Irridescent sharks

[Fatsmokie]

Hello, I'm a newbie to this site. I bought a 30 gallon tank, and for the most part have done a good job picking fish that are OK with that.

But, I did make the mistake of getting 2 irridescent sharks for the tank, especially after reading about them mainly at this site.

1. What size tank should I get next to make my irridescents happy?

2. What make for good irridescent tankmates?

3. How big do they get in aquariums?

 

[Gr8KarmaSF]

Hate to burst your bubble but most are not meant for home tanks....

 

[davo]

I would be tempted to try and get rid of them while they are small and you still can, as it will be much harder to find a home for them when they are larger. Unless of course you have a nice big pond or tank... it's not impossible to house them... this is Monsterfishkeepers! But yeah, maybe for your average person...

 

[necrocanis]

They can grow up to 20" in two years. They can grow huge over their lifetime. They are midwater swimmers and need tons of space. With most catfish you can get away with a tank that is their length in the depth and about 3x their length in tank length. With IDs they get huge and they are swimmers for sure. I would go with at least a tank 12'x6'x5' Or a 10' dia pond that's 4' deep.

 

[necrocanis]

Hate to burst your bubble but most are not meant for home tanks....

If there's a will, and plenty of money, there's a way! Other than that I totally agree. Raising two myself. 6" monsters

 

[basslover34]

This is another one of those fish that are sold in places like Walmart that should never be sold to the average person who really only has fish becuase they like how they look in a tank ... no offense as I'm sure your developing a love for your fish... you are unlike alot of people actually researching your fish and trying to be the best keeper you can be.

Now that the formalities are out of the way... That 30 is prob already to small for them as they are one of a few very active catfish and need lots of space to be happy, They are also very skidish and respond well to having floating plants to hide under as well as having some sort of decoration on the walls of the tank to help with the famous spazzouts that occur and they slam into the walls (this can cause serious damage as well as lead to death in certian cases)
This is definetly a fish where bigger is better and is truely a monsterfish that needs a monstertank ...number of gallons isn't as important as the foot print for a fish like an ID but keep in mind that they do need some up and down as they are mid water fish. So if your willing to invest either alot of money... or less money and alot of time for a tank ... they are wonderful fish to have... Otherwise... Craigslist them ASAP while they are small LOL

 

[Fatsmokie]

I agree, although I still blame myself for not properly reading up on them. I do want a large monster tank at some point, but just don't have the funds for that right now. I figured I'd get a small school of silver dollars with some bottom dwellers in the meantime for my fish fix. I'd say if I don't sell my other house in the next few months. I will definitly have to give my irridescents away. Grumble. However, thanks for everyone's help.

 

[Bogwoodbruce]

I agree, although I still blame myself for not properly reading up on them. I do want a large monster tank at some point, but just don't have the funds for that right now. I figured I'd get a small school of silver dollars with some bottom dwellers in the meantime for my fish fix. I'd say if I don't sell my other house in the next few months. I will definitly have to give my irridescents away. Grumble. However, thanks for everyone's help.

I wouldn't keep dollars in a 30 they will get too big go for somthing else like a group of tiger barbs.