Help with ID shark

[Druknmonkey]

Hey guys, just asking for a little help here. Long story short, I am very familiar with how big this fish gets as i made the mistake many years ago when i first started in this hobby. The ultimate goal is to build a large indoor pond starting at the beginning of next year. With that When i met my now fiance about 6 years ago, she had a 29 gallon fish tank with 1 pleco, 1 ID shark, an angel, and a raphael catfish. I knew this wasn't gonna last long term but nothing we could do at the moment. We lost the catfish several years ago but all the others are still here. When we moved into our new house about 2 years ago, i moved the now much larger fish into heavily planted low-tech 75 gallon. This lasted until about 2-3 months ago.

The ID shark is about 12" now. The large angel was beginning to nip at him and the 8" pleco began digging constantly. With the flourite in that tank it became a mess and we had to do something ASAP. Original plan was for a much larger tank but that sale fell through. We didn't have a lot of time so i grabbed another 75 cheap. Set it up as a river tank to maintain good flow for the active fish. Sand substrate and about 650 gph directionally through the tank. Moved the pleco and ID shark to this tank and re-scaped the 75 for the Angel. Added some black tetras and soon some cories and bristlenose to round out that now community tank.

Question i have is this. is there anything i can add to the 75 that will keep the ID happy? Assuming another ID would help but don't think i can fit another large one yet. I could fit a smaller 1 or 2 but the only ones i can find are 2" or less. I was thinking 4-6" would be best. If they are too small will he eat them? I think i already know the answer to this. I was going to do tinfoil barbs but read that they will eat any plants in the tank and i think that will be stressful as we are trying to add floating plants also for him. This is like a member of our family and want to do everything we can to make him happy.

FYI, the planned tank in the basement will be about 12'x4'x4' and set up like a river manifold on steroids. They love the flow.

Also added pics of the newly split up tanks

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

DM: When i met my now fiance about 6 years ago, she had a 29 gallon fish tank with 1 pleco, 1 ID shark, an angel, and a raphael catfish. I knew this wasn't gonna last long term but nothing we could do at the moment. We lost the catfish several years ago but all the others are still here.
TBTB: ? Three out of the four of those fish are catfish. ................ Oh, I think you mean the raph.

DM: When we moved into our new house about 2 years ago, i moved the now much larger fish into heavily planted low-tech 75 gallon. This lasted until about 2-3 months ago. The ID shark is about 12" now.
TBTB: So your IDS is ~7+ years of age and still 12". That's unusual. Even the slow-growing ones break 1' in 2 years.

DM: Question i have is this. is there anything i can add to the 75 that will keep the ID happy?
TBTB: What are the symptoms of its unhappiness? Does it eat and swim around well, granted that 75 gal for a 1' IDS is tight?

DM: I could fit a smaller 1 or 2 but the only ones i can find are 2" or less. I was thinking 4-6" would be best. If they are too small will he eat them? I think i already know the answer to this.
TBTB: What is your answer? IMO, it will not prey on them but very rarely I see reports of IDSs preying on other fish but IIRC this happens mostly when the IDS is not fed right.

DM: I was going to do tinfoil barbs but read that they will eat any plants in the tank and i think that will be stressful as we are trying to add floating plants also for him. This is like a member of our family and want to do everything we can to make him happy.
TBTB: Wonderful. It is rare to come across such dedication for a fish pet.

 

[Druknmonkey]

? Three out of the four of those fish are catfish. ................ Oh, I think you mean the raph.

Yes, we lost the Raph at that time

So your IDS is ~7+ years of age and still 12". That's unusual. Even the slow-growing ones break 1' in 2 years.

I would say for sure that when we met in March of 08 she had him. He was only maybe 2" at that point. I remember he did develop a fungus about 3 1/2 years ago that had to be treated but he pulled through. He was only 6" or so 2 years ago until i moved him into the larger tank. Then his growth sped up again. I honestly didn't think we'd still have him when he was in the 29 as we've been through some tough times and didn't know if an upgrade would be in our future.

What are the symptoms of its unhappiness? Does it eat and swim around well, granted that 75 gal for a 1' IDS is tight?

Well he seems happy if left in the room with the lights off and no one in the room he seems to swim directly in front of the spraybar constantly. Even just the lights coming on makes him act skittish and start to "pace" back and forth in front of the glass. We even painted the sides of the aquarium to try and reduce his stress. I don't think he has eaten since the move but he only seems to be eating algae wafers and in the new tank they blow around in the current. Eventually they are gone but unsure if him or the pleco is getting them first. When they used to sink and sit on the bottom he would eat them quickly. I've tried lots of other foods but nothing he seems excited about. Peas, Krill, Bloodworms, tubifex, shrimp pellets. He ignored them and would eat the algae wafer right next to them.

What is your answer? IMO, it will not prey on them but very rarely I see reports of IDSs preying on other fish but IIRC this happens mostly when the IDS is not fed right.

Ok, i just assumed the "fish" rule that if it would fit in his mouth, he would eat it.

Wonderful. It is rare to come across such dedication for a fish pet.

We have 4 kids and they are very fond of ALL the animals. My better half has 5 cats that she rescued and we rescued a dog. Although there is a strict no more pets rule there is also a "fish don't count" rule. lol

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Well he seems happy if left in the room with the lights off and no one in the room he seems to swim directly in front of the spraybar constantly. Even just the lights coming on makes him act skittish and start to "pace" back and forth in front of the glass. We even painted the sides of the aquarium to try and reduce his stress. I don't think he has eaten since the move but he only seems to be eating algae wafers and in the new tank they blow around in the current. Eventually they are gone but unsure if him or the pleco is getting them first. When they used to sink and sit on the bottom he would eat them quickly. I've tried lots of other foods but nothing he seems excited about. Peas, Krill, Bloodworms, tubifex, shrimp pellets. He ignored them and would eat the algae wafer right next to them.

Will you be ok with no tank lights, just room light, natural or not? I think he will like it. How long has he been in the tank? Pacing or rubbing the snout on the glass back and forth is typical for many fish - they don't get that it is glass and that there is no water behind it. It is not a definite sign of a of problem.

You can turn off the flow for feeding.