55 Gallon Tank Some oddball fish info please

I would like to get some info on a few oddball fish and if they are ok in a 55 gallon.

Black Ghost Knife's- Are they ok in a 55 gallon?

Fire eel's-Are they ok to be with black ghost knife's

African Butteryfly fish- Are they ok to be with Black ghost knifes and fire eel's?

Sengel Bichir- Are they ok to be in a 55 with the above fish?

 

BGKs need at least a 90g. I wanted one for my 75 gallon but Jaysee said no, and I trust him because he has one. You might be able to do an African Knife in a 55g. He said I could have one in my 75g, and the difference between a 55 gallon and 75 gallon is the depth, the length and height are the same.

And he should be able to help you with the bichir.

-Lisa

 

If you're working with a 55, I think you're better off going with an african knife. It won't outgrow your tank. Also, then you would have a little african tank (not sure about the eel), with the butterfly fish and the bichir.

That was my 55 gallon for a while - knife, butterfly, senegal and I had a ctenapoma. The ctenapoma turned rogue, so I got rid of it. I added congo tetras, which gave the butterfly a hard time so I moved it. But the knife/bichir/butterfly combo worked very well for me. It wasn't very active though, which is why I went with the congos. I do highly recommend congos - of all my fish, they are my girlfriends favorite.

I don't know about the eel. My guess would be it would be alright.

The BGK will outgrow the 55, so I wouldn't recommend getting one.

 

Note: African Butterfly Fish may jump - lids are recommended.
Note: Fire Eel may escape - lids are recommended.
Warning: Fire Eel is not recommended for your tank - it may eventually outgrow your tank space, potentially reaching up to 26 inches.
Warning: Your selected species may eventually require 183% of your aquarium space. You may need to deal with territorial aggressions later on. Try removing some of (Mastacembelus erythrotaenia, Xenomystus nigri, Polypterus senegalus senegalus) or get a larger tank.

Recommended temperature range: 25 - 28 C. [Display in Farenheit]
Recommended pH range: 6 - 7.5.
Recommended hardness range: 5 - 15 dH.


Warning: You NEED to add more aquarium filtration capacity!!!

Your aquarium filtration capacity for above selected species is 49%.
Recommended water change schedule: 44% per week.
Your aquarium stocking level is 136%.
Your tank is overstocked. Unless you are an experienced aquarist who can meet the maintenance/biological needs of this aquarium, lower stocking levels are recommended. [Generate Image]

 

AG, aqadvisor is to cautious, I don't trust it because it told me that 1 guppy isn't able to fit in a 5.5 gallon tank when clearly that would be fine.

Could I maybe add in something for activity that may work, such as, a cichlid or a Red tailed shark?

 

Adding a cichlid or RTS would depend on what would already be in the tank.

 

Well I still haven't come to a exact set tank size there's still 2 open. Either a 55 or a 75 gallon. If its a 55 then I am going to do a African Brown knife with tank mates and if its a 75 then I'm doing a Black Ghost Knife with some Large SA cichlids

 

so for now lets say I get the 55 gallon, what can I put with a African Brown Knife that's a cichlid?

 

I wouldn't get anything too aggressive, so rams or apistos maybe. I'm not very knowledgable about cichlids.

 

The BGK will outgrow a 75g.

Yes, rams are a good choice. I was told here that I could have 5-7 rams in my 75g. I don't know much about apistos.

Why not get an Oscar?

-Lisa

 

My stupid friend put a 9 inch oscar in his 55, with an african knife and a whole bunch of other inappropriate fish. The knife never comes out anymore.

 

I would get an Oscar for my 75 but not for the 55, an oscar just gets to big for a 55. Kuns are you sure a BGK will outgrow a 75 or are you thinking of a Clown Knife? Because most sources I read said a BGK would be fine in a 55

 

It'll take a while for it to get that big but yes, it'll outgrow a 75 as well as a 90 (and any other 4 foot tank). Ultimately it'll need at least a 6 foot tank.

Oscars will also outgrow a 4 foot tank.

 

How long would a 75 gallon tank be ok for a BGK before id have to upgrade it?

 

That would really depend on how big it is when you buy it I've heard they don't grow very fast, but I don't know. There are many variables to considder when talking about how long it takes fish to grow.

 

When I see them in the local fish store there normally 5-7 inchs long. They also have Clown Knifes with them, but I already know that they get HUGE so there out of the question. So far I'm interested in African Knifes, Blood parrots, Rainbow sharks and Dinosaur Bichir's. So for my 55 could I do 1 Knife 1 Blood parrot 1 Rainbowshark and 2 Bichirs?

 

The rainbow shark will get too big for a 55. Sharks are just really hard to keep without having a very large tank. I believe the minimum for most sharks is 90?

 

Ok maybe take out the shark and add in another Bichir?

 

I wouldn't do more than 1 bichir in a 55.

 

A Shark would be fine in a 55gallon, either a Red Tailed or a Rainbow Shark as they are smaller.

Glass Knife fish would be fine, they are awsome fish and don't get massive, ive got 3 and they are my favourite fish!

Bolivian Rams Would also be a good choice for you but be careful of what size fish you put with them.

 

I have some questions about a few Oddball fish

I know some people here keep African Butterfly Fish. What do you feed them? Are they extremly aggressive as ive heard? What type of fish can I keep them with?

I know some people here keep Knife fish, ive been looking at the smaller peacefuller ones such as the Centipede, Glass, and African Brown knife's. what do you feed them?what fish can they be kept with? what is there temperment in your experinces?

I'm pretty sure some people here have Spotted Leaf fish? What do you feed them, what fish do they go best with and what's there temperment like?

 

I Keep Glass Knife Fish and I feed them Flakes and they also eat Pleco pellets and Shrimp Pellets. They can be kept in community tanks as they have one of the smallest mouths. They are very shy at first and wil gradually get more used to the tank. They like to be kept in groups and are very sociable.

African Butterfly fish will eat flakes and live fish. they can drop their jaw and will easily be able to eat a guppy. They need to be kept in a large community tank.

and spotted leaf fish I have never kept.

 

so would 3 Glass Knifes and 1 Butterfly fish fit in a 55 with room left over?

 

I've got all of those fish.

the butterfly is not aggressive at all and spends 99% of it's time on the surface. I feed it crickets, as well as NLS thera-A and also FD foods. I have a thread about them with mine and others experiences with them.

I looked into the centepede knife. Reports from people who have them say they are not easy to feed, especially in a community setting. I have an african knife, which eats NLS and also FD foods. The african is a good choice for a community fish. The other knife that stays small is the glass, which I don't have any experience with.

the spotted leaf fish, aka leopard bushfish and also spotted ctenapoma, also eats NLS and FD foods, as well as guppies and shrimp. They are actually african gouramis, not leaf fish. It will also work in a community tank, as long as the fish are too big for it to even considder eating. It will kill a fish that's too big to eat trying to swallow it.

 

So I could do 2 African Brown knifes, 1 Butterfly, and 2 Leafs in a 55? would I have room left or a bit overstocked?

 

I wouldn't do 2 knives, or 2 ctenapomas. If you want multiple knives, glass are the way to go (from what I've read). Africans get along when they're young, but not when they are grown (again, based on research). The ctenapomas are gouramis, and from what I've seen they behave like them. Again, it will probably work while they're young.

I would (did) do an african tank. 1 knife, 1 ctenapoma, 1 or 2 butterflies, and 1 senegal bichir.

 

Glass Knifefish are the way to go if you want to keep a group of them. They will form a heirachy. They are not aggressive at all and are very peaceful.

You could Keep 4 Glass knifes and 1 butterfly and youd still have room for more fish as glass knifes stay towards the bottom and Butterys stay at the top.

 

You can keep more than one Butterfly together I would totally love to do that idea you just purposed

 

If I can find Glasses then that's what il do is 4 Knives, 2 Butterflys and 1 Leaf

 

Sounds Good to me. Make sure you ahve somewhere for glasses to hide because at first they are shy and then they come out and play. If you wanted you could try and elephant nose fish?

 

REALLY, ive always wanted to try one of those. But how do I care for it?

 

Like any other fish, its similar to the glass knife fish.

 

But I heard they'l only accept live food

 

It Depends now, Alot of Pet stores now have them trained to eat flakes.

 

ive never seen one in person so id have to do online ordering

 

You just need to ask what the store feeds them or find aan online seller who feeds them flakes.

 

My Butterfly is an unfussy eater, he will happily eat Prima Discus, flake or defrosted food (bloodworm, artemia etc.) as long as I "spot feed" him. This involves dropping single bits of food from a height of ~12" right in front of his eyes and HUGE mouth.
He has not bothered anybody in my riverine setup, but I made sure there were no tempting tank mates that were less than a third of his length and were "torpedo" shaped. He even tolerated sharing the water surface with a hareem of Golden Wonder Panchax.

My four (one has gone missing) Ctenopoma acutirostre (3cm SL) babies have exactly the same diet as my other fish in that tank... Prima Discus; defrosted live food; omnivore wafers.
In captivity they typically reach ~13cm, so tank mates need to be longer than 5cm and ideally not "torpedo" shaped, a very similar criteria as for the African Butterfly Fish. They are currently passive to other tank mates but also quite inquistive, they love exploring nooks and crannies as well as my actions around the tank (but not quite as much as my Golden Wonders).
If they ever think about breeding, I am going to have to act very quickly, as they have a reputation for being very aggressive (quite possibly putting my Lionhead Cichlid pair with 13 fry to shame, although the "dither" Yellowtail Congo Tetras would show and tell you that they are not getting an easy ride in the Rio240 and might even be moved out today).
These fish are fiesty towards each other and so if you have any ambitions of housing a group (either a single specimen or a group of five, nothing inbetween, but a group would need a tank in excess of 500 litres) they would need to be bought and introduced together.