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!
NT - 2008-01-25 I have two pictus catfish and they are LOADS of fun to watch! They absolutely go mad on meaty foods, so I give them different meat everyday. I also make sure I give them two kinds of pellets on the weekends, but apart from that they are doing pretty well. Since I got them they have become used to me and when I come into the room both of them swim up to me and try to get my attention for food!!!
These fish are so hyperactive and are great fun, they make really good pets.
Atarah Atkinson - 2008-01-12 I just got a silver tail today. He/she is very beautiful and the most active fish I've ever seen. It is swimming back and forth all over the place, seems to be very happy. I look froward to my time with him/her!
usaman920 - 2007-11-11 i have a shark cat fish and i am only 12 years old, but i am responsible. I have a black eyed molly, and i had a puffer fish. It died :(, but i love my fish and they loved each other, and they are so peaceful.
Kimberly - 2007-11-01 I have 2 silver-tip catfish named Bo and Joe. I had them for 4 months now and they are wonderful. They are with smaller fish such as glo-lites and guppies, and not one of them has gone went missing. They eat with them and are not aggressive towards any of my other fish. They are beautiful and I love watching them.
donna - 2007-10-21 I have my silver tip (5-6") in with cichlids (5-6"), red tip sharks (3"), black skirt tetras. I have had him about 1 year and I haven't had any issues with him eating other fish. Maybe it's because he is in 150 gal tank.
anthony - 2007-10-11 I have a silver tip "Charger" that is about 2 years old, He or she is about 10 inches long and is in a 55 gallon tank. This guy can eat! He is 90% shark and 10% Catfish. The rest of his tank mates started to disappear once he was about 6 inches long. Replacements were purchased only to find them missing the next day. This is when I knew that flakes and pellets were not enough. So I purchased 30 feeder about 1-2 inches, these were gone in about 2 days. Now I feed him 40-50 feeders every 2 weeks. These are medium size about 2+ inches and they are normally gone in a day. My son wanted tank mates, but the local pet store only had smaller fish other then a Koi about 4 inches long. He lasted about 3 days and then "Charger" ate him. Very expensive fish to feed. Once he is gone I will be going back to African Cichlids.
ruby j - 2007-10-02 We have 3 6-inchers in a full marine tank with several guppies (yes, guppies can unfortunately survive in anything!) and saltwater hermit crabs. These fish like brackish water when they're young, but are apparently very hardy as they acclimated to the marine water very readily. I have read they are born in fresh water, move to brackish during the juvenile stages, then live in saltwater for the remainder of their adult life. They are phenomenal creatures. They love to play in the tunnel they have, and they love a strong current. I agree with an earlier comment - although it says they are bottom dwellers, they are often at the top of their tank searching for something. But, they only do this after lights out! I have seen no aggression from the sharks, and I love them dearly. One last word - another agreement: they do like a clean tank and good water although they really hate for you to mess with the tank.
Cody Johnson - 2007-08-27 I really love these fish! I have 2 that are about 4 inches long. I got them about 6 months ago when they were babies. they were maybe an inch long and thats it.
The most common mis-information is that these are really Sharks and that they are a fresh water fish. This is WRONG! They are Catfish for one, the reason they are called sharks is because for their dorsel fin. They are also a brackish water fish. Meaning they need low level salt to be healthy.
I have mine in a 20 gallon tank at this time but will be move them when they get bigger. The other fish in with them are 2 Green Spotted Puffers. Theses are great tank mates. with the 4 fish in the tank, i keep the tank at about 79 degrees, and a saltity level of 22 ppt.
both of these types of fish are meet eaters. I feed mine frozen mysis shrip in the morning and flake/pellets in the afternoon. Every now and then I give them small bits of real shrimp. Man they all LOVE that! I'm thinking about putting in a couple of live guppies in for some live food. The puffers and sharks both need meat to be healthy.
These fish are very fun to have and tend to be playful. They swim together and lay at the bottom together. Except when feeding, they tend to chase each other off. They love a varity of things to swim around and hide in. I have many plants and a driftwood tunnel at the bottom as well as sunken titanic. They love swiming through the tunnel and around the ship. Sometimes many times in minutes. They take some maintenance; partial water chages, filter changes, and you must use a vacumn pump to clean the wast at the bottom of the tank. They like a clean tank, though they don't like you to clean it. But you must. lol
Meech! - 2007-06-25 Beautiful fish! When small, they will thrive in a freshwater tank, but as they age more than a couple of years, you will need to transfer them to a brackish tank, or convert your tank to brackish. Even if they seem healthy and happy as they age in your FW tank, they are likely suffering from skin irritations and certainly a shorter lifespan. Take a good look at the condition of their skin as they age. I am in the process of converting a FW tank to brackish for my 2 9-inchers.
They are not as aggressive as they are thorough. They won't bully or injure like-sized fish, but will inhale food right from the lips of slower feeders. Anything smaller than their mouths, however, will end up dinner after lights-out; don't expect to see your mollies or barbs ever again!
The biggest mistake is buying these guys thinking they will stay a cute 3 inches forever. Please take care of your catfish. :)!
Travis - 2007-04-18 I have a large silver tip shark in a 55 gallon tank with may other species of fish (3 tiger barbs, 3 red skirt tetras, 2 mod. plecos, 1 lg silver shark, 1 cory green cory cat), and they all live in peace with each other. I absolutely love my catfish. Active and energetic throughout the entire tank. I also have a 20 gal tank that is just a tropical community tank. no problems at all with either tank.
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!
I have two pictus catfish and they are LOADS of fun to watch! They absolutely go mad on meaty foods, so I give them different meat everyday. I also make sure I give them two kinds of pellets on the weekends, but apart from that they are doing pretty well. Since I got them they have become used to me and when I come into the room both of them swim up to me and try to get my attention for food!!!
These fish are so hyperactive and are great fun, they make really good pets.
I just got a silver tail today. He/she is very beautiful and the most active fish I've ever seen. It is swimming back and forth all over the place, seems to be very happy.
I look froward to my time with him/her!
i have a shark cat fish and i am only 12 years old, but i am responsible. I have a black eyed molly, and i had a puffer fish. It died :(, but i love my fish and they loved each other, and they are so peaceful.
I have 2 silver-tip catfish named Bo and Joe. I had them for 4 months now and they are wonderful. They are with smaller fish such as glo-lites and guppies, and not one of them has gone went missing. They eat with them and are not aggressive towards any of my other fish. They are beautiful and I love watching them.
I have my silver tip (5-6") in with cichlids (5-6"), red tip sharks (3"), black skirt tetras. I have had him about 1 year and I haven't had any issues with him eating other fish. Maybe it's because he is in 150 gal tank.
I have a silver tip "Charger" that is about 2 years old, He or she is about 10 inches long and is in a 55 gallon tank. This guy can eat! He is 90% shark and 10% Catfish. The rest of his tank mates started to disappear once he was about 6 inches long. Replacements were purchased only to find them missing the next day. This is when I knew that flakes and pellets were not enough. So I purchased 30 feeder about 1-2 inches, these were gone in about 2 days. Now I feed him 40-50 feeders every 2 weeks. These are medium size about 2+ inches and they are normally gone in a day. My son wanted tank mates, but the local pet store only had smaller fish other then a Koi about 4 inches long. He lasted about 3 days and then "Charger" ate him. Very expensive fish to feed. Once he is gone I will be going back to African Cichlids.
We have 3 6-inchers in a full marine tank with several guppies (yes, guppies can unfortunately survive in anything!) and saltwater hermit crabs. These fish like brackish water when they're young, but are apparently very hardy as they acclimated to the marine water very readily. I have read they are born in fresh water, move to brackish during the juvenile stages, then live in saltwater for the remainder of their adult life.
They are phenomenal creatures. They love to play in the tunnel they have, and they love a strong current. I agree with an earlier comment - although it says they are bottom dwellers, they are often at the top of their tank searching for something. But, they only do this after lights out! I have seen no aggression from the sharks, and I love them dearly.
One last word - another agreement: they do like a clean tank and good water although they really hate for you to mess with the tank.
I really love these fish! I have 2 that are about 4 inches long. I got them about 6 months ago when they were babies. they were maybe an inch long and thats it.
The most common mis-information is that these are really Sharks and that they are a fresh water fish. This is WRONG! They are Catfish for one, the reason they are called sharks is because for their dorsel fin. They are also a brackish water fish. Meaning they need low level salt to be healthy.
I have mine in a 20 gallon tank at this time but will be move them when they get bigger. The other fish in with them are 2 Green Spotted Puffers. Theses are great tank mates. with the 4 fish in the tank, i keep the tank at about 79 degrees, and a saltity level of 22 ppt.
both of these types of fish are meet eaters. I feed mine frozen mysis shrip in the morning and flake/pellets in the afternoon. Every now and then I give them small bits of real shrimp. Man they all LOVE that! I'm thinking about putting in a couple of live guppies in for some live food. The puffers and sharks both need meat to be healthy.
These fish are very fun to have and tend to be playful. They swim together and lay at the bottom together. Except when feeding, they tend to chase each other off. They love a varity of things to swim around and hide in. I have many plants and a driftwood tunnel at the bottom as well as sunken titanic. They love swiming through the tunnel and around the ship. Sometimes many times in minutes. They take some maintenance; partial water chages, filter changes, and you must use a vacumn pump to clean the wast at the bottom of the tank. They like a clean tank, though they don't like you to clean it. But you must. lol
Beautiful fish! When small, they will thrive in a freshwater tank, but as they age more than a couple of years, you will need to transfer them to a brackish tank, or convert your tank to brackish. Even if they seem healthy and happy as they age in your FW tank, they are likely suffering from skin irritations and certainly a shorter lifespan. Take a good look at the condition of their skin as they age. I am in the process of converting a FW tank to brackish for my 2 9-inchers.
They are not as aggressive as they are thorough. They won't bully or injure like-sized fish, but will inhale food right from the lips of slower feeders. Anything smaller than their mouths, however, will end up dinner after lights-out; don't expect to see your mollies or barbs ever again!
The biggest mistake is buying these guys thinking they will stay a cute 3 inches forever. Please take care of your catfish. :)!
I have a large silver tip shark in a 55 gallon tank with may other species of fish (3 tiger barbs, 3 red skirt tetras, 2 mod. plecos, 1 lg silver shark, 1 cory green cory cat), and they all live in peace with each other. I absolutely love my catfish. Active and energetic throughout the entire tank. I also have a 20 gal tank that is just a tropical community tank. no problems at all with either tank.