 |
Your New Iridescent Shark |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Amphibians Axolotls Caecilian Worm Chaco Toad Mud Puppies Newts General Newts Eastern Newts Golden Newts Mandarin Salamanders Suriname Toad Tadpoles Terrarium I Terrarium II USA Toads Water Dogs Misc. Toads Frogs Bull Clawed Dumpy Dwarf Fire-Belly Floating Green Tree Leopard Pac Man Pipa pipa Pyxie Red-Eyed Tree Tomato Misc Frogs Misc Frogs II Misc Frogs III Misc Frogs IV Misc Frogs V Animals
Birds Kids
at Pet Expo 5
Snakes Alive Sulcata
Grindal
Worms
Decorating
How
to Start
Sponge
Filters
Pet World Visit
|
 LAFoot-long iridescent shark cavorting with equal size oscars.
Appeal. Obviously, their “shark shape” appeals to most people. We all love movie stars. However, these guys act nothing like the great whites. Iridescent sharks rarely bug your other fishes. Of course, all fish will eat most other fishes that will fit in their mouths. Your new iridescent sharks won’t bother any other fish at least half their size. By the way, these “sharks” are really catfishes.
Albino Variant. Iridescent sharks also come in an albino color phase. Treat them just the same. You might get them some little sun glasses. Albinos have trouble surviving in the wild. In our tanks they do just fine. Gets Big. Iridescent sharks start out as cute little sharkettes. They can grow into eating-size catfishes. In Thailand, they raise them for food. Theoretically they grow to three feet long. You won’t see this size pangassius catfish in captivity. Even when we kept our 600-gallon pond that we changed 300 gallons on every day, we never saw an iridescent shark exceed 18 inches. You’ll be lucky to grow one longer than 12 inches. Happily, most top out at 6 to 8 inches. You do not want a full-size adult -- unless you are very hungry. Cindee
McDonald, March 7, 2006
Lucas Jiang, September 16, 2006
I live in south east Asia and the pangassius here is about 7kg at adulthood. They are reared in big ponds, about 50ft long and wide to attain 7kg. Adult pangassius are a popular freshwater game fish here.
A:
Thanks, Lucas. I'll add your info to my pangassius page. By
the way, you're still the only one that identified our mystery fish.
Thanks. LA
Lori Clarke, Ontario, Canada, January 14, 2007
HI, I just discovered your web site. I love it. I own a 23" iridescent shark. I have had him for 14 years, bought him at 9 inches. He must be at least 15 or more years old. He has been raised in a 96 gallon tank. We just moved him into a pond in the basement that measures 4'x6'x2', 195 gallons. I will let you know if he gets bigger. I will also be buying two more for the pond, babies, to see how long and how big they will get. These fish have personalities. After a few years it becomes very obvious. Feel free to email me back with request of pictures. A: Thanks for the report. I'll add it to my iridescent shark page. Yes, I'd like a picture or two. LA
Lori Clarke, Ontario, Canada, March 4, 2007
Hi, Here is a picture of Blue, my 23" iridescent shark that I have had for 14 years. He is a little banged up in this shot. It was taken moments after he was placed into his new pond. This picture was taken Jan 17, 2007. I now have a problem. He has not eaten since. I was wondering if anyone there has any ideas why. He has healed nicely. He seems to enjoy the new pond. I am a "little" concerned at this point. I was also wondering if you would forward this email or my email address to Cindee Mcdonald, the other large iridescent shark owner, to request permission to exchange addresses. I would like to talk to someone else with a big fish like mine. She may have a few ideas and the experience that I need that might help me, if she wishes to accept the offer. No offense taken if she says no. I am currently trying to find a zoo or a fish vet to help me with Blue. Thank you PS Turtle is fake, fish is real
A: Check the temperature. Ponds are hard to heat. I'm forwarding your request to Cindee. I hope you can find the solution. LA
Kiran Prasad, Mangalore, Karnataka, India, August 13, 2008
Hi, I am writing to you from Mangalore which is a small town on the coast of Karnataka state in India. I am a fish keeper from 12 years now and have kept with me many varieties of fish over the years. I was looking for information regarding Jewel Cichlids on the net as I wanted to own one which was available for the first time with my fish dealer since I started fish keeping 12 years back. So I was searching for information regarding the fish before owning it. In this search for information I came across your website. It’s a great website for fish hobbyist to get information regarding fish and other pets. You’re really doing a very commendable job. Personally I would like to see more information regarding the fish, not that you have done a bad job but I would like to see individual pages dedicated to complete information regarding a particular fish. As I was browsing your web site, I came across the page on Iridescent Sharks. At first I didn't recognize the fish, as it is called by a different name in our place. In our place the Iridescent Shark is known as Tiger Shark probably because of the lines on its body. When I read that Iridescent Sharks grow max 12’’ I was surprised because I own an Iridescent Shark which is 20 inches long. I read the experiences of other Iridescent Shark owners also who have owned their fish from a very long time. But I have owned my fish from only 6 years compared to other fish owner who have owned it for twice the time I have owned my fish. My fish has grown to the size of 20 inches in 6 years time. I had bought him as a 4 inch baby. I am only able to feed it baby pellets as it’s difficult to get a variety of fish foods in our place. But he seems to like baby pellets and need lots of them every day. I agree with Lori Clarke of Ontario, Canada that these fish have their own personalities. My fish does not like clean water. He likes his tank dark and muddy so that he can remain invisible. When I clean his tank and fill with fresh water, he does not like it. He will not eat food until the water turns green. I think he likes his privacy. I am sending with this email a couple of photographs of my fish which are not excellent in quality as they were taken from my mobile cam. He is presently in a 54’’×24’’×18’’ tank and very quickly outgrowing it.
A: Namaste, fellow fish keeper. Glad you like
the site. Shukriya for your interest. What I try to put
on each page is what I or someone I know has learned taking care of them
over time. I especially like finding new fish I've never seen or
haven't seen for years. Fish rank at the top of my Favorites List, but
I like other critters also. LA
Security. Most catfishes like to hide during the day and come out at night to eat their smaller neighbors. Iridescent sharks never hide unless attacked or sick. You won’t need to provide any caves or ledges. They depend on their speed and constant mobility.
Schoolers. The more the merrier. Singles get along okay. They just get along so much better in groups. Two iridescent sharks usually run together. They like to run in big schools. In the wild, this probably gives them some protection from larger predators. Guys on the outside of the school get eaten. “Horns?” Most catfishes sport stiff pectoral and dorsal fins that make it difficult for larger fishes and birds to gulp them down. Their spines also stab us and catch in our nets. These spiny “horns” present no such problem when handling iridescent sharks.
Scaleless Fish. Nearly all ich cures say use them at half-strength on catfishes and scaleless fishes -- absolutely a necessity for iridescent sharks. Big ones may live thru a full-strength dose, but little ones may not survive the “cure.” And just as important, always use a soft net on these guys. Their skin scratches very easily. And always add a squirt of NovAqua to replace their slime coating if you move yours. Little guys catch ich very easily.
Water. Hardness and pH make little difference to iridescent sharks as long as you keep their water clean. Our local water works great. One teaspoon of salt per gallon always helps -- especially in new tanks. Space. The more room you give your iridescent sharks, the better for them. Small tanks stunt their growth – which works best for their keepers. You do not want your sharks to ever reach their full size. Temperature. Keep your iridescent sharks at regular tropical fish temp – about 75o. Foods. Not picky. Drop any type of food in the water and iridescent sharks will swarm it – flakes, small pellets, freeze-dried, frozen and live foods all get eaten eagerly. Just avoid overfeeding them. Spawning. Not likely at our latitude and longitude. They probably spawn in huge ponds in Thailand. Three-foot long breeders would throw huge quantities of eggs. They must breed year-round because we get the tiny iridescent sharks (two-inchers) year round.
Next to Last Word. We read lots of info dissing the iridescent sharks – mainly because they grow so big. Don’t worry. We guaranty your iridescent shark will not grow to three feet long. In fact, if your iridescent shark grows to 18 inches, we’ll give you your money back.
Nose Bumpers. All speedy fish can bump their noses on the ends (actually the sides) of their tank. Constant ramming can cause injuries and/or a callous build up. If you see this problem start, just put some plastic plants in front of your tank's end panels. LA. © 2001, © 2004, © 2005, © 2006, © 2007 LA Productions
3600 Sixth Avenue Corner of Sixth & Euclid Avenues Des Moines, IA 50313 515 283-0300 |
Anabantids
Betta Leaf Betta Breed 1 Betta Breed II Betta Info Betta Housing Betta Pla Kat Choc Gourami Climbing Perch Gourami Pix Kiss. Gourami Osphronemus Pearl Gourami More Pearls Paradise Fish Snakehead Spawn Gourami T. trichopterus Catfish Banjo Bullheads Bull Sharks Channel Corydoras Cory Pics Electric Glass Hoplos Otocinclus Pangassius Pictus Plecostomus Pleco Bristle Pleco Costly I Pleco Costly II Pleco Costly III Pleco Costly IV Pleco Costly V Pleco Costly VI Pleco Costly VII Raphael Red-Tail Shovelnose Sun Synodontis Synodontis petricola Turushuki Catfish Upside-down USD Gold Flake Misc Catfish Misc Catfish II Misc Catfish III Misc Catfish IV Misc Catfish V Cichlids African I African II African III African IV Af. Furniture Amer. Small Amer. Med Amer. Large Angelfish I Angelfish II Angelfish III Angelfish IV More Angels Buttikoferi Chocolate Chocolate Spawning Cichlid Decor Cichlid Food Convicts Convicts 2 Convicts 3 Convicts 4 Dempseys More Dempseys Jack Dempsey Spawn Discus Dither Fish Flower Horn Green Terror Jaguar More Jaguars Jaguar Spawning
Jaguar Spawning II
Rainbowfish, Dwarf Neon
Koi III
Longear Sunfish
Misc Odd V Pond Info |
||||||||||||||||||||||||
LA
LA
LA
LA
Pic
LC
KP
KP
LA
Pic
LA
Pic
LA
Pic
LA
LA