Colombian Shark Catffish

[catfish4ever]

Hi, I was in a fish store yesterday and bought a Colombian shark catfish, i was aware they are brackish water so i asked the employee and he said they will be fine in freshwater because they were born in fresh water, have i been lied to or will they be okay in freshwater tropical tank?
 
 

 

[DerpPH]

they lied to you, yes they may survive when they are young but as they grow older they need brackish water and considering their size you might have a life long companion

 

[catfish4ever]

they lied to you, yes they may survive when they are young but as they grow older they need brackish water and considering their size you might have a life long companion

 
Why do they lie to me? I just want to look after the fish and now i am confused. Thanks for letting me know though.

 

[Lillefishy]

They're in the business of making money, sadly a lot of Lfs are happy to sell fish regardless of their needs & whether you have the ability to care for them properly

 

[catfish4ever]

Any Ideas on what i should do
 

They're in the business of making money, sadly a lot of Lfs are happy to sell fish regardless of their needs & whether you have the ability to care for them properly

Any ideas on what i should do? I must say it is a remarkable fish

 

[Lillefishy]

I'd return it to the shop or rehome to someone with a large enough brackish set up

 

[Ch4rlie]

Columbian Shark Catfish, they are freshwater when young but do need brackish water when they get older though.
 
Also they grow pretty big, at least a foot is normal, can go up to 2 foot according to this site 
 
http/badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile63.html

 

[TwoTankAmin]

We cannot just conclude the OP was lied to. What we can assume is the employee involved was ignorant and give bad information. It is a minor distinction in terms of ending up with an inappropriate fish.
 
The truth is this fish is not usually a good choice for most hobbyists due to its nature and needs. It grows to over a foot long and diet wise it will pretty much eat anything it can that is not big enough to deter being on the menu. It does need to go from fw as a baby to brackish and finally to
even full sw as an adult.
 
You should return the fish to the store. If they do not want to accept it back having sold it under false pretenses, let them know you will file a complaint with any and every agency that might be interested in their actions. If they will not accommodate your request make a big loud stink about their staff being uniformed, selling inappropriate animals to people etc. But my bet is if you talk nicely to the manager first and explain it all the manager will likely accept the return. He/she will be even more inclined to do so if you indicate you want store credit so you can buy fish better suited to your setup as well as supplies.

 

[catfish4ever]

Would It Be Possible to Actually Keep This Catfish, I am aware it grows large however, the store clerk did say that the catfish was bred in freshwater?

 

[Ninjouzata]

Only if you have the means of taking care of it. According to THIS you'd want around a ~240g tank (240x60cm) and you'll need to start researching brackish and marine and such so you can increase the salinity over time for it.