Is it normal for my 7-8' iridescent shark rub his face on the glass aquarium he always swims left and right ways and I noticed that his eye is hitting sometimes but he is healthy and no one is bullying him in the tank, tank mates are 2 endli 13' and 14' and a senegal 7' no bullies in the tank tank is 75g ready to upgrade for a pond when he hits 10' thankyou everyone ?
Iridescent Catfish
- Thread starter Reyyy52
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Thanks for this post. I am new to the forum, and was earlier posting on Fishlore asking if anyone knew about keeping Polypterus and Pangasius together.
I have noticed our Pangasius doing something similar as you describe but only when we put it with our 2 Polypterus Senegalus...it appeared the Pangasius was either bothered or just very active. As it was doing this non-stop. Bumping and cruising around tank. I know Pangasius have poor eyesight, but it was usually at bottom of tank with light on, and up and about when we turned lights off. So was weird after a year to see it that active with light on.
They would swim close to eachother, nothing bad, but appeared awkward.
Our Pangasius is about 6", and the Senegals we have are maybe 1+" longer than the Pangasius. I have since removed the Pangasius from the 40gb Polypterus grow out tank and rehomed to the 55g.
I rather the Pangasius be in the 40gb temporarily as its deeper and not as narrow as the 55g...Waiting on 120g for Polypterus by Summer and pool in basement for Pangasius.... But if possible would like to invest in a 300g tank rather than a pool and include the Polypterus in that tank with the Pangasius.
Again, I have seen this only when we recently tried this but in a smaller tank than you have. Is you Pangasius usually active with lights on?
Thanks!
I have noticed our Pangasius doing something similar as you describe but only when we put it with our 2 Polypterus Senegalus...it appeared the Pangasius was either bothered or just very active. As it was doing this non-stop. Bumping and cruising around tank. I know Pangasius have poor eyesight, but it was usually at bottom of tank with light on, and up and about when we turned lights off. So was weird after a year to see it that active with light on.
They would swim close to eachother, nothing bad, but appeared awkward.
Our Pangasius is about 6", and the Senegals we have are maybe 1+" longer than the Pangasius. I have since removed the Pangasius from the 40gb Polypterus grow out tank and rehomed to the 55g.
I rather the Pangasius be in the 40gb temporarily as its deeper and not as narrow as the 55g...Waiting on 120g for Polypterus by Summer and pool in basement for Pangasius.... But if possible would like to invest in a 300g tank rather than a pool and include the Polypterus in that tank with the Pangasius.
Again, I have seen this only when we recently tried this but in a smaller tank than you have. Is you Pangasius usually active with lights on?
Thanks!
Pacing by the glass and rubbing seems common to Pangasidae species. As long as it doesn't rub bad sores, it is usually tolerable.
If the fish feeds well, the stress level is not too bad but of course this is not ideal.
They are, IDS in particular, very nervous, high strung, flighty, skittish, timid, dart-prone fish that react nervously to too small a tank, to less than good water, to new tank mates, to other changes. I think it probably is their way to wanting to get away from perceived source of stress and/or looking for a way out of the tank. I think they don't rub against non-transparent surfaces (which is why tank walls can be painted or papered over), they don't do it in ponds, which may mean that they perceive the transparent surfaces as if the water body they are in continues beyond these surfaces.
They are a hard fish for an average hobbyist to care for ideally, so usually it is a matter of compromises.
If the fish feeds well, the stress level is not too bad but of course this is not ideal.
They are, IDS in particular, very nervous, high strung, flighty, skittish, timid, dart-prone fish that react nervously to too small a tank, to less than good water, to new tank mates, to other changes. I think it probably is their way to wanting to get away from perceived source of stress and/or looking for a way out of the tank. I think they don't rub against non-transparent surfaces (which is why tank walls can be painted or papered over), they don't do it in ponds, which may mean that they perceive the transparent surfaces as if the water body they are in continues beyond these surfaces.
They are a hard fish for an average hobbyist to care for ideally, so usually it is a matter of compromises.