what shark is what?

[mom and me]

Am going to buy a shark, but all the different names out there are driving me crazy! Does anyone know if the Columbian shark catfish is the same as the irridecent shark? The scientific names came up different, although their care requirements were the same. I have found: Columbian Shark catfish, irridecent shark, shark catfish, and too many scientific names to try and spell.

 

[big mick]

Hello, welcome to the forum

In answer to your question, no they are not the same.

The columbian shark is a smaller fish which grows to 4-6" but mine eats neon tetras though so be carefull what you choose to keep with him but they are generally peacefull fish and will tollerate most water conditions and temperature.

The irridecent shark is quite a different kettle of fish (if you'll pardon the pun) and is one to be avoided, they are often called pangasius catfish and are very small when you buy them and they are striking to look at (I actually have one aswell) but they can grow up to 3 feet in length

One other thing is try to keep 3 cloumbian sharks if you have the room, if you have 2 they will probably fight , keep one on its own and it might be sad so with most catfish Ive kept 3 has always been the magic number...

....apart from pangasius catfish of course....that would just be silly!

 

[CFC]

Columbian sharks (Arius seemani) will easily reach over a foot in captivity and can reach up to 2 feet in optimum conditions, they also need to be moved to strong brackish or marine conditions when they reach adulthood, if kept in freshwater they will become ill and die. A minimum of a 5x2x2' tank is needed to keep one and a larger tank would be needed for a group.

Pangasius catfish also do better in groups but since they grow huge should not be kept in home aquariums at all.


Other "sharks" like redtailed black sharks and rainbow sharks are Cyprinids not catfish but are suitable for most tropical aquairiums of 3 feet or more. Bala sharks grow to around 12 inches and need to be in groups of 3 or more so a tank of 5x2x2' is a bare minimum.

 

[big mick]

I took the information from here about the columbian shark,

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=41743

Ive got a pim pictus and a columbian shark, (I got the columbian shark the other week....he is about 3-4") the guy in the shop said would probably only get about 6-8"

Was he lying?

also did I read the link wrong?

Can pim pictus live in cold water?

 

[CFC]

That info is not for the columbian shark cat, columbian shark catfish have the scientific name of Arius seemani and are from the Ariidae family of catfish, the profile in the index you linked to is for Pimelodus pictus which is a member of the Pimelodidae family of catfishes.

Pimelodus pictus usually only reach around 6 inches in captivity. They cannot be kept in coldwater and require the temperature to be kept at a minimum of 22c .