mysterious death of black ghost knifefish

[[email protected]]

Hi all...
This morning, when I woke up, my 5-6 in black ghost knife fish was
dead. The day before, he had been eagerly swimming about, eating, etc.

My tank is a 55 gallon planted tank. There is driftwood that creates
plenty of hiding spaces for him. I only would see him when he wanted
to come out, but that was still pretty often as he warmed up to his
surroundings. I've had him probably 3 weeks.

The water quality is what I would consider very good: 0 ammonia and
nitrite, of course, but nitrates are also quite low. Yesterday (before
he died) they were between 5 and 10 ppm. The water is slightly acidic
(6.6-6.8) and quite soft--- about 3 degrees. I have 4 juvenile discus
in the tank that seem happy, which is why I keep the water so
pristine... (and, as I understand it, these condtions should be perfect
for the black ghost as well). So, any theories? I'm hoping to get
another of these great fish in the future, but I'd like to ponder what
went wrong with this one first.

Thanks very much for any suggestions,
Wes

[Elaine T]

wrote:
> Hi all...
> This morning, when I woke up, my 5-6 in black ghost knife fish was
> dead. The day before, he had been eagerly swimming about, eating, etc.
>
> My tank is a 55 gallon planted tank. There is driftwood that creates
> plenty of hiding spaces for him. I only would see him when he wanted
> to come out, but that was still pretty often as he warmed up to his
> surroundings. I've had him probably 3 weeks.
>
> The water quality is what I would consider very good: 0 ammonia and
> nitrite, of course, but nitrates are also quite low. Yesterday (before
> he died) they were between 5 and 10 ppm. The water is slightly acidic
> (6.6-6.8) and quite soft--- about 3 degrees. I have 4 juvenile discus
> in the tank that seem happy, which is why I keep the water so
> pristine... (and, as I understand it, these condtions should be perfect
> for the black ghost as well). So, any theories? I'm hoping to get
> another of these great fish in the future, but I'd like to ponder what
> went wrong with this one first.
>
> Thanks very much for any suggestions,
> Wes
>
Hmmm... Three weeks is short enough that he could have had an internal
infection of some sort from the fish store. It may not have anything to
do with your tank. You're very brave to put an unquarantined fish in
with discus.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[[email protected]]

Thanks for the reply. It was probably actually closer to 4 weeks than
3, and I had him before the Discus.

I have no doubt he may have had some illness, but I'm wondering whether
anyone has had experience with a ghost knifefish dying without
displaying any symptoms ahead of time. I'm puzzled because literally
10 hours before I found him, he was swimming around eagerly, eating out
of my hand, and looking very healthy.

Thanks for any information,
Wes

Elaine T wrote:
> wrote:
> > Hi all...
> > This morning, when I woke up, my 5-6 in black ghost knife fish was
> > dead. The day before, he had been eagerly swimming about, eating, etc.
> >
> > My tank is a 55 gallon planted tank. There is driftwood that creates
> > plenty of hiding spaces for him. I only would see him when he wanted
> > to come out, but that was still pretty often as he warmed up to his
> > surroundings. I've had him probably 3 weeks.
> >
> > The water quality is what I would consider very good: 0 ammonia and
> > nitrite, of course, but nitrates are also quite low. Yesterday (before
> > he died) they were between 5 and 10 ppm. The water is slightly acidic
> > (6.6-6.8) and quite soft--- about 3 degrees. I have 4 juvenile discus
> > in the tank that seem happy, which is why I keep the water so
> > pristine... (and, as I understand it, these condtions should be perfect
> > for the black ghost as well). So, any theories? I'm hoping to get
> > another of these great fish in the future, but I'd like to ponder what
> > went wrong with this one first.
> >
> > Thanks very much for any suggestions,
> > Wes
> >
> Hmmm... Three weeks is short enough that he could have had an internal
> infection of some sort from the fish store. It may not have anything to
> do with your tank. You're very brave to put an unquarantined fish in
> with discus.
>
> --
> Elaine T __
> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
> rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

[NetMax]

I've heard of these fish being very susceptible to stray electric
currents from faulty heaters and powerheads, but my first guess would be
an internal infection of some sort as Elaine mentioned.
--
www.NetMax.tk

> wrote in message
ups.com...
> Thanks for the reply. It was probably actually closer to 4 weeks than
> 3, and I had him before the Discus.
>
> I have no doubt he may have had some illness, but I'm wondering whether
> anyone has had experience with a ghost knifefish dying without
> displaying any symptoms ahead of time. I'm puzzled because literally
> 10 hours before I found him, he was swimming around eagerly, eating out
> of my hand, and looking very healthy.
>
> Thanks for any information,
> Wes
>
> Elaine T wrote:
>> wrote:
>> > Hi all...
>> > This morning, when I woke up, my 5-6 in black ghost knife fish was
>> > dead. The day before, he had been eagerly swimming about, eating,
>> > etc.
>> >
>> > My tank is a 55 gallon planted tank. There is driftwood that
>> > creates
>> > plenty of hiding spaces for him. I only would see him when he
>> > wanted
>> > to come out, but that was still pretty often as he warmed up to his
>> > surroundings. I've had him probably 3 weeks.
>> >
>> > The water quality is what I would consider very good: 0 ammonia and
>> > nitrite, of course, but nitrates are also quite low. Yesterday
>> > (before
>> > he died) they were between 5 and 10 ppm. The water is slightly
>> > acidic
>> > (6.6-6.8) and quite soft--- about 3 degrees. I have 4 juvenile
>> > discus
>> > in the tank that seem happy, which is why I keep the water so
>> > pristine... (and, as I understand it, these condtions should be
>> > perfect
>> > for the black ghost as well). So, any theories? I'm hoping to get
>> > another of these great fish in the future, but I'd like to ponder
>> > what
>> > went wrong with this one first.
>> >
>> > Thanks very much for any suggestions,
>> > Wes
>> >
>> Hmmm... Three weeks is short enough that he could have had an internal
>> infection of some sort from the fish store. It may not have anything
>> to
>> do with your tank. You're very brave to put an unquarantined fish in
>> with discus.
>>
>> --
>> Elaine T __
>> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><
>> rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com
>

[fish lover]

On Wed, 14 Sep 2005 20:46:01 GMT, Elaine T >
wrote:

wrote:
>> Hi all...
>> This morning, when I woke up, my 5-6 in black ghost knife fish was
>> dead. The day before, he had been eagerly swimming about, eating, etc.
>>
>> My tank is a 55 gallon planted tank. There is driftwood that creates
>> plenty of hiding spaces for him. I only would see him when he wanted
>> to come out, but that was still pretty often as he warmed up to his
>> surroundings. I've had him probably 3 weeks.
>>
>> The water quality is what I would consider very good: 0 ammonia and
>> nitrite, of course, but nitrates are also quite low. Yesterday (before
>> he died) they were between 5 and 10 ppm. The water is slightly acidic
>> (6.6-6.8) and quite soft--- about 3 degrees. I have 4 juvenile discus
>> in the tank that seem happy, which is why I keep the water so
>> pristine... (and, as I understand it, these condtions should be perfect
>> for the black ghost as well). So, any theories? I'm hoping to get
>> another of these great fish in the future, but I'd like to ponder what
>> went wrong with this one first.
>>
>> Thanks very much for any suggestions,
>> Wes
>>
>Hmmm... Three weeks is short enough that he could have had an internal
>infection of some sort from the fish store. It may not have anything to
>do with your tank. You're very brave to put an unquarantined fish in
>with discus.

I had at least 4 to 5 black ghosts before and they all dead. My brown
knife fish killed one that was twice his size (about 8 inches). The
other three were dead without any warning after in the tank for about
one to two weeks. Never found out the actual reason and I would never
have them again.

My brown knife fish is fine. He is not as good looking as the black
knife fish but he is alive. I put him in my tank about 6 months ago.