Iridescent shark... what to do??

H

hamstamasta

AC Members
Feb 19, 2005
16
0
0
Miami, FL
Like a complete idiot and a newbie, I bought an 1.5 inch iridescent shark a while back from a local pet store. The associate there assured me, "It'll only grow a couple inches more... a good tempered fish... great for the community aquarium...." Three years and 4 inches later my iridescent shark lives in my 20 gal along with a couple of neon tetras (there used to be nine... he probably ate the rest).

My dilemma is this... Should I just keep my shark or give it away to another lfs (a different, very family-owned nice one)? I'm going away to college in another year, and I doubt my parents would be able to care for him... Don't get me wrong, I love my "Big Phish" as I affectionately call him, he's good tempered and very beautiful but also rather hyper and he just keeps growing!!

Any suggestions???
 
Definetly give him away, Irridescent Sharks get something like 5 feet long, so unless you have a spare swimming pool, its best for the fish.
 
I fuly agree, Find someone with a 1000+ gallon tank, or trade him in to the LFS, Hopefully they will place him in a more acceptable sized tank somewhaere.
Dave
 
3 years and its only 5 inchs thats odd... i guess because of the tank size .... i HAD one for 6 months and it grew to 8 inchs in a 40 gallon tank... they say at 6 inchs the id shark needs 100g of swimming space..
 
It is probably stunted at this point but may still be able to grow somewhat. Giving it to a good LFS store or trading for a better fish for a 20 gallon would be best. A group of cory catfish would be better choice for your tank and they are very easy to care for.
 
I would bet stores get these back all the time. Considering not many people have the resources to care for them they probably end up in the dumpster behind the store after not selling for a few weeks.

I took one in and had the same problem. It's now in a 75G at an acquaintances house, not ideal but better than my 29G.
 
3 years and it has only grown 4", this fish growth has been stunted, it could have all sorts of problems health wise, anyway I doubt it will live to what its potenial was. The best thing you can do is find someone with a big tank ,I would also say 1000g or more would be good, to give him the best possible life with what he has remaining.
 
They can get to be about 3 feet long if they are given adequate living space. I have yet to see a residential tank that is large enough to allow an ID shark to get to it's full length. They are very active fish and need plenty of swimming space. Yours has grown out as big as it can in a 20 gallon. I don't know why pet stores sell those fish when they really shouldn't be kept in an aquarium.
 
Iridescent shark are suitable to live in pond, I had 5 of these shark in my pond. I think you should either build a pond/ huge tank or return it to the petshops. They grow bigger than pacu.
 
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