When you realize these fish are commonly sold in everyday pet stores...

[Snagrio]

I've always heard about and seen how big some fish you see all the time in pet stores can get, but this image of some iridescent sharks (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) from a public Japanese aquarium in particular sent a chill down my spine.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

They get that big?

I see them at my LFS all the time, they are usually only 4-6 inches though.

 

[Snagrio]

They get that big?

I see them at my LFS all the time, they are usually only 4-6 inches though.

That's how big they're supposed to get anyway. Most get stunted at a foot long or so due to cramped conditions and isolation (they're a social species) and die a premature death.

 

[emeraldking]

There are a lot of fish that are sold as being cute small sized fish but do have the potential to grow up much bigger than expected. There are a number that get stunted when kept cramped. But there are also species that just keep on growing no matter how cramped they live in a tank.

 

[itiwhetu]

As long as the water conditions are great fish tend to keep growing. I can remember in a Tropical fish hobbyist magazine. Someone kept a goldfish in a tiny tank that was hooked up to a huge system so the water was of very high quality and there were no hormones in the water. The goldfish just kept growing.

 

[Snagrio]

As long as the water conditions are great fish tend to keep growing. I can remember in a Tropical fish hobbyist magazine. Someone kept a goldfish in a tiny tank that was hooked up to a huge system so the water was of very high quality and there were no hormones in the water. The goldfish just kept growing.

Perhaps but let's be honest, the overriding majority of iridescent sharks aren't kept in optimal conditions given how prone they are to end up in some clueless kid's tank because they went "Cool I can have a shark?!" while any experienced aquariest knows to avoid them at all costs.

 

[Sgooosh]

gosh, they look like those marine sharks now

 

[itiwhetu]

Imagine that tank in the living room.

 

[Sgooosh]

Imagine that tank in the living room.

imagine a living room the size of a factory building

 

[itiwhetu]

imagine a living room the size of a factory building

You just convert the kids bedroom into the tank once they leave home, then they can't return.

 

[Sgooosh]

You just convert the kids bedroom into the tank once they leave home, then they can't return.

but some people's kids ARE just fish!!!

 

[Sgooosh]

You just convert the kids bedroom into the tank once they leave home, then they can't return.

i do want a tank that big ...?

 

[FishFinatic77]

I've always heard about and seen how big some fish you see all the time in pet stores can get, but this image of some iridescent sharks (Pangasianodon hypophthalmus) from a public Japanese aquarium in particular sent a chill down my spine.

I knew they get big, but I didn't realize they get that big! ? It should really be illegal for pet stores to sell them.

 

[itiwhetu]

I think it is really bad. It annoys me that people keep fish like Arowana in home aquariums. There are dozens of species that the LFS's shouldn't supply but do. What bugs me about Arowana is that it is a fast moving fish that never gets a chance to spread it's fins in the average home tank.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

You just convert the kids bedroom into the tank once they leave home, then they can't return.

Make the fuplie kids sleep outside and setup a fuplie fish tank room in that room.