iridescent sharks and giant gouramis (HUGE!)

[penguinpimp1990]

I was wondering of how big a tank would I need to hold one Giant gourami (28 inches!) and 2 iridescent sharks? Note on the sharks that they grow to 52 inches in the WILD but captive ones rarely exceed 18 inches. I also forgot to mention that I have almost enough money for a 250 gallon setup and would like a giant gourami in it, so i was wondering if the sharks would make a good tank mate, or maybe ropefish

 

[alabaster]

What are the dimensions of your tank and what kind of filtration will you be using? It all depends. If I were you I'd get a few Oscars instead of the sharks. Ropefish are a good option, as they are small-bodied fish (although they reach 3 feet).

 

[alabaster]

Also, what are you going to do if the sharks DO exceed 18 inches?

 

[MegTheFish]

I've seen pictures of iridescent sharks and they were larger then 18", more like 30"+ but this was in a pond. Some sites say they won't grow larger then 12" in captivity and some say no larger then 24" so I would be prepared for them to get larger then 18", just to be safe.

 

[andywg]

the ones that say they don't get past 12 inches will be the ones that are keeping the fish in far too cramped conditions and are killing them through stunting.

You want to see how big the Pangasius get? Check out the pinned topic in the Catfish forum. They are for Tropical ponds/public aquaria/millionaires/the wild and pretty much nothing else...

Don't forget there are some smaller growing species that should max out not to much past 2 feet (around 30 ") so for them I would say a minimum of 10 feet by 5 feet wide by 4 feet tall should do.

250 gallons will be nowhere enough for any Pangasius.

 

[Briarmoor]

Penquin, I haven't been to Greece since the mid-1980's but it was quite warm. Does the area you live in stay warm year round? You could have an outdoor pond if the climate is temperate. That would be awesome and you could sure keep those larger fish.

It's too cold in TN, but I'd not know what to do with myself if I could keep a tropical pond of Giant Gouramis!

P.