Columbian Shark

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pangasiusfan

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Nov 18, 2007
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My shark died last night..I saw him standing up in the tank and drifting around..
I pulled him up and his dorsal fin was really red. any idea what happened?
his body seemed like it had dents in it...like hole in the head, but just throughout the whole entire body.
also i don't think he ate anything ever since i bought him(last week). i tried everything; flakes, crisps that sink, carnivore pellets, bottom feeder pellets, sinking goldfish pellets, etc.
also live foods such as bloodworms, redworms, and tubifex worms.

is it because i kept him in freshwater(alkaline)?
he was tiny, just around 3 or 4". and read that they need brackish water when they grow bigger.

i will not be getting anymore, until i cn get ahold of a brackish tank but can i keep the youngsters in brackish tanks? or do they have to grow up in freshwater?
 
I've kept babies (3-4 inches) in full salt water, and on the other hand pretty much all the monsters I've seen have been raised in freshwater thier whole lives. My point is it was not your salinity level that killed him.

Just from the description it sounds more like anything else that he got his ass kicked. What other fish are in the tank? Pics always help :)
 
no i actually didn't add any salt to the tank...since i read the youngsters will thrive happily in freshwater.

yes i'll de-frost him and take pics.
i didn't see any bullies in the tank, possibly the tinfoil barbs though.
the first day i got him he was all active and crazy...swimming across the surface and throught the glass like a pleco.

so the next time i get a columbian, can i just dump the baby in brackish?
can i keep them with archerfish? and puffers?(or wait, the puffers are bullies huh..)
or wait, so i can indeed keep adults in full freshwater?
 
pangasiusfan;1318611; said:
his dorsal fin was really red
Click to expand...

My Columbians had 'reddish' dorsal fins a while ago ... I asked my local fish guy, he said that's due to high nitrites/nitrates ... basically the fish is having a hard time absorbing oxygen (like red gills look on some fish that are having a hard time). I did a 50% water change, 3 days in a row - they were fine. Yes, turned out my water did spike and I didn't realize it. Lesson learned. I also had a giant Pleco that started to suck the slime off the Columbians ... that caused another problem, one got all beat up like you're describing. I lost him, but saved the other 2. I really like these guys - very cool fish to watch ...

lrg-134-fish0022.jpg


lrg-133-fish0017.jpg


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Sandee | NJ

Freshwater:
125g - Oscars, Columbian Sharks, Rotkiel, Parrots, Flagtail, Geophagus, Goby, Royal Pleco, Silver Dollars
(2) 125g - Ton of Synos n Cichlids
75g - Un-happy Oscar, Dithers
55g - Happy Buttakoferi in solitary
55g - Little RTC, soon to be big RTC
45g - Happy Fahaka
29g - Moody Mbu Puffer
20g - Very cheerful GS Puffer
15g - My little Cichlid Babies!
10g - Quarintine Tank

Saltwater:
75g - TBD
90g - Porcupine Puffer

Live Fishcam:
http://www.sandeeland.com/fishcam
 
hmmm thanks sandee. now there's a good point. i did have a medium level of nitrites and nitrates. and i do have a goldspot pleco in the tank.
since it was beat up i'm thinking the pleco did it...even though he seems nice.
does your tank have any salt in it?
 
Yes, our pleco was 'quiet' too. But, it seems since they're night stalkers - they go after other fish that also hang out at the bottom of the tank.

Yes, I do add a bit of salt - not much, not to push the brackish number - but just enough to keep the tank healthy (I was told that many years ago - 'a bit of salt helps Oscars, Catfish, etc.). I was going to go full brackish, but they appear happy as clams! Not fixing what doesn't seem to be broken! ;)

I love the pix below - yawning, but looks like a 'real' shark! :)

lrg-131-yawn.jpg



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Sandee | NJ

Freshwater:
125g - Oscars, Columbian Sharks, Rotkiel, Parrots, Flagtail, Geophagus, Goby, Royal Pleco, Silver Dollars
(2) 125g - Ton of Synos n Cichlids
75g - Un-happy Oscar, Dithers
55g - Happy Buttakoferi in solitary
55g - Little RTC, soon to be big RTC
45g - Happy Fahaka
29g - Moody Mbu Puffer
20g - Very cheerful GS Puffer
15g - My little Cichlid Babies!
10g - Quarintine Tank

Saltwater:
75g - TBD
90g - Porcupine Puffer

Live Fishcam:
http://www.sandeeland.com/fishcam
 
haha yeah.
are the other freshwater fish fine with the aquarium salt?

hey i was wondering though, the pleco and the shark size difference is big...like 7" pleco and 3" shark. the pleco still goes for small fish?
so i'm guessing my other bottom guy like the pictus catfish will not be safe too...

what about other plecos of diff. size? do they suck each other?
 
Take a look at the live webcam of that tank ... you'll see the two Columbians hanging out ... happy as can be. :)

I donated the really big pleco back to the LFS, but did get a nice Royal, who keeps to himself. A real community tank ... a bit of everything ...

Live Fishcam:
http://www.sandeeland.com/fishcam

cam_1.jpg



----------------------------------

Sandee | NJ

Freshwater:
125g - Oscars, Columbian Sharks, Rotkiel, Parrots, Flagtail, Geophagus, Goby, Royal Pleco, Silver Dollars
(2) 125g - Ton of Synos n Cichlids
75g - Un-happy Oscar, Dithers
55g - Happy Buttakoferi in solitary
55g - Little RTC, soon to be big RTC
45g - Happy Fahaka
29g - Moody Mbu Puffer
20g - Very cheerful GS Puffer
15g - My little Cichlid Babies!
10g - Quarintine Tank

Saltwater:
75g - TBD
90g - Porcupine Puffer

Live Fishcam:
http://www.sandeeland.com/fishcam
 
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