iridescent shark

[freak78]

Got a call from my local fish store in need of help. I guess someone brought in a what she said was a 12" iridescent shark and would I take it for free since they had no Tank for it. I said ok and as you can see from the pic 12 inches my ass. Anyways the person has this and a large pleco in a 45g Tank and they are taking the Tank down. The Shark is 11 years old so I assume it's full grown. Any input on this fish and keeping it will be helpful.

 

[Stanzzzz7]

It's probably Pangasius sanitwongsei or Pangasius sutchi.(spelling may be off)

Both species grow huge,roughly a meter or more.
They are a shoaling species and like the company of their own kind.They are one of the most poorly treated fish in the hobby.

The fish you have will be extremely stunted.
All I will say is provide the largest aquarium you can,and give it flowing highly oxygenated water.
They can be quite skittish and they often spend most of their time swimming up and down the glass with their snout pressed against the glass.
They are prone to eye and bacterial infections.

Most hobbyists just don't have the resources to house these fish and are probably best left in the wild.

This fishes fate has already been cast.
Just give it as big a tank as you can and it will be better off than it has been so far.

 

[freak78]

It will be in my 220 with excellent filtration and 2 water changes a week. Poor thing, I can tell already it hasn't really got to swim much and spent a lot of time sitting on the bottom.

 

[freak78]

 

[Chub_by]

It's definitely sutchi and luckily not P. Sanitswongsei (Paroon shark). Chances are if it really is 12 it will not grow anymore but who knows maybe it will put on an inch or two in your care. Otherwise I agree to with stan, clean oxygenated water with decent flow will help it recover and then you can still see if you want to keep it or get more etc.

 

[Stanzzzz7]

Yes after seeing the video it's sutchi.
Shame what happens to these.Still it's a lot better off now in your care.

 

[Alexxxxsv14]

It seems a lot happier now

 

[GiantFishKeeper101]

You know, pangasius is a good eating fish. Chinese mostly steam it and we Malay usually cook in broth-dishes.

I say, fillet the guy and deep fried tempura would be good. Their meat are fatty so the meat still have moisture even when cook on fire like grill or fried.

 

[freak78]

Gatd' it away yesterday to someone that has a 500 gallon Tank. Too big for my set up. Already wrecked havoc in my Tank with filter inlets and heaters and so on.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Poor thing. A testament to their resilience. Good job saving it and even procuring a better home for it. It would have calmed down in your tank eventually if it survived the initial introduction period.

post #16 with links here can help further: http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/threads/id-shark-growth-rate.252297/page-2