Kristina - 2005-07-27 One of the most easily frightened fish I have ever come to know. Nevertheless, when it comes out of hiding to feed or swim it's always a pleasureable sight!
-[?]- - 2005-07-26 My sharks were killed by my fish very easily. note: keep with non-violent fishes like tetras because the sharks dont fight back when bit.
Rob - 2005-07-10 i have had my iridesent shark for 2 months now and he really hasn't grown much. granted he's in a 10 gallon but that's only until my 280 comes and cycles. i never see him he's always hiding. he's in the tank with 3 zebra danios a red swordtail a pleco and an algae eater. god i hope that tank comes soon. i had a 100 gallon that cracked so i had to put them in my nursing tank...but it gave me an excuse to buy a bigger tank.
Julia - 2005-06-16 I wanted to write this about my I.D Sharks. I love these guys. they are very challenging fish to keep. One of the two has had Ich, fungus, bumped his nose really bad into the side of the tank in a mindless flight and now he has developed some bacterial ulcers. He made it through all of this. A great fish to have...very hardy to have survived through all this! I bought them when they were just babies and they are now 6`` long in a matter of 4 months of ownership. I love them so much when ever I sit in front of their tank they come right up to me and swin in front of me...always being sure they keep an eye on me to make sure I am watching :) Very adorable. They were very nervous at first but now if I put Cichlid pellets in the palm of my hand and than put my hand in the tank they will feed from my palm...provided I don`t move at all. I definately recommend these guys to anybody who is able to provide alot of care, proper housing and attention the most important one. You have to catch diseases when they first start, hence, the attention part. It is sometimes difficult to see things on their bodies since they are so multi-tone. Overall a fantastic fish to own. Would do anything for them personally :)
jen - 2005-05-07 I have been keeping and breeding fish for over 18 years now so believe me when I tell you that you all are gonna need much bigger tanks for your irridescent sharks. My 5 year old shark is at least 16" and had to be moved to a pond. One 2500 gal outside pond for summer,(yes I built an elaborate pond on account of 1 big fish) and a 280 gal pond for winter in my basement. The shark now shares his ponds with koi and goldfish. Not the ideal setup ie. tropical mixed with coldwater, but they all have gotten along fine for the last 3 years, no deaths or illness of any kind. The biggest koi, only 3 years old is almost as big as the shark now. The ponds were needed after the shark outgrew my 90 gal tank, the biggest tank I have at this time(not by choice of course). Too many injuries were occurring in the 90 gal, resulting in much scar tissue on his nose.
Anonymous - 2005-04-04 Whatsup Everyone. I just started with aquariums around october 2004. I had a small 30 gallon tank, which I recently upgraded to a 65 Gallon. I had 2 Irrid Sharks, (Frankie & Johnny). They seemed to get over any sickness that came about them. They were about 4" long, but recently Frankie just passed away. I think it was because the PH level was too high. I was soo upset about it, I went to petland and purchased 4 babies. Now they are all schooled together, they ususally hangout on the right side of the tank. Not sure why but they were even doing that in the pet store. I also have 2 Laporanis (I think thats how you spell it), 3 Red Tailed sharks, 1 6 - 7 " plecco, and 2 babie pleccos (about 2 - 3"). I feed them frozen brine shrimp a few times a week, they all love it. I feed them 3 algie discs, about 15 - 20 cichild pellets, and about 10 - 15 shrimp pellets, twice a day. They all seem to love it. And when they eat it all up, I still see them scavenging all over the bottom of the rocks looking for more food!. I am now doing 50% water changes at least twice a week. Every time I do a waterchange, I add about 6 - 10 capfulls of tap water conditioner, I sprinkle some aquarium salt around, and add about 6 - 10 capfulls of cycle. If I need to, I will add a little bit of PH minus when I do a water change. Maybe 2 or 3 little spoon fulls. I am trying to keep my tank as well balanced as I possibly can, Yet it is very diffacult.
Zara - 2005-03-14 I have had a Pangasius cat fish for 2 months now. it was very stressed when in the aquatic shop and I was told not to expect it to live, but as soon as I got it home it immediately up and has gone from strength to strength ever since. It is at present in a community tank with mainly gouramies, 2 angels, rosie barbs, 2 reed fish, a sail fin pleco, and some tetra. I will be moving it to another tank with a couple of the largest of the other fish from my community tank soon, to give it more room to swim and grow. I would recommend a Pangasius to anyone who likes exotic and friendly fish, they are great. I am really glad I rescued it.
Panther86 - 2004-10-17 I had mollies before my iridescents. I have only had them a couple of weeks and I can already notice a HUGE difference in feeding traits! They are the kind of aquarium fish you can sit and watch all day. I was slightly disappointed when I found out they are not generally a breeding fish. I would love to breed and sell them like I did my mollies. But they are good fish for pets, too.
Denise - 2004-10-12 We bought our Pangasius from PetSmart too. The information there says it grows to 8". It is now 16" and still growing! The description on this site is very accurate. I will say, Pangasius can be very sweet when they get used to you. Ours is in a 50 gallon tank with five Cichlids and a Plecostamus. We need to go to a bigger tank now because the Pangasius is banging around and needs more room. Oh, it makes a mess when it has to go. Its really increased our need for tank cleanings!
VeNuS - 2004-09-06 I have a 30 gallon tank, with 11 shark/catfish. 6 of the black tips and 5 of the iridecent 3 of the 11 are almost 7 inches long. I can not get over how fast they are growing. I also have in my tank, 4 Angel fish, 2 Kissing Grouramis, some pink & blue tetras, some mollies, 2 loaches, 2 bottom feeders, and 4 bottom feeder catfish. At Xmas I am going to be getting a 55 gallon tank to put them in. I found all the stuff on this webpage very useful. Any ideas as what I can put in the 55 gallon tank to make them more comfortable?
Iridescent Shark Catfish are very graceful, elegant swimmers and beautiful fish to watch!
One of the most easily frightened fish I have ever come to know. Nevertheless, when it comes out of hiding to feed or swim it's always a pleasureable sight!
My sharks were killed by my fish very easily. note: keep with non-violent fishes like tetras because the sharks dont fight back when bit.
i have had my iridesent shark for 2 months now and he really hasn't grown much. granted he's in a 10 gallon but that's only until my 280 comes and cycles. i never see him he's always hiding. he's in the tank with 3 zebra danios a red swordtail a pleco and an algae eater. god i hope that tank comes soon. i had a 100 gallon that cracked so i had to put them in my nursing tank...but it gave me an excuse to buy a bigger tank.
I wanted to write this about my I.D Sharks. I love these guys. they are very challenging fish to keep. One of the two has had Ich, fungus, bumped his nose really bad into the side of the tank in a mindless flight and now he has developed some bacterial ulcers. He made it through all of this. A great fish to have...very hardy to have survived through all this! I bought them when they were just babies and they are now 6`` long in a matter of 4 months of ownership. I love them so much when ever I sit in front of their tank they come right up to me and swin in front of me...always being sure they keep an eye on me to make sure I am watching :) Very adorable. They were very nervous at first but now if I put Cichlid pellets in the palm of my hand and than put my hand in the tank they will feed from my palm...provided I don`t move at all. I definately recommend these guys to anybody who is able to provide alot of care, proper housing and attention the most important one. You have to catch diseases when they first start, hence, the attention part. It is sometimes difficult to see things on their bodies since they are so multi-tone. Overall a fantastic fish to own. Would do anything for them personally :)
I have been keeping and breeding fish for over 18 years now so believe me when I tell you that you all are gonna need much bigger tanks for your irridescent sharks. My 5 year old shark is at least 16" and had to be moved to a pond. One 2500 gal outside pond for summer,(yes I built an elaborate pond on account of 1 big fish) and a 280 gal pond for winter in my basement. The shark now shares his ponds with koi and goldfish. Not the ideal setup ie. tropical mixed with coldwater, but they all have gotten along fine for the last 3 years, no deaths or illness of any kind. The biggest koi, only 3 years old is almost as big as the shark now. The ponds were needed after the shark outgrew my 90 gal tank, the biggest tank I have at this time(not by choice of course). Too many injuries were occurring in the 90 gal, resulting in much scar tissue on his nose.
Whatsup Everyone. I just started with aquariums around october 2004. I had a small 30 gallon tank, which I recently upgraded to a 65 Gallon. I had 2 Irrid Sharks, (Frankie & Johnny). They seemed to get over any sickness that came about them. They were about 4" long, but recently Frankie just passed away. I think it was because the PH level was too high. I was soo upset about it, I went to petland and purchased 4 babies. Now they are all schooled together, they ususally hangout on the right side of the tank. Not sure why but they were even doing that in the pet store. I also have 2 Laporanis (I think thats how you spell it), 3 Red Tailed sharks, 1 6 - 7 " plecco, and 2 babie pleccos (about 2 - 3"). I feed them frozen brine shrimp a few times a week, they all love it. I feed them 3 algie discs, about 15 - 20 cichild pellets, and about 10 - 15 shrimp pellets, twice a day. They all seem to love it. And when they eat it all up, I still see them scavenging all over the bottom of the rocks looking for more food!. I am now doing 50% water changes at least twice a week. Every time I do a waterchange, I add about 6 - 10 capfulls of tap water conditioner, I sprinkle some aquarium salt around, and add about 6 - 10 capfulls of cycle. If I need to, I will add a little bit of PH minus when I do a water change. Maybe 2 or 3 little spoon fulls. I am trying to keep my tank as well balanced as I possibly can, Yet it is very diffacult.
I have had a Pangasius cat fish for 2 months now. it was very stressed when in the aquatic shop and I was told not to expect it to live, but as soon as I got it home it immediately up and has gone from strength to strength ever since. It is at present in a community tank with mainly gouramies, 2 angels, rosie barbs, 2 reed fish, a sail fin pleco, and some tetra. I will be moving it to another tank with a couple of the largest of the other fish from my community tank soon, to give it more room to swim and grow. I would recommend a Pangasius to anyone who likes exotic and friendly fish, they are great. I am really glad I rescued it.
I had mollies before my iridescents. I have only had them a couple of weeks and I can already notice a HUGE difference in feeding traits! They are the kind of aquarium fish you can sit and watch all day. I was slightly disappointed when I found out they are not generally a breeding fish. I would love to breed and sell them like I did my mollies. But they are good fish for pets, too.
We bought our Pangasius from PetSmart too. The information there says it grows to 8". It is now 16" and still growing! The description on this site is very accurate. I will say, Pangasius can be very sweet when they get used to you. Ours is in a 50 gallon tank with five Cichlids and a Plecostamus. We need to go to a bigger tank now because the Pangasius is banging around and needs more room. Oh, it makes a mess when it has to go. Its really increased our need for tank cleanings!
I have a 30 gallon tank, with 11 shark/catfish. 6 of the black tips
and 5 of the iridecent 3 of the 11 are almost 7 inches long.
I can not get over how fast they are growing.
I also have in my tank, 4 Angel fish, 2 Kissing Grouramis, some pink & blue tetras, some mollies, 2 loaches, 2 bottom feeders, and 4 bottom feeder catfish.
At Xmas I am going to be getting a 55 gallon tank to put them in.
I found all the stuff on this webpage very useful.
Any ideas as what I can put in the 55 gallon tank to make them more comfortable?