# Big mistake!!!!



## AWW (Apr 22, 2010)

Hey guys, 

So I goofed big tonight. I grabbed a bunch of geo's from Bobby on the weekend and added them to my 120 gallon temporarily, until there final home is good an cycled. As well as some other cichilds, I have two Ghost knife fish in this tank. So I get home from work at around 9, and start a water change on my discus tank. The 120 is more cloudy then usual because of the increase bio-load, So I decide hey, I might as well WC 50% on this too. So, I toss in my big 1.5" hose to drain it right as my discus tank is filling. Clearly I am multitasking to much...... as Little do I know both my ghost knives get sucked though the tube, and are OUTSIDE struggling against the current as the water flowed along my balcony! They were probably out there for about 30 seconds or so

I quickly grabbed the two of them with my hands and place them back in the tank.... Stayed up late to monitor. Every thing seams okay.... Talk about a temperature shock on these poor guys. Hopefully they are okay! Thankfully it wasn't freezing outside tonight...


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## dino (Aug 29, 2011)

Oh shoot ive had things happen also when trying to do to much. You got bobs geos those are really nice good luck with everything


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## kacairns (Apr 10, 2012)

Which is why I use a sponge pre-filter except on my pleco tanks... but I've still sucked up a few pleco's when cleaning the substrate from time to time....


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## Claudia (Apr 21, 2010)

Now we know u r not good at multitasking lol but i am glad they are ok


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## AWW (Apr 22, 2010)

kacairns said:


> Which is why I use a sponge pre-filter except on my pleco tanks... but I've still sucked up a few pleco's when cleaning the substrate from time to time....


I didn't think much of it, because I thought all the fish were too big to fit though the tube. These ghost knife fish are pushing 4.5 inch now, but are still so small .



Claudia said:


> Now we know u r not good at multitasking lol but i am glad they are ok


Not to stereotype too bad, But I heard its a geneder thing in males :bigsmile:

Both knife fish are looking fine this morning, I was worried they wouldn't eat breakfast, but they were eating as aggressive as ever. I guess this goes to show how much stress healthy fish can endure, and bounce back from!


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## Vancitycam (Oct 23, 2012)

Genetic thing haha I was going to say that but I think it might be a gender thing lol but I hope all is well fish wise.


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## cadillac_jack (Jul 12, 2013)

the fish should be fine if they are eating i wouldnt trip


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## Phillyb (Jan 18, 2011)

Glad to hear things are good with the fish!


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## scott tang (Jan 29, 2012)

Wow cant say I haven't don't this but I drain into a bucket so it was a little safer lol


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## AWW (Apr 22, 2010)

Haha, Yeah these guys are still doing fine. I still drain the same way, I just use a thinner hose so no one will drained out with the water


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## mikebike (Sep 8, 2010)

I run my drain hoses outside into a net 8 X 12 X 10 deep suported by the top rim of a 5 gallon bucket.
It gives me the opportunity to caputure any fish or other that may be sucked up.


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## tony1928 (Apr 22, 2010)

mikebike said:


> I run my drain hoses outside into a net 8 X 12 X 10 deep suported by the top rim of a 5 gallon bucket.
> It gives me the opportunity to caputure any fish or other that may be sucked up.


That's a great idea!

At least you didn't do the opposite and overflow the tank on the refill!


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## Foxtail (Mar 14, 2012)

BGK are very curious and love to go into tubes and holes. Gotta be careful when draining with open hoses. I use a gravel vac every time. Also not trying to be "That guy" but BGK should not be kept together in tanks because they use electrical fields. If you have more than one their electrical fields can really mess each other up. Drives them crazy. Unless you have a very large tank with lots of hiding places. The size they are now is ok but when they grow bigger and their electrical field takes up the whole tank... 

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## AKAmikeross (Nov 5, 2012)

When I read the thread title I was expecting to read much worse... glad to hear everything worked out.


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## AWW (Apr 22, 2010)

Foxtail said:


> BGK are very curious and love to go into tubes and holes. Gotta be careful when draining with open hoses. I use a gravel vac every time. Also not trying to be "That guy" but BGK should not be kept together in tanks because they use electrical fields. If you have more than one their electrical fields can really mess each other up. Drives them crazy. Unless you have a very large tank with lots of hiding places. The size they are now is ok but when they grow bigger and their electrical field takes up the whole tank...
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


Interesting bit of information. After surfing the web, I did find mention of this:

Black Ghost Knife Fish

My opinion on this... is that its all speculation. Do you have any documentation further than what I have provided? Until someone does a documented study on electrical fields between two ghost knives, I am not going to worry about it. Maybe I will notice something in regards to this to prove the speculation. So far I have noticed little aggression between the two, however I am awake when they are asleep. Ghost knife fish are one of the most challenging fish to keep as adults. I am aware I wont be able to keep them together when they are larger. The reason I got two, Is because I wanted to see how they interact together as they grow. My 120 has lots of places to hide.


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## DBam (Aug 9, 2010)

The article seems to say the same thing a few people have mentioned here already; ghost knives do not tolerate each other in aquaria. There are some old adages like "correlation doesn't equal causation". So if you're angle is to prove that it can be done despite what people and that article says, my only thought is that as long as they're both still alive you can only prove that they haven't killed each other yet. Not saying all this to try to sound harsh, just trying to weigh the outcomes objectively. Since you mentioned documentation about their electrical adaptations, I would like to add that they actually have done a lot of scientific research on Gymnotiformes. The glass knives (I think you have these too?), they isolated some of their electrical signals and mimicked them back in a lab setting, resulting in the ability to manipulate their behavior and even induce breeding.

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## DBam (Aug 9, 2010)

Foxtail said:


> BGK should not be kept together in tanks because they use electrical fields. If you have more than one their electrical fields can really mess each other up. Drives them crazy. Unless you have a very large tank with lots of hiding places. The size they are now is ok but when they grow bigger and their electrical field takes up the whole tank...





AWW said:


> My opinion on this... is that its all speculation. Do you have any documentation further than what I have provided? Until someone does a documented study on electrical fields between two ghost knives, I am not going to worry about it. Maybe I will notice something in regards to this to prove the speculation.


If you want a documented source for this, see if you have access to 'Gradual frequency rises in interacting black ghost knifefish, Apteronotus albifrons' by Serrano-Fernandez (2003). They've documented all sorts of interactions, including some of the signals that preceded intense aggression and others from subordinates that last for minutes. Anyways, it's not conjecture and I felt it was worthwhile to point out the years of research that've gone into understanding these fish.

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## Foxtail (Mar 14, 2012)

I wasn't trying to start anything. I just wanted to let you know. Juveniles actually school together in the wild but become solitary as they grow. That's why I said, the size they are now it is actually ok that you have them together. 

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## AWW (Apr 22, 2010)

DBam said:


> If you want a documented source for this, see if you have access to 'Gradual frequency rises in interacting black ghost knifefish, Apteronotus albifrons' by Serrano-Fernandez (2003). They've documented all sorts of interactions, including some of the signals that preceded intense aggression and others from subordinates that last for minutes. Anyways, it's not conjecture and I felt it was worthwhile to point out the years of research that've gone into understanding these fish.
> 
> Sent from Petguide.com Free App


Interesting! I had no idea how much research had gone into these guys. Time for more reading :bigsmile:. I have no intentions of keeping them together once they pass 10", but for the time being they seem happy 



Foxtail said:


> I wasn't trying to start anything. I just wanted to let you know. Juveniles actually school together in the wild but become solitary as they grow. That's why I said, the size they are now it is actually ok that you have them together.
> 
> Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk


Not to worry! Thanks for sharing information in a constructive way.


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