Keeping Columbian Shark Catfish

[phil335]

Hi, I have tried and failed to keep columbian shark catfish. I managed to keep the fish for a year - then lost all four over a period of one month, they simply stopped eating and starved themselves to death which was heartbreaking. I still have a brackish tank, now with only 3 silver scats in, I would love to try keeping these fish again as I miss them. Basically I'd love to hear from anyone who has successfully kept these fish into adulthood so I can learn from your experiences.

 

[MartinS]

You will be lucky to find many people who have successfully kept these to adult hood. They should begin life in fresh water and as they grow, the amount of salt should be increased to 100%, ie full marine. Breeding requires them to travel back to brackish or even fresh water so this cannot be replicated in an aquarium. Personally, I would suggest that this is not a suitable fish to be kept in the home aquarium.
Martin

 

[simonero]

This is an old post, but I want to add my two cents anyway.
 
I can't comment on what happened in the original poster's tank without information about water parameters, etc., but I have an adult columbian shark catfish who is about 3 years old and 17" long.  I wholeheartedly agree with MartinS that this is not a suitable fish for most home aquariums.
 
This fish grows very fast and can get to be 20" long.  This is not the only reason they need a very large/long tank, though; they are extremely active and swim with great force.  When the tank is too small, they run into things and hurt and/or spook themselves.  Admittedly I am one of the people who bought this fish irresponsibly, and unfortunately have been unable to find anybody willing to take him who doesn't have a worse setup than I do.  It is very clear that this fish has needs beyond a novice or even intermediate fish keeper, and realistically needs a tank of at least 100-150gal after only a year, though larger would be better after that.  The ideal tank for this fish would be a very long/large species tank tailored to him so that it can go from fresh to salt on his schedule.

 

[Chief Brody]

They need brackish in adulthood

Sent from my SM-G730V using Tapatalk