Black Ghost Knife fish
feeding 8/30/07
Hello there,
<Greetings.>
First I would like to say thank you for such an informative site. I have been
using it for quite a while now.
<Glad you're enjoying.>
I have 2 Black Ghost Knife fish (in separate tanks) they are both about 7 inches
long. Right now their diet consists of raw shrimp, earthworms and frozen
bloodworms. I would like to expand on that to give them the best , safest diet
possible. One guy at our LFS recommended raw beef hamburger. Have you ever fed
yours that ? Is it a safe alternative ? I live in an area where our options for
frozen food are limited.
<Raw beef is not even remotely a safe or sensible foodstuff for a BGK
(Apteronotus albifrons). Wild fish feed almost exclusively on small
invertebrates, specifically worm/insect larvae type things and small crustaceans
such as Daphnia. They don't really eat fishes, let alone meaty foods. So, with
that in mind, your existing diet sounds just about ideal, so why not stick with
that? Treat them to some live daphnia or brine shrimp when you get the chance,
or "grow your own" midge larvae in the garden if you can. But otherwise, stick
with what you're doing. There's a specific problem with feeding beef to fish,
and that's the fact fish are cold blooded. Warm blooded animals use lipids that
are oils at (warm) body temperature, so flow, but become fats (i.e., solid) at
lower temperature. In short, feeding meat from warm blooded animals to fish is,
with a few exceptions, an invitation to clog up their digestive systems and
circulatory systems. Not good. Beef heart is sometimes used to feed fish
because, being cardiac muscle, it doesn't contain any fat or oil. But other
types of meat, especially muscle meats, are just NOT SAFE.>
Thank you for any help or suggestions you may have to take care of our beautiful
ghosts. They are a joy to own and raise.
Sincerely,
Rebecca
<Cheers, Neale>
Feeding a Black Ghost
Hello,
<Hi back! MikeD here>
I am a very new aquarium owner.<Welcome to the wonderful world of fish
addiction, er, keeping.**grin**> I am obviously still learning about
everything.<50 years later, me too. The learning never stops> I just found your
site yesterday and I'm loving it!! But I do have a question regarding a black
ghost knife that I bought about 3 days ago. I currently have a 60 gal. tank
with 2 parrot fish, 2 black skirted tetras <In the future tetras and often
barbs, do better in schools of 5-6 rather than in pairs> 2 catfish, 2 angel, 2
Gourami, and now I just added the BGK. Is this too crowded??<Not necessarily.
My biggest concern is did you give you tank enough time to cycle, and/or that you
added all, or most of your fish at one time.> I am feeding pellets and flakes
to the other fish, and got some frozen bloodworms and shrimp pellets for the BGK.<This
may work, but some ghosties can be a little demanding on food choices, especially
when they are first obtained> I feed them around noon everyday. I understand
the BGK is shy<Not shy, nocturnal, which are two separate things entirely>, but
he will not come out of his hiding spot when I feed the tank. My other fish
not only eat all the flakes and pellets, they also eat the bloodworms and
pellets. I'm afraid they are not leaving anything for the BGK. Do I need to
change my feeding time or habits??<Yes, the Black Ghosts are nocturnal
nighttime
animals that often are very reluctant to come out into the open during the day.
Usually, this will gradually wear off in time, but early on the best thing to do
is feed it separate, just after turning off the lights at night. You might also
want to keep check and make sure that it's eating what you are offering for
food. The bloodworms will almost certainly be eaten, while the pellets are a
big if for now, possibly forever. They also relish raw shrimp (either cut up
pieces of human food shrimp or the small live ghost shrimp sold as feeders in
many shops) live or sometimes freeze dried Tubifex worms, daphnia, etc.. Their
absolute favorite food is live earth worms like you'd use for fishing! Some
will gradually start consuming "normal" aquarium fare while most others are
always somewhat demanding and require special foods> Thank you for your help
and information!!<You're welcome and I hope this helps...the Ghosts are one of
my all time favorite freshwater fish species>
Mike
I Have a Black Ghost Knife 4", If I put on my Aquarium light (which I haven't
turned on since I had him, 4 months) will it stress him out or kill him well
because they hate light and are nocturnal)? He does have this ornament with
holes in it that he goes in and out of (prefers that then the ghost tube), can
he be in there if the light is on?
< Black ghost knife fish are nocturnal and should have a hiding place to retreat
to when the aquarium light is on. They should be fed just after the lights are
turned off.-Chuck>
Thank You
Jahner
Black Ghost Knife Feeding
Hello fine fishy folks, GREAT website. I have spent hours and hours here
for the past couple of
years and learned more than I ever thought possible. Thanks for the effort
you all put forth. I have a simple (probably paranoid) question for you.
I have had a Black Ghost Knife (Apteronotus albifrons) for the past 2 years
and he is a big boy! Looks great and is my favorite fish. He is health,
velvety black with brilliant white markings on the tail (starting to fade on
the head - from age?). He is currently sharing a tank with 3 clown loaches,
1 fire eel, and 2 black kuhli loaches.
My question is, what I feed the tank is Tetra flakes and shrimp pellets in
the morning, and frozen cube (thawed of course) enriched Mysis and frozen
blood worms in the evening. Since the BGK is approximately 14 inches long,
is this fare big enough for him to get enough to eat? Should I try
switching to larger shrimp/worms, etc.?
Any input/opinions you care to share would be much appreciated. I am
probably just being paranoid, but can't stand the thought of him being
hungry all the time and risk slowly starving him.
Thank you and keep up the good work! Tom
<<Dear Tom; What a great job of fishkeeping you are doing there! Your ghost is
large enough to warrant more food, yes. Keep in mind this usually means more
water changes :P You can try a few new things: Earthworms are a great source of
protein, bought from your local fish 'n tackle bait store, or you can grow your
own
http://www.thekrib.com/Food/, live ghost shrimp from your LFS, chopped
seafood from your local grocery: buy frozen shrimp, etc, and chop into bite
sized pieces for him. It's also a good idea to soak your sinking shrimp pellets
in some liquid fish vitamins, like Selcon or VitaChem (also sold at pet stores)
so he is getting a decent staple. Have fun! -Gwen>>
