these boards, and i have a question to ask.

I have a 29 gallon freshwater tank that i've had running for about 2 months or a little longer now, and i've lost around 5-6 fish total, but it was at the beginning and haven't lost any since then. (fingers crossed! :) )

so the other day, i went to the pet store and bought a black ghost knifefish (BGK) and a tube for him. He looked healthy, no spots, and he was quite active in the tank, simming around a lot and looking for places to hide. Well, the next morning i woke up and he was dead. Luckily the warranty was still in effect and i got my money back. The pet store does free pH testing and said my water was at 7.0 and that i had a little ammonia and nitrate present, but not too much at all and he said it was probably from the water change i did that night i bought the BGK, or from the dead BGK lying in the tank.

Basically, im trying to figure out if he died for health reasons, me changing the water and pH being a little bit too high, or from my other fish biting him. I have a mollie, a glass catfish, a synodontus eupterus, and an angelfish and an absolutely gorgeous veiltail angelfish...could my angelfish have killed him? they always seem pretty laid back when i see them.

Sorry this is so long, but any help would be greatly appreciated!!
 
TipStylez said:
did your cycle your tank?
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I'm going to figure 2 months, with fish would complete a cycle. And with nitrates present there must be something breaking down that amonia. When it was dead did you inspect it for any bite marks/signs of a good beating? If you had a "tube" for it to hide in it should have been safe from the other fish(I would suspect those dev....uhh angels), but mabey it hadn't found it yet? I'm kinda shooting in the dark.
 
FYI, no one has mentioned how BIG these things get!!! The species profile on this site recommends a 90 gallon MINIMUM tank. I would hold off on another one until you get a larger tank ;) !! By the way, the ph should not have caused any problems. Do you have test kits? Can you post your amonia, nitrite, and nitrate? Or next time you go to the LFS, have them test again for you and get exact numbers. "Fine" in their eyes, might not be fine for the fish
 
i didnt cycle my tank. the first time i went to the store there was a guy there who knew a lot about fish and the right choices to make. he said to start with less expensive, hardier fish, and after a month or so see about adding other fish (slowly). so that's the life of my tank in a nutshell. i didnt inspect closely for bite marks, but i didnt see any from the little bit of looking i did...it was hard to tell because he was so black. i had a tube and we put him in it but he swam out soon after. i have read that they get huge, but i also read that they will grow with the tank, so if its a smaller tank they will be stunted in growth. im currently in college and my tank is at home 3 1/2 hours away, so my girlfriend has been doing an outstanding job feeding them and taking care of them, but when she went to test the water, i forgot to tell her to take down the specific levels, so she didnt know any better. i plan on going back in and testing it again within the next week, and then i will be sure to post the levels.

thanks for the help guys...jw, has anyone owned/own a BGK? how do they turn out for you?
 
trafty7 said:
i have read that they get huge, but i also read that they will grow with the tank, so if its a smaller tank they will be stunted in growth.
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They WILL be stunted, which is not a good thing... That just means you will have a fish on your hands that will not be very healthy and very prone to illness, plus sometimes they don't quite grow to the size of the tank. I have seen some really big fish in some really small tanks and its really sad... Its always best to buy what is appropriate for your tank ;)
 
just an observation...

Trafty,
You're tank is quite overstocked! The two angelfish and Syno. catfish alone are more than you should have in that tank. Those catfish get up to around 8" or so and need plenty of room, as do the angelfish. Adding a BGK (which get HUGE) is a mistake in itself, let alone if your tank still needs to get fully cycled. And on top of that, your glass catfish needs to be kept in a school, think 5 or so. They do not do well alone.
Hope all goes well and cheers,
~Matt
 
well, I guess i'll have to give up on the BGK then...:( thats alright, there's still some smaller fish i like that i could switch out w my glass catfish and my mollie...thanks for the info and advice SKAPSYCHO! cheers
 
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