# Iridescent shark



## KuroKyoto (Dec 9, 2008)

This fish really confuses me. I have one, and I agree it was a mistake to buy one. I talked to the pet store who I bought it from about the info, and they told me it should be fine in my 20gal. They never told me the size they get. They probably meant 'for now'. Even another fish expert told me not to get a bala shark because they get too big =/ But I ended up getting one of these monsters after he mentioned iridescent shark as an alternative. 
Well, I have read mixed things about this fish as I am wondering what to do with him now that he is 11 inches long and in my 65 gal. I read that they only grow up to about 8 inches in captivity, but I heard that their growth will get stunted and they'll die...But then I read the minimum requirement was 50 gal. 
I plan on getting rid of this fish. Finding someone who knows what the hell they're doing with a huge tank. But even though I've been searching, I haven't found anyone yet. So I must ask how long can this shark live in my aquarium? I'd hate to have him die before I found him a proper home.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Fish can live in ridiculously small tanks if you do massive water changes. Tanks size alone doesn't kill fish, or even stunt them. Fish release chemicals into the water and detect them and if the concentration is reduced enough by fresh water, the fish doesn't slow its growth. Usually fish outgrow the filter capacity of a tank and you have to choose between starving it, poisoning it with its own waste, or changing water all the time. 

Hopefully you don't have this fish, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridescent_shark. But it wouldn't surprise me if you do. I've seen them in PetSmart. Like the red-tailed cats, they are cheap to produce in quantity (because bigger fish make more babies at once), and are common in the aquarium trade as well as the aquaculture industry for "catfish" fillets. 

I commend you for trying to find it a 'proper home'. This issue with all these monster fish with cute babies is that there is a finite number of large tanks and ponds to keep them in and dozens of little ones in every store. You can try craigslist and monsterfishkeepers.com, but expect to be in for a long wait. I suppose you are too attached to it to eat it.


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## KuroKyoto (Dec 9, 2008)

emc7 said:


> Fish can live in ridiculously small tanks if you do massive water changes. Tanks size alone doesn't kill fish, or even stunt them. Fish release chemicals into the water and detect them and if the concentration is reduced enough by fresh water, the fish doesn't slow its growth. Usually fish outgrow the filter capacity of a tank and you have to choose between starving it, poisoning it with its own waste, or changing water all the time.
> 
> Hopefully you don't have this fish, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iridescent_shark. But it wouldn't surprise me if you do. I've seen them in PetSmart. Like the red-tailed cats, they are cheap to produce in quantity (because bigger fish make more babies at once), and are common in the aquarium trade as well as the aquaculture industry for "catfish" fillets.
> 
> I commend you for trying to find it a 'proper home'. This issue with all these monster fish with cute babies is that there is a finite number of large tanks and ponds to keep them in and dozens of little ones in every store. You can try craigslist and monsterfishkeepers.com, but expect to be in for a long wait. I suppose you are too attached to it to eat it.


yes, that's the fish. And I am too attached to it...And that's why craigslist won't really work well. Because I have raised this fish for so long, and done what I could to keep it living, I can't let it go without a price. Furthermore, if someone is willing to pay a price for this fish I think they'll be more inclined to take better care of it than just sticking it in some small tank because it looks cool.
I heard the reason these fish die is because they can't grow in small tanks, and their organs grow and they die because the organs become constricted.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Lots of water changes will help with stunting (and I mean lots of big ones), but you are still going to have a problem. @ 12" it will have trouble turning around. Stunting is an adaption to allow fish to survive in small bodies of water, but "survive" means live long enough to breed, not live a long full life. A stunted fish generally dies young, but they usually make it to maturity. 

Check out monsterfishkeepers.com. If anyone can tell you about this fish as it gets bigs, its likely to be someone on that forum with a huge tank.


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## KuroKyoto (Dec 9, 2008)

emc7 said:


> Lots of water changes will help with stunting (and I mean lots of big ones), but you are still going to have a problem. @ 12" it will have trouble turning around. Stunting is an adaption to allow fish to survive in small bodies of water, but "survive" means live long enough to breed, not live a long full life. A stunted fish generally dies young, but they usually make it to maturity.
> 
> Check out monsterfishkeepers.com. If anyone can tell you about this fish as it gets bigs, its likely to be someone on that forum with a huge tank.


My problem is I'd like to sell locally, because I know nothing of shipping fish.


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