Columbian Shark Tank

[hivedragon]

hi i want to start my first fish tank
(not counting all the fish I grew up with)

I want a pair of columbian sharks
I plan on buying at tank with about 100 gallons
will regular gravel do? or do they need sand?
I hear these are a brackish fish, so how much salt will they need?
will this amount change depending how big they get?
Am I gorgetting anything?

 

[fluttermoth]

I'd really, very strongly advise against getting those fish, even in a 100 gallon tank. They can get very large; a lot of sites will tell you 10 or 14 inches, but it can be more like 2 feet long!

They need quite specialist care; they start off freshwater, go through a brackish phase and need full marine conditions when they're adult (assuming you can keep them alive that long....).

There are loads and loads of brilliant fish you could have in a tank that big; why not find something more suitable? What are the actual dimensions of the tank (rather than the volume); it's the lenghth x height x width that's vital for stocking larger tanks like that.

 

[hivedragon]

my dad is going to help me out with the fish,he actually built a tank that was 8 feet long.
so I can alsways upgrade tanks later, though I was told that they grow only ss large as their tank will allow.
so how much salt do they need? and do they need sand or grtavel?

 

[hivedragon]

Incase you were wondering, I haven't bought a tank yet
what are the minimum/ideal dimensions/gallons for a tank containing a pair of columbian sharks?

 

[fluttermoth]

I'd consider 6'x2'x2' an absolute minimum. There seems to be some disagreement on how big they can get; I've heard everything from 8 to 10 inches to 20"+!

There's a very good article written by nmonks, one of our members here; Columbian sharks

I have no idea personally what levels of salt they'd need; they're not a fish I would ever consider keeping myself!

It probably doesn't make much difference whether you use sand or gravel, but being catfish I'd suggest sand would be better; it is for most bottom dwellers, but please do think really hard if you're going to be able to care for these fish for their whole lives; they are a shoaling fish so need to be in a group; if they do get to 20"+, that's a big commitment you'd be taking on

 

[mattlee]

i had a group of 4 colombian sharks that came with an old tank of mine. they were about 15 inches at least and were kept in almost marine water, i think the salinity was 0.019 if i remember right. the tank was 6.5x2x2 and if they got any bigger an upgrade would be essential.

if you post something in the brackish part of the forum then im sure neale monks will advise you better as he really knows his stuff on these