largest pangasius (ID shark)

[KNH]

Planetcatfish and other sources list IDs with a max length of around 4'. What is the largest iridescent shark you have had or seen in a home aquarium and what age was the fish? (not paroons)

 

[piranha45]

prolly around 2', i dunno how old it was. i doubt theyll ever hit anywhere near their max size in conventional sized tanks.. they are a fine example of a fish that shouldnt be in the hobby.

 

[KNH]

There is a Canadian woman that has a 3000g+ tank with a ~2' pangasius. (only 1/2 the listed max size) We all have our opinions on fish that should and shouldn't be in the hobby but putting that aside, wouldn't you think a tank of that size would allow for more growth? We've all seen the pictures of the 3'+ wild caught specimens. I'm thinking that the growth of this fish much slow drastically around the 2' mark. I'd like to find out if anyone has a larger specimen and its age.

 

[piranha45]

well it also depends on how often she fed it, if it was kept in a school with other pangs, and the quantity n frequency of water changes.

 

[mkpeters6]

prolly around 2', i dunno how old it was. i doubt theyll ever hit anywhere near their max size in conventional sized tanks.. they are a fine example of a fish that shouldnt be in the hobby.

i agree, the problem w/ keeping ird sharks is that they are a schooling fish and are very skiddish unless they are in a group of like 4-5 so even a 3000 gal tank might even be too small for a shoal of these big cats -- plus if i had a 3000 gal tank a school of ird sharks would be the last thing i would have in it (just my personal opinion)

most of these fish that are held in captivity that reach anywhere near 2ft are usually deformed from smashing into the glass - and like its been said that size is only half as big as they can get

i wouldnt mind them being in the aquarium trade as an exotic monster fish like some others, but these fish are sold by the 1000s in petcos and other big retail stores that know nothing about the husbandry (i dont know how many times ive seen them for sale at petco with the info on them saying their max sixe is 8in!!)

 

[blacktip]

(i dont know how many times ive seen them for sale at petco with the info on them saying their max sixe is 8in!!)

I believe that they consider this the maximum size they will get before passing away in an average 20 gallon aquarium from banging into the glass too many times...

Actually, I agree that this fish should not be sold as frequently as it is. It is a shame that so many of these guys have to suffer through a mediocre existence trapped in a tiny glass box.

Oh yeah, the biggest I have actually seen in captivity were about 15". My LFS has two of them that size in a 6' x 4' x 3' tank right now.

 

[KNH]

well it also depends on how often she fed it, if it was kept in a school with other pangs, and the quantity n frequency of water changes.

I talked to her (e-mail) and she said her shark is 4-5 years old, 27" long and in a 3240g tank with a variety of other fish. Its diet consists of mainly hikari cichlid pellets with other food as treats. It is fed every other day at this point. Her set up is very impressive and she has threads about the set-up and filtration. This information seems to backup my assumption that a 4' specimen would take years/decades to achieve even under good conditions.

 

[TaratronVaeVictus]

One of the fish I think -most- of us can agree die very young and in very cramped quarters.

At PetsMart, they note the fish grows to a max of 8 inches as well.

 

[Jeff M]

I've seen one at a friends ff in so fl thats a minimum 40". Lives in a several thousand gal overflow retention pond with misc african cic and 30 giant plecos(15-20"). Been there 5-7 yrs.

 

[kentobizmol]

i saw iridescent sharks in japan, they were around 3'+ i think...i'll try to post some pictures.
i scanned the picture so they said the file was too large.