Raven Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 From what little ive read, theyre are catfish... any one know anything else about these guys? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishManTy Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 Yeah are quite interested fish. A type of catfish is what I hear aswell. They can grow fast if fed the right food, and can easily grow to 2 feet in an aquarium, and have been caught at 4feet in the wild (So I hear, and have read) They will eat what ever fits in their mouths, and are generally hardy fish. Be careful, they are also strong fish, and I had one flip out and smash my thermometer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerebus Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 They're a very skittish fish in the aquarium. I had one for awhile and it spent all day hiding and only came out at night, much like a lot of plecos. The can also get huge. Here's a photo I found quite awhile ago of an ID shark supposedly caught in the wild. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cerebus Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 And here's another (bad) picture of a pair in an aquarium. You can get a sense of the size, anyway... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudy Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 2 foot ID Sharks are very common. These are one of the many catfish that should not be sold to anyone as with their size, not many can house them. They also do better in groups of 3 or more so this becomes even more problematic. The are also extremely skittish and will always be this way. This is not as much of an issue with small ones, however when a group of 2 foot fish are freaking out in your decorated tank it becomes more than problematic. Somthing is going to give. All and all a cool fish, however defiantley not for anyone. I think they do better in indoor ponds as the reflection of glass can make them wig out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacu Lady Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 Our Iridescent Shark is about 24-26" and is one of our fish with personality! He has a permanent "smudge" on the top of his head from hitting the top of the tank - he loves to break water! He will "vacuum" the surface when it's feeding time - he loves Hikari pellets & Milk Bones! He is a velvety black with shiny silver underbelly. He will also try to school with the Tin Foil Barbs. When my husband is in the tank, Sharky is real curious & is constantly underfoot & investigating what he is doing. This was a "pity" purchase - he was all head & eyeballs when we brought him home, and I never was a big Iridescent fan, but he has turned out to be one of our favorites! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacu Lady Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 oops - here is Sharky with his friends.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnsmith Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 Considering I see ID sharks in most pet stores most of the time you have to wonder how long they last. You certainly don't hear of many 2'ers. The sewers must be full of them . PACU LADY - I'm so glad I finally got to see a picture of your tank :drool: . I sure would like to see more *hint, hint* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacu Lady Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 We're not sure how old he is - we've had him for about 1.5 years, so we're guessing maybe 4-5 years..... Thanks, johnsmith.... -07- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted February 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 OK... size is a problem... Ive a single 50 g. Will he really out grow the tank? Ive heard my CAE will grow to a foot or more and forever hes been slightly smaller then our rainbow shark. I went to pjs ask about fish that grow to the same size of the RS. She recomened the IDS said it grew to 8 inches. Liars -.- How fast do they grow anyway? You say you have had yours for a year or so... but what do they grow like when you buy them at 2 inches? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pacu Lady Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 Well, I've never had them that small....ours has probably doubled in size since we got him. We're also feeding every day & he eats a lot! Maybe someone else can give you advice on how fast they grow from a smaller size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted February 23, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 Hmm.... makes me think, maybe ill do some reash on them and test out on my own to see how fast one will grow. Think is i most likely wont be able to keep it after it reaches 2 feet.... would you take it afterwards? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rudy Posted February 23, 2005 Report Share Posted February 23, 2005 That is one good thing about them. They are incredibly slow growers in an aquarium. If you hit 6 inches in a year you are doing good. Then they will really slow down from there. Some say this is due to small tank syndrome. They will get stunted really easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted February 24, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 so.... just like why my CAE is smaller then it should be? Ok thats good, i was starting to worry about how big it get.... when i showed pics to some poeple they were wondering it the fish was eatable-.- Oh another thing, the lady at pj said that IDS like slightly salty water because they are a scaless fish.... sooo how much salt should i put in? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toirtis Posted February 24, 2005 Report Share Posted February 24, 2005 Most ID sharks die by 12" or so, by either jumping out of the tank or bashing their faces on the tank ends (a drawback of transparent tank ends...the fish often do not realise when they are there...especially when spooked). I have seen tons of 18"-26" ID sharks dumped on pet shops....and these are likely less than 0.5% of those sold yearly as babies. If you have adequate filtration and do lots of good-sized water-changes (something only about 2% of aquarists are actually 'adequate' with), your shark will not be stunted, and will hit 12" fairly quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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