Freshwater Sharks

[yoimb0b]

Ok so I am new to keeping fish. However, I work at a pet store that specializes in fish and reptiles and i figured now would be as good as any a time to start a freshwater tank to learn about fish. I am interested in getting a freshwater shark that will grow to a good length. At work we got these sharks in but i cannot recall their name at the moment, i believe its ____ hifin shark. They are blue/white in color, and about 6-7" long right now. I was told they get to be about 4-5 feet in length. As far as fish go, these sharks are the only thing that I would wanna keep, because im not too fond of regular fish, as i find them sorta boring. I would love to just have like 1 of these guys in a tank, rather then a community of little tiny fish. Has anyone heard/kept any of these "sharks" or know anything about them? Also, what tank would I need to start out with, before these guys get really big. im a newbie, but i plan to learn as much by keeping some fish. thanks. greg.

 

[Nevernormalalwayscrazy]

UMMMM I know nothing about sharks but I don't think they are "real sharks" as in related to saltwater sharks. I think you may be talking about bala, redtail or someother kind of freshwater fish. But I don't know of any that grow 5 feet. But if I am wrong you would need 100's of gallons and lots of filtration to house any fish that got 5 feet. It seems to me if this is your first tank it would be a little too much. If it is size or agression you look for there are plenty of choices, cichlids, salt water fish. I would really think hard about investing time and a lot of money in something you are just starting out in.

 

[yoimb0b]

well yeah i didnt mean like a real shark. I was just curious if anyone ahd heard of these things, but its no big deal, ill find out tomorow at work. BUt actually, looking through these forums, another thing that got my interest were catfish, as some get decent sized and they would be pretty interesting to care for, especially to watch them eat and such.

 

[Nevernormalalwayscrazy]

Catfish are very cool and can get really large, If you are not too put off by fish you could look into Oscars i have never kept them but they eat live food, get really big and are really cool to watch. There are lots of options out there for people looking fo more than small community fish.

 

[mowhawk2]

I would suggest the Bala Shark to start with, they look cool, and they can survive just about anything. They are basically really cool minnows.

 

[diademhill]

What size tank are you planning?
That is the first thing to consider.

Some species should not be on sale for aquaria - the fish you are thinking of is one of the Pangasius genus. these are shoaling fish & need swimming pools not tanks.

 

[catxx]

another thing to let us know, is what kind of budget do you have for your first tank? it would be a good idea to work out how much you are prepared to spend before you rush headlong into wanting a potentially large and very expensive to keep fish, space is a big factor too, if you don't have room for a large and long tank (around 100 gallons) you may want to re-think your preferred species also. also who is paying the electricity and water bills?!

plan and research to death before you buy ANYTHING!

 

[dwarfgourami]

Size has already been mentioned- anything with shark in its name is likely to need a fair wodge of space. Redtailed black sharks are not too bad- an average big tank (like 55 gals) will do- but when you get to bala sharks you're already talking more like 90 gals, and for pangasius it's more like a swimming pool. Whether you keep one individual or several won't depend on your preference but on the species of fish. Bala sharks are schooling fish and NEED to be kept in schools, a single bala shark will be stressed and unhealthy. RTBS on the other hand are highly territorial and can only be kept singly. And pangasius arguably should not be kept at all.

If you want something cool, I'd follow the advice of the poster who suggested looking up different types of catfish. Just make sure you research the individual needs of the species first.

 

[yoimb0b]

Yeah i think im going to go with some catfish, or maybe even the pangasius, reason being once they get too large for me to have, i can sell them in the pet store, in a adequat size tank so they will be happy. since anyways right now we have a fairly big red tail catfish with a bigass silver arrowana

 

[dwarfgourami]

Yeah i think im going to go with some catfish, or maybe even the pangasius, reason being once they get too large for me to have, i can sell them in the pet store, in a adequat size tank so they will be happy. since anyways right now we have a fairly big red tail catfish with a bigass silver arrowana

And what will you do if there is noone that will buy them in the petstore? How many people have actually got an adequate size tank for a pangasius?

 

[CFC]

No one should ever even contemplate keeping any member of the Pangasidae family in home aquaria, even if you filled the bottom floor of your house with water there is a good chance there wouldnt be enough swimming space, check out the photos here http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=11418 and you should understand why, not only are these fish huge they are also nomadic and make migrations of several hundred miles every year to reach new feeding grounds and their spawning grounds.
I have a 13" pangasius in a 200 gallon tank and to be honest it looks very cramped and too big for the tank. I didnt buy the fish and was originally only babysitting it till its owners new tank was made, unfortunately they now dont want the fish back so i have been left having to care for the fish until it reaches a large enough size to be taken in by the local tropical rescue center and placed into their pond of several thousand gallons with all the other large predatory fish that people have been unable to care for.