Things You'll Need
- 100-gallon aquarium
- Fine-grain aquarium gravel
- 3 to 4 pieces of bog or driftwood
- 4 to 5 pieces of 10-inch long, 6- to 8-inch diameter PVC pipes
- 5 oz. bottle of chlorine neutralizer
- 300-watt aquarium heater
- Dip-and-read pH test kit
- PH agent
- Canister filter, incorporating mechanical, chemical and biological filter material
- Aquarium nitrifying bacteria
- 10 to 15 aquatic plants
- 20 floating aquatic plants
- Adult black ghost knife fish, 1 male and 3 three females
- Earthworms
- Bloodworms
- Adult brine shrimp
- Fresh or frozen prawns
- Additional aquarium
- Infusoria
- Day-old brine shrimp
- Tubifex worms
Instructions
Position a 100-gallon aquarium in a quiet room that is not used for family activities.
Place a thin layer of fine-grain aquarium gravel onto the bottom of the aquarium. Add three or four pieces of drift or bogwood and place four or five pieces of 10-inch-long PVC tubing onto the substrate. Use tubes with a 6- to 8-inch diameter. The knife fish will retreat into and rest in this piping.
Fill the aquarium with tap water and add 10 tsp. of chlorine neutralizer.
Adjust a 300-watt aquarium heater to 82 F and place into the aquarium.
Use a dip-and-read pH test kit to check the pH of the aquarium water. Add a commercial pH agent to lower the pH to approximately 6.7, if necessary.
Fill a canister filter with mechanical, chemical and biological filter material and connect the filter to the aquarium.
Add 10 tsp. of aquarium bacteria to the water. These beneficial bacteria will immediately colonize the biological material and begin to break down metabolic waste as soon as the fish are introduced.
Place 10 to 15 tall aquatic plants into the aquarium and cover the water surface with floating aquatic plants. The black ghost knife fish is a shy, nocturnal species that is more comfortable in an aquarium with subdued light.
Determine the sex of the black ghost knife fish at the pet dealer. Adult male fish are more slender than mature females. Male fish will also have a longer face than females. Obtain a male and three female fish.
Add the fish to your aquarium and allow them to acclimatize without disturbances.
Condition the fish on a diet of earthworms, bloodworms, adult brine shrimp and tiny pieces of fresh or frozen prawns.
Observe the behavior of the fish. Once the pair separates themselves from the remaining two female fish, remove the surplus females to an aquarium with similar water parameters.
Examine the substrate each morning for eggs, in the region where the pair spend their time. Black ghost knife fish spawn at night, so you will not easily observe the actual breeding.
Remove the female once the eggs are laid. The male fish will guard the eggs until they hatch.
Carefully watch the eggs on a daily basis, as they can hatch from the third day after being laid.
Remove the male at this point.
Add infusoria to the aquarium two days after the fry have hatched. Fry will survive on their yolk sac for a number of days, but the infusoria will not die and will be available to the fry as soon as they are ready to feed. Infusoria are tiny aquatic organisms that can be collected from a local pond. Place the infusoria in a bucket of pond water and add lettuce leaves on which they will feed. The infusoria propagate at an astonishing rate.
Feed the fry day-old brine shrimp from the 10th day after hatching. Feed three times per day and ensure there are sufficient brine shrimp in the water for the fry to feed between feeds. Slowly begin to introduce tubifex worms at this point as well. Only feed as many worms as are eaten within a five-minute period. Feed worms three times per day.