4ft Tropical Tank But Which Sharks ?

[kaz219]

Hi there.

New to the forum and desperatly seeking advise.

Got 3 fish tanks: A hexagon one for the gold fish, a smaller hexagon one for small tropical fish (neons, tetras) and this 4ft one! Its tropical with lowds of bubbles and fake plants and fake wood like bits!

Just set it all up again..its all fresh and clean but after some sharks for it now...I'll get some picks up soon !

i seen a set of sharks but they got sold and can't find the same ones and don't know what they're called.

As i remember but may be wrong: They're a greyish colour and swim with moving their tails from left to right. Also, the front of the shark is alot wider that the back of it...the ones i seen were about 3 to 5 inches big...

Can anyone please help me on what they are and help me find a few....im n manchester by the way!

Tried ebay and google but cant seem to find them.

Kind Regards and Thanks in advance.

Kaz

 

[jourdy288]

How large is the hexagon? Most are too small for goldfish.

 

[kaz219]

How large is the hexagon? Most are too small for goldfish.

Its a really big one.

Im not sure on the actual size but its as wide as living room door (probably a little smaller) and around 3ft tall...

The guy from gay lyfe aquarium said its big enough anyways as we boght the tank and fish on the same day!

 

[Mikaila31]

well first off, you are going to have to cycle the tank to make it safe for the fish. You can cycle a tank in about 4 weeks if you do a fishless cycle and add some of the mature media from your other tanks. From the discription the fish sound like they might be iridescent shark, which are not really suited for aquariums. You could keep a red tail or rainbow shark in their.

 

[kaz219]

well first off, you are going to have to cycle the tank to make it safe for the fish. You can cycle a tank in about 4 weeks if you do a fishless cycle and add some of the mature media from your other tanks. From the discription the fish sound like they might be iridescent shark, which are not really suited for aquariums. You could keep a red tail or rainbow shark in their.

Yes, they are the sharks i was after! I was told they were Pangasius Catfish today at the pet shop...

The guy at the petshop said they would be fine in a tank of my size? I think they were around 3 inches along and he said they should get quite large when they get to 6 months.....how big though? Why do you say they are not suited to aquariums ?

Am new to the hobby...this is the first time i am planning on having proper fish....what do you mean by cycle the tank?

Are they any other sharks that look like the real sharks in the ocean that i could have in my tank...

Thanks in advance!

 

[Piltdownpaul]

There are plenty of threads on here detailing how to cycle your tank before putting fish in it. Put in a search(top right of the page). Basically it involves building up beneficial bacteria to consume the waste products from your fish ie ammonia . This is converted into nitrite which different bacteria convert to nitrate. The nitrate is removed by water changing -hence a complete cycle-read up on the site all about it-its very easy but ask questions if you are unsure. If you dont cycle the tank ,new fish put into a fresh tank will suffer with ammonia poisoning very quickly and die eventually.

 

[kaz219]

There are plenty of threads on here detailing how to cycle your tank before putting fish in it. Put in a search(top right of the page). Basically it involves building up beneficial bacteria to consume the waste products from your fish ie ammonia . This is converted into nitrite which different bacteria convert to nitrate. The nitrate is removed by water changing -hence a complete cycle-read up on the site all about it-its very easy but ask questions if you are unsure. If you dont cycle the tank ,new fish put into a fresh tank will suffer with ammonia poisoning very quickly and die eventually.

I'll read into it now.

Thanks for that quick reply!

Any other sharks that look like the real deal which i could have in my tank?

Cheers

 

[sic0198]

Irridescent sharks are also known as Pangasius Catfish.

 

[Texas_Wolf]

well first off, you are going to have to cycle the tank to make it safe for the fish. You can cycle a tank in about 4 weeks if you do a fishless cycle and add some of the mature media from your other tanks. From the discription the fish sound like they might be iridescent shark, which are not really suited for aquariums. You could keep a red tail or rainbow shark in their.

Yes, they are the sharks i was after! I was told they were Pangasius Catfish today at the pet shop...

The guy at the petshop said they would be fine in a tank of my size? I think they were around 3 inches along and he said they should get quite large when they get to 6 months.....how big though? Why do you say they are not suited to aquariums ?

Am new to the hobby...this is the first time i am planning on having proper fish....what do you mean by cycle the tank?

Are they any other sharks that look like the real sharks in the ocean that i could have in my tank...

Thanks in advance!

Irridescent sharks are not suitable for your aquarium because of the size they can reach, up over 3ft in some cases, they are also schooling fish so you need more then 1, and they also what can be considered "tank busters". They can be very skittish fish and once they get over a foot long, if they were to get spooked they can ram the sides of the tank, and spash water out, so imagine what a 2ft scared fish going full speed across a tank might do? Your tank is just not going to be big enough for them, even when they are small, as it will stunt their growth and cause an early death.
Just Iridescent shark into google and see what kinda stuff you come up, they can be some monster sized fish.

However there are still 2 kinds of sharks sutable for your tank.
Red tailed sharks and Rainbow sharks, both would need to be a single specimen, as they are highly territorial.
Red tailed sharks are beautiful when mature, I have a friend who as a 5in long one(about their max size) and he's thick body. He's charcoal black and his tail is ruby red, stunning fish.

To fill up the rest of the tank, since you would have some room, you could have a school of tiger barbs, about 8, and maybe a school of zebra danios, once again 7. This is what the above friend has, and the tank is active, colorful and the shark is definitely the center of attention. Just remeber they need some kind of cave or log to claim as their own, to keep them happy.

 

[three-fingers]

There's a few smaller shoaling fish that look not too dissimilar irridescent sharks you might want to consider.

Maybe look out for African glass catfish or small relatives .

Very nice active fish, not hard to find in proper lfs' .

 

[AngelOfDeath]

you mean silver sharks.

They need a 55Gall minimum tank

I would if possible, get 3-4 silvers sharks, 1 red tailed shark, some catfish and a pleco

IF your tank is big enough gallon wise

 

[three-fingers]

I would disagree with the above, as long as water quality remains OK, the volume of water is not what you should look at.

What should be looked at are the dimensions of the tank, which is 4 foot long, and I presume 1 foot wide and just over a foot tall.

Silver sharks reach a foot long when looked after properly, and are fast moving active skittish fish. In that size of tank 3 adult silver sharks can only barely turn round, and hardly have alot of swimming space. If anyone runs past the tank or something is dropped in the room creating loud noise, the fish would hurt themselves panicking and hitting objects in the tank and the aquarium sides. Not a good choice of fish.

If you like that kind of fish, but smaller (and in this case more colourful) look out for things like roseline sharks.

 

[kaz219]

well first off, you are going to have to cycle the tank to make it safe for the fish. You can cycle a tank in about 4 weeks if you do a fishless cycle and add some of the mature media from your other tanks. From the discription the fish sound like they might be iridescent shark, which are not really suited for aquariums. You could keep a red tail or rainbow shark in their.

Yes, they are the sharks i was after! I was told they were Pangasius Catfish today at the pet shop...

The guy at the petshop said they would be fine in a tank of my size? I think they were around 3 inches along and he said they should get quite large when they get to 6 months.....how big though? Why do you say they are not suited to aquariums ?

Am new to the hobby...this is the first time i am planning on having proper fish....what do you mean by cycle the tank?

Are they any other sharks that look like the real sharks in the ocean that i could have in my tank...

Thanks in advance!

Irridescent sharks are not suitable for your aquarium because of the size they can reach, up over 3ft in some cases, they are also schooling fish so you need more then 1, and they also what can be considered "tank busters". They can be very skittish fish and once they get over a foot long, if they were to get spooked they can ram the sides of the tank, and spash water out, so imagine what a 2ft scared fish going full speed across a tank might do? Your tank is just not going to be big enough for them, even when they are small, as it will stunt their growth and cause an early death.
Just Iridescent shark into google and see what kinda stuff you come up, they can be some monster sized fish.

However there are still 2 kinds of sharks sutable for your tank.
Red tailed sharks and Rainbow sharks, both would need to be a single specimen, as they are highly territorial.
Red tailed sharks are beautiful when mature, I have a friend who as a 5in long one(about their max size) and he's thick body. He's charcoal black and his tail is ruby red, stunning fish.

To fill up the rest of the tank, since you would have some room, you could have a school of tiger barbs, about 8, and maybe a school of zebra danios, once again 7. This is what the above friend has, and the tank is active, colorful and the shark is definitely the center of attention. Just remeber they need some kind of cave or log to claim as their own, to keep them happy.

Awww...i really wanted them Irridescent sharks.

I'm not sure what if going to get now....my tank is the average 4ft by 1.2ft by 1.2ft (approx).

There is prenty of hiding spaces and i'm going to cycle it tommorrow and see how it goes but 2years or so ago, i bought 4 oscars for £2 each. One died and about a year later, i changed my mind and wanted smaller fish (i only had one tank at the time) so sold the Oscars back to where i bought them from for £8 each.

With the sharks, would i be able to keep them for a year and then possibly get smaller ones again... I've always wanted them and a bigger tannk isn't a option as that is the maximum space between the chimney breast and the wall....

As for the room, it is a room that is used on special occasions.....there's hardly anyone in there (apart from me watching the fish) so the sharks would probably never get scared....

I seen the other sharks today and tbh, i really prefer the Irridescent shark to them. I think its just a phase as i really want one and don't want to squash them into a tiny space and make them uncomfortable or even worse, kill them....

So if i bought them, kept them for 6 months to a year....would this be ok?

I can't really see myself getting anything else...

Orr....are there any fish which have the chracteristics of a Prana look beter, but are more active (ie. don't sit around all day waiting for there food!)

Thanks guys for all your input.....i really appreciate it !

Cheers

 

[Texas_Wolf]

well first off, you are going to have to cycle the tank to make it safe for the fish. You can cycle a tank in about 4 weeks if you do a fishless cycle and add some of the mature media from your other tanks. From the discription the fish sound like they might be iridescent shark, which are not really suited for aquariums. You could keep a red tail or rainbow shark in their.

Yes, they are the sharks i was after! I was told they were Pangasius Catfish today at the pet shop...

The guy at the petshop said they would be fine in a tank of my size? I think they were around 3 inches along and he said they should get quite large when they get to 6 months.....how big though? Why do you say they are not suited to aquariums ?

Am new to the hobby...this is the first time i am planning on having proper fish....what do you mean by cycle the tank?

Are they any other sharks that look like the real sharks in the ocean that i could have in my tank...

Thanks in advance!

Irridescent sharks are not suitable for your aquarium because of the size they can reach, up over 3ft in some cases, they are also schooling fish so you need more then 1, and they also what can be considered "tank busters". They can be very skittish fish and once they get over a foot long, if they were to get spooked they can ram the sides of the tank, and spash water out, so imagine what a 2ft scared fish going full speed across a tank might do? Your tank is just not going to be big enough for them, even when they are small, as it will stunt their growth and cause an early death.
Just Iridescent shark into google and see what kinda stuff you come up, they can be some monster sized fish.

However there are still 2 kinds of sharks sutable for your tank.
Red tailed sharks and Rainbow sharks, both would need to be a single specimen, as they are highly territorial.
Red tailed sharks are beautiful when mature, I have a friend who as a 5in long one(about their max size) and he's thick body. He's charcoal black and his tail is ruby red, stunning fish.

To fill up the rest of the tank, since you would have some room, you could have a school of tiger barbs, about 8, and maybe a school of zebra danios, once again 7. This is what the above friend has, and the tank is active, colorful and the shark is definitely the center of attention. Just remeber they need some kind of cave or log to claim as their own, to keep them happy.

Awww...i really wanted them Irridescent sharks.

I'm not sure what if going to get now....my tank is the average 4ft by 1.2ft by 1.2ft (approx).

There is prenty of hiding spaces and i'm going to cycle it tommorrow and see how it goes but 2years or so ago, i bought 4 oscars for £2 each. One died and about a year later, i changed my mind and wanted smaller fish (i only had one tank at the time) so sold the Oscars back to where i bought them from for £8 each.

With the sharks, would i be able to keep them for a year and then possibly get smaller ones again... I've always wanted them and a bigger tannk isn't a option as that is the maximum space between the chimney breast and the wall....

As for the room, it is a room that is used on special occasions.....there's hardly anyone in there (apart from me watching the fish) so the sharks would probably never get scared....

I seen the other sharks today and tbh, i really prefer the Irridescent shark to them. I think its just a phase as i really want one and don't want to squash them into a tiny space and make them uncomfortable or even worse, kill them....

So if i bought them, kept them for 6 months to a year....would this be ok?

I can't really see myself getting anything else...

Orr....are there any fish which have the chracteristics of a Prana look beter, but are more active (ie. don't sit around all day waiting for there food!)

Thanks guys for all your input.....i really appreciate it !

Cheers

The problem is finding someone who will take them once they outgrow your tank, most pet stores won't because they will be too big for the majority of customers to purchase, and while you may find someone with the large enough tank for the first batch but it might be near impossible to find a home next set.
Also even if you only kept for 6month-1yrs they could still experience stunting, or have their health damaged because of the buildup of toxins that larger fish will release into the water(ammonia) So even they have a enough room, if you don't stay on the top of the water changes, they could be effected by the buildup of toxins.

I feel, as do the other members it seems, that you would be better off going with a different fish(s) to say your self trouble, and possible heart-ache in the long run.

Could you maybe tell us what you like about the irredesent sharks? Maybe we can help you find a different fish, as there are probably many more options that you might not see in your local pet store.

 

[three-fingers]

Completely agree with the above.

Orr....are there any fish which have the chracteristics of a Prana look beter, but are more active (ie. don't sit around all day waiting for there food!)

Thanks guys for all your input.....i really appreciate it !

Cheers

Exodon paradoxus

A seriously crazy fish, I'd love some myself if I could dedicate a decent sized tank to them. Where I work, we get them in every now and then, very attractive active fish that I find very interesting. It was pretty amazing seeing them tear apart any food put in the tank - whitebait/locust/earthworms/squid/mussels - they will destroy and eat anything.

Downside to them is that they seem to have a tendency to spontaneously decide to eat one member of the shoal every now and then...

The only other fish you would be able to have in with them would be tough armoured catfish like plecs and corydoras though, and only if you certainly have enough hiding places for them.

Would certainly be a challenge, if you feel your really up to it, but easier than looking after an iridescent shark lol.

Make sure the tank is cycled and 100% ready for fish first obviously, and you'll want to read up on them and ask questions about them elsewhere