Got the wrong shark!!

[SteveG102]

I picked out a nice ID shark at my LFS,,,,when I got home and started to float the bag in the tank this is what I found!!! I check around and found think it is a Shark Catfish. Am I right? Also says needs to be in a saltwarter tank when mature?? I think I should return it if that is the case!! Can anyone ID this cat??

 

[cogs]

take it back

 

[musicanimal]

I think one of the names for him is colombian shark, or american catfish. Yeh either way he is so NOT an ID. lol. I would take him back and get your ID. Other than, what size ya putting it in, cuz ours grew VERY large indeed.

 

[SteveG102]

He would end up in my 300 gal tank. But it is fresh water. Can it survive in a fresh water system?

 

[musicanimal]

I had 2 in my lifetime, the col. shark that is, and they did fine in my freshwater. That's just my experience.

 

[perfect_prefect]

columbian shark. starts its life in freshwater, migrates downriver to live in brackish water/almost full salt water. they need to be slowly bumped up to brackish by the time they reach 6 inches or they will start to have skin diseases and live a short unhappy life. if you decide to go down the brackish road and keep them around i would suggest you pm liz (moderator under the name of Red Devil) she has a pair that are around 12" and stunning fish.

 

[benzjamin13]

Arius Semmani. This Catfish needs brackish water, but will need marine as they grow into adulthood.

 

[janzal3]

Yes, It is Columbian Shark exanematichthys (ariaus) seemanni. I will post some pictures of mine in anew thread. They do best with two or more as they are a schooling fish. I kept mine for many years in a brackish tank. The did great. I used a choral gravel which buffers the pH to pretty much a constant 7.8 level. I added about 1 heaping tablespoon of marine salt per 2 gallons of water. They get to about 12 to 14 inches. So they require a large well filtered tank. There are lots of great brackkish fish and many that will do well in brackish. Scats, Dats, puffers, and many cichlids. Iw ould get a second one if I were you. They are quite a good looking fish.

 

[Bottomfeeder]

i would say set up a brackish 55g and save him from dying in a FW tank at the lfs or in some idiot's home, IMO