Black Ghost Knife Fish Tail Regeneration

[Jungle Girl]

I just wanted to post that one of my black ghost knife fish had the tip of his tail chomped off (by the featherfin upsidedown catfish I think) and after a couple of months, it has now TOTALLY GROWN BACK. Yay!!! It even grew back with the proper black tip on the end. Now that his tail's all better, he can get back in the business of growing... His clutchmate, who did not have to expend so much energy in healing a wound, is MUCH larger at this point. (They do live in separate aquariums.)

Oh ya, and the day after I saw him get his tail chomped off, I thought someone bit him in the neck too because there was all this white scraggly stuff hanging out. Silly me; I now realize that a long wavy tail considerably shortens the external distance from mouth to anus!

[CACAdmin]

Glad to hear his tail has regenerated and that he's doing well. I wouldn't have thought that possible with the whole tailfin gone. Interesting observation of how much this affected his growth. I'm sure it took quite a toll on him. Hopefully, this trauma he endured doesn't stunt him and he grows to his full size.

Has the upsidedown catfish attacked any other fish in the tank?

[Jungle Girl]

I think it was the catfish that bit the ghost knife, but I'm not 100% sure because it all happened very quickly. I initially put both ghost knife fish in the same 70 gallon tank, but after a couple weeks I decided I didn't like how the one with the chomped tail got chased by the other, so they were separated. So there is the possibility that it was actually the other ghost knife that bit him, but I did see the catfish actually strike out at the ghost knife and I noticed the wound that same day.

There were also two featherfin upsidedown catfish (sold to me as regular upsidedown catfish!!!) in this tank at first. The two catfish grew to hate eachother and created constant chaos in an otherwise peaceful tank. I separated them long before I got the ghosts. Aside from that first day when I introduced the two ghost knife fish and the one got bitten, I almost never see the featherfin catfish. The other featherfin lives in a 110 gallon tank with a red tail black shark and two tiger oscars, and though he is a bit more outgoing, he doesn't bother anyone in that tank either. I think the ghost knife got bitten because he was curious and kept poking around inside the log where the catfish was hiding.

I recently decided to add two angel fish for the 70 gallon tank because during the day it didn't look like any fish even lived in there! (The other inhabitants are 3 ropefish and an african butterfly fish, who are all kind of shy unless I entice them out with food.)

The black ghost knife fish seem to have a very curious, intelligent, and playful manner about them. My guys love bloodworms (frozen & freezedried) and the scallop pieces I put in for the ropefish.

[CACAdmin]

It's always difficult unless you see it happen to determine the source. You've been doing the juggling thing to find the right mix for everyone in your tanks as you observe behavior.

And yes, you may be right that it was a territorial issue with the catfish. If not, one would think he would have gone after the ghost knife when he was already wounded. Or, as you say, it could even have been the other ghost knife. If it was, as they are now seperated, that's not an issue.

You certainly have an interesting mix of fish.