ID a fish for me: iridescent shark look alike (bigger, aggressive)

C

Cyberian

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Apr 1, 2003
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It's quite commonly found in some fish stores. They look like a bigger version of the ID shark, but more aggresive. They are black and have a white belly. They cost around $30 each.

I want to know the name of it so I can do some research on the fish before getting it. I have asked the store owner for the name of the fish, but it seems like the owner doesn't know and just simply calls it an "imperial shark", which I have researched and turned out with nothing.

Please help.
 
A bigger version? As in bigger than the 3 foot critters? Yikes!

Run a search for Shark Catfishes, and see if you come up with anything. There are about 20 species of Pangasius listed in Fish Base, so it could be a relative.
 
Try Paroon Shark.... Pangasius sanitswongi... they are the huge cousins of the Iridescents. They say they can get over 100" inches, however I've never seen one that big whether it be in a giant aquarium or in wild. But this is most likley what your talking about as they get a lot bigger then iridescents and are known to be aggresive.
 
Are you sure it isn't just a big ID shark? They tend to develop different colorations when they get bigger, and I had one that was very similar to what you describe. Dark overhead, fading to silvery underneath, with a hard black stripe where the iridescence had once been... and he was mean as a fire ant.

I've seen ID's range anywhere from solid black to solid silver, with any number of different fade ranges. They do all tend to keep the stripe they were born with though, it sometimes will lose the iridescence when the fish develops that gorgeous, velvety look they get when they are older.

That's just my XP with them, and I might have been feeding something to induce that sort of coloration, but it's worth looking into...

anyone else have an Amazing Color-Changing Catfish?
 
I have searched the net for nearly 2 hours and came up empty. Maybe because the lack of pics provided for me to identify the fish.

And no, it's not a mature ID shark. I know the lining of the ID shark fades away when they grew older since I had one before.

There's one very distinctive thing between the shark I was looking for and the ID shark. It's the fins. ID shark has this rounded tip fin while the shark I'm looking for has a pointed large fin. Which Crash has guessed it, the Paroon Shark! :)

Thanks a lot Crash, now I can find out more things about this shark before getting it.
 
I know the shark will get up to quite large. But I will only keep it for a few years, then release it or give it to the fish store. Maybe giving it to the fist store is best. I wouldn't want to see anyone swimming away from my released shark when they see it in the wild. Maybe those one of those big aquaria centers will take it.

So yes, it's only going to be a temporary pet to me until it grows too big for me to keep.

Also, it seems like there's something wrong with planetcatfish.com. When I click on it, it asks me if I wish to save the file rather than open it as a link. I will try it again later.

The shark I will be getting is about 6-8 inches long. It will take quite a while for it to reach the 2.5 meters.
 
DO NOT RELEASE FISH INTO THE WILD!~!~!~If you can't care for their full size don't get it!!!

Planetcatfish says this. "This is most certainly not a fish for any size tank. Not even the largest public aquaria could house these giant, migratory cats. ALL of the Paroons imported for the aquarium trade WILL die premature deaths. So spread the word to hobbyists and unknowing retailers alike that this fish should never be ordered or purchased as its maintenance requirements are beyond the dedication of any aquarist. "

I would highly doubt taht a fish store would take back a huge fish, how are they supposed to house it if you can't. Most public aquariums don't want to take fish from people either.If you are going to get it(even though you shouldn't) i would make sure you find a home for it beofer you purchase it.Call to see if anyone will even take it off your hands when it gets too big.I dont' know how fast paroon sharks grow but most bigger fish grow quite quickly.

I personally don't think fish that get to these "monster" sizes should be sold to aquarist from petstores/LFS. Practically no one has tanks to hold them and they end up dying early.
 
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