Though this is a very attractive fish and fun to observe, the Silver-tipped Shark or Shark Catfish gets rather large, up to 14 inches (36 cm) and needs several companions. This equates to a rather large aquarium!
Fran - 2006-01-01 Hi. I agree with comment about these silver-tips catching diseases easily. Out of all the catfish in my tank, they are the hardest to care for! They have gotten ick, fungus, and pop-eye! But, being the good mom that I am, I've managed to treat all of the diseases effectively and have not lost one fish! They do keep my on my toes, though. :)
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Chelsea - 2010-06-12 Hey, I have just bought one of these guys at petsmart and soon found out that I wasn't really prepared! They sell them as freshwater fish but they actually need saltwater. I don't mind putting my cat ( I called him shishio :D ) in another tank with salt but when i looked at him today i think he has a skin disease!? :( He has these white marks all over his body that weren't there when I bought him about a month ago. I also have a pleco in the tank and a snail...I hope this disease isnt contagious..but I was really wondering if you could help me in treating this? I have become really attached to him :( Im open to any suggestions to help save little shishio!
vaughn - 2010-09-09 Fran my silver tip has gotten like I think maybe a white fungus on its back what can I do to rid of this problem?
kyle - 2011-02-06 Do your silver tips go up and down the glass of your take constantly?
me - 2011-02-04 I find this false... My salver-tipped sharks have not been sick once in the entire year I've had them. Keep your aquarium in better condition and you can prevent them, which is ultimately more important than waiting until they get sick and then treating them. Figure out the cause so it won't happen.
me - 2011-02-04 By the way, they're not saltwater... They just like salt in the water ('Brackish') more than regular fish.
israel - 2011-02-13 Ours does the same thing,..it goes up and down. And tries to jump out too.
laurie - 2009-09-15 I have 2 silver-tip (catsharks). I have had them for about 1.5 yrs. I just put them in a bigger tank and they are getting bigger. They were about 3 in., now they are about 6in or so, they won't stay still to measure, lol. They are my favorite "baby's". I just bought a black knife fish that is about 4in and I was told it would get about 12-24in in a 30gal tank. Wow, maybe it won't hide behind the filter anymore when it gets bigger. I love my sharks and they know when it's close to the once a night feeding, they start roaming the aquarium all crazy. I just read they are brackish? but I don't do anything special. I do put aq. salt when I change the water. So far so good.
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Laurie - 2010-12-22 Update: my 2 sharks are over 2.5 yrs old now and about 9 in. long. I love them they are great!
Anonymous - 2011-02-02 That knife does not belong in a 30 gal tank minimum should be 75 gallons for a single knife nor should the silvertips. You're stunting their growth and they will die of organ failure.
Carrie - 2011-01-28 I have a silver tip(6") and a rainbow shark(3"), both a yr and a half old. These two have been best of friends since I got them as babies. I just got a bigger tank and would like to add a few fish. I had a Bala and he died after 2 months so I went and got another baby one and my Rainbow tormented him horribly and within 24hr he was dead :( So I'm worried my Rainbow is gonna be very aggressive again so what other kind can I add to my tank?....and these 2 have been alone with each other for over a year if that matters.
Kim - 2011-01-03 My silver tipped shark was very active for the first week, today he started staying on the bottom of the tank and sort of boroughing in a ditch he has made by is back and forth motions, I have not seen him eat but I don't watch him all day. I am wondering if he might be sick. Does anyone have any ideas?
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JayDee - 2011-01-06 I don't know how much research you have done, but I do know that Your silver tipped shark is a brackish water fish. Often sold as a freshwater fish. They can become ill if not in at least mildly salty water. It is perfectly good to add one to two tablespoons of marine salt to your tank per 10 gallons in order to make your silver tipped shark thrive. Also the same amount of aquarium salt is helpful to fight off bacteria which may be killing it. Both salts are cheap, pick them up at nearly any pet store. Good luck. P.S I keep mine in slightly brackish water and they are loving life.
yasir bilal(fishlover 101) - 2010-11-18 I got a 4 inch one and a 2 inch one. They do fight but at feeding time they act peaceful later they fight again then go into their separate dens. Tell me about their behaviour against snakeheads so I can stop them from attacking and killing my adorable snakehead kids and, mom can't save them cause she's too small. It's sad.
brent warner - 2010-11-03 Hey y'all I just bought a 100g custom tank and I got my friends 8 inch silver-tipped shark and he kept it in horrible conditions in a crowded 45g hexagon tank w/ 5 4 inch gouramis and two huge pleco's.... now that he's in my tank I thought he would swim a bit more but the first week he stayed in the same corner going up and down now he's going back and forth at the water line and he won't eat anything I put in the tank please someone help me?
Devin - 2009-02-09 hi i have some questions i bought my first one and all the sudden for now reason he died, he was vertical looked like he was gasping for air, but i bought a new one and was just wondering if they can survive without brackish water thanks
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Richie - 2010-10-19 Same thing happened to me 2 days ago.
Parisa - 2010-09-10 My silver tipped shark JUST DIED. I've only had him for a week! He was about 2 in long in a 10 gallon tank with a placo. I just tested the pH and it was a little less than 7.6. The placos still alive, but I woke up this morning and the shark was dead :(. What could have happened? He seemed completely fine yesterday...
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austin - 2010-09-24 I have a silver tipped myself when I first started. I had 2 they both died. I had them both I a ten gallon tank which was 2 small for them. The ph level was two high you must get a bigger tank for silver tipped sharks 10 gallon is to small for two one maybe. My silvertipped shark loves the bigger tank and he friends with mollies go figure that.
heeed - 2010-03-06 They're amazing, beautiful fish but not when they snack on their tank mates, lol. My only one that grows rapidly since I bought him 3-4 moths ago, is now around 4 inch's and has so far cost me around 30 fish..... most of my few months old fry's along with others. I've separated him to my smaller tank since yesterday (which I'm not happy about) and I really don't wanna get rid off him.
I'm open for any suggestions, plz.
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fish enthusiast - 2010-03-15 Hello, you may want to give him his own big tank with tank mates his size. He won't be able to eat them then.
daisy - 2010-04-07 Hello I have two silvertip sharks and I've had them so far for about one month and one of them looks pregnant. How can I tell to be sure?
Spencer - 2010-08-13 I think you should keep him in case you need to reduce the amount of fish, in your larger tank, if the fry over populate.
Billy - 2010-08-27 Make sure he's with other semi aggresive fish
Ava - 2010-08-27 Obviously, stop putting smaller fish in the tank. The shark-fish will eat them. You have to invest in bigger fish than it is, or fish of the same size, but not of the same species. It's worth keeping, honestly. I had my shark fish with one or two other fish in the tank tops for over seven and a half years.
dawn - 2010-05-29 I bought a shark yesterday. I have never owned one of these before. Mine likes to swim around a lot with the tank light off. I went into pets-mart to look at dogs and came out with a shark lol. But, it is pretty. I like to watch it swim around it is very entertaining. When is the best times to clean the tanks? When is the best time to start putting salt into the water? I am new at having this type of pet.....
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motasm - 2010-08-05 Go slowly on this give it to them easily so they could stay comfortable so I suggest to put salt when they're 18cm long but easy put the salt and steer.
Though this is a very attractive fish and fun to observe, the Silver-tipped Shark or Shark Catfish gets rather large, up to 14 inches (36 cm) and needs several companions. This equates to a rather large aquarium!
Hi. I agree with comment about these silver-tips catching diseases easily. Out of all the catfish in my tank, they are the hardest to care for! They have gotten ick, fungus, and pop-eye! But, being the good mom that I am, I've managed to treat all of the diseases effectively and have not lost one fish! They do keep my on my toes, though. :)
Hey, I have just bought one of these guys at petsmart and soon found out that I wasn't really prepared! They sell them as freshwater fish but they actually need saltwater. I don't mind putting my cat ( I called him shishio :D ) in another tank with salt but when i looked at him today i think he has a skin disease!? :( He has these white marks all over his body that weren't there when I bought him about a month ago. I also have a pleco in the tank and a snail...I hope this disease isnt contagious..but I was really wondering if you could help me in treating this? I have become really attached to him :( Im open to any suggestions to help save little shishio!
Fran my silver tip has gotten like I think maybe a white fungus on its back what can I do to rid of this problem?
Do your silver tips go up and down the glass of your take constantly?
I find this false... My salver-tipped sharks have not been sick once in the entire year I've had them. Keep your aquarium in better condition and you can prevent them, which is ultimately more important than waiting until they get sick and then treating them. Figure out the cause so it won't happen.
By the way, they're not saltwater... They just like salt in the water ('Brackish') more than regular fish.
Ours does the same thing,..it goes up and down. And tries to jump out too.
I have 2 silver-tip (catsharks). I have had them for about 1.5 yrs. I just put
them in a bigger tank and they are getting bigger. They were about 3 in., now they are about 6in or so, they won't stay still to measure, lol. They are my favorite "baby's". I just bought a black knife fish that is about 4in
and I was told it would get about 12-24in in a 30gal tank. Wow, maybe it won't
hide behind the filter anymore when it gets bigger. I love my sharks and they
know when it's close to the once a night feeding, they start roaming the aquarium
all crazy. I just read they are brackish? but I don't do anything special. I
do put aq. salt when I change the water. So far so good.
Update: my 2 sharks are over 2.5 yrs old now and about 9 in. long.
I love them they are great!
That knife does not belong in a 30 gal tank minimum should be 75 gallons for a single knife nor should the silvertips. You're stunting their growth and they will die of organ failure.
I have a silver tip(6") and a rainbow shark(3"), both a yr and a half old. These two have been best of friends since I got them as babies. I just got a bigger tank and would like to add a few fish. I had a Bala and he died after 2 months so I went and got another baby one and my Rainbow tormented him horribly and within 24hr he was dead :( So I'm worried my Rainbow is gonna be very aggressive again so what other kind can I add to my tank?....and these 2 have been alone with each other for over a year if that matters.
My silver tipped shark was very active for the first week, today he started staying on the bottom of the tank and sort of boroughing in a ditch he has
made by is back and forth motions, I have not seen him eat but I don't watch him all day. I am wondering if he might be sick. Does anyone have any ideas?
I don't know how much research you have done, but I do know that Your silver tipped shark is a brackish water fish. Often sold as a freshwater fish. They can become ill if not in at least mildly salty water. It is perfectly good to add one to two tablespoons of marine salt to your tank per 10 gallons in order to make your silver tipped shark thrive. Also the same amount of aquarium salt is helpful to fight off bacteria which may be killing it. Both salts are cheap, pick them up at nearly any pet store. Good luck. P.S I keep mine in slightly brackish water and they are loving life.
I got a 4 inch one and a 2 inch one. They do fight but at feeding time they act peaceful later they fight again then go into their separate dens. Tell me about their behaviour against snakeheads so I can stop them from attacking and killing my adorable snakehead kids and, mom can't save them cause she's too small. It's sad.
Hey y'all I just bought a 100g custom tank and I got my friends 8 inch silver-tipped shark and he kept it in horrible conditions in a crowded 45g hexagon tank w/ 5 4 inch gouramis and two huge pleco's.... now that he's in my tank I thought he would swim a bit more but the first week he stayed in the same corner going up and down now he's going back and forth at the water line and he won't eat anything I put in the tank please someone help me?
hi i have some questions i bought my first one and all the sudden for now reason he died, he was vertical looked like he was gasping for air, but i bought a new one and was just wondering if they can survive without brackish water thanks
Same thing happened to me 2 days ago.
My silver tipped shark JUST DIED. I've only had him for a week! He was about 2 in long in a 10 gallon tank with a placo. I just tested the pH and it was a little less than 7.6. The placos still alive, but I woke up this morning and the shark was dead :(. What could have happened? He seemed completely fine yesterday...
I have a silver tipped myself when I first started. I had 2 they both died. I had them both I a ten gallon tank which was 2 small for them. The ph level was two high you must get a bigger tank for silver tipped sharks 10 gallon is to small for two one maybe. My silvertipped shark loves the bigger tank and he friends with mollies go figure that.
They're amazing, beautiful fish but not when they snack on their tank mates, lol. My only one that grows rapidly since I bought him 3-4 moths ago, is now around 4 inch's and has so far cost me around 30 fish..... most of my few months old fry's along with others. I've separated him to my smaller tank since yesterday (which I'm not happy about) and I really don't wanna get rid off him.
I'm open for any suggestions, plz.
Hello, you may want to give him his own big tank with tank mates his size. He won't be able to eat them then.
Hello I have two silvertip sharks and I've had them so far for about one month and one of them looks pregnant. How can I tell to be sure?
I think you should keep him in case you need to reduce the amount of fish, in your larger tank, if the fry over populate.
Make sure he's with other semi aggresive fish
Obviously, stop putting smaller fish in the tank. The shark-fish will eat them. You have to invest in bigger fish than it is, or fish of the same size, but not of the same species. It's worth keeping, honestly. I had my shark fish with one or two other fish in the tank tops for over seven and a half years.
I bought a shark yesterday. I have never owned one of these before. Mine likes to swim around a lot with the tank light off. I went into pets-mart to look at dogs and came out with a shark lol. But, it is pretty. I like to watch it swim around it is very entertaining. When is the best times to clean the tanks? When is the best time to start putting salt into the water? I am new at having this type of pet.....
Go slowly on this give it to them easily so they could stay comfortable so I suggest to put salt when they're 18cm long but easy put the salt and steer.