Wild Fish

[WarriorZ]

I have a 150 gallon planted comm tank. I have 6 angles (full size), two Irridescent Sharks 10-12" long, 4 Balas 8" and the rest are little guys.

They all get along great. Until you walk by the front of the tank!! That's when the sharks flip out and crash into everything, including jumping out even with the lid closed.

They look so good I would hate to get rid of them, but I guess it will just get worse?

What could I replace them with?

Thanks,
WarriorZ

[OrionGirl]

Unfortunately, irridecent sharks tend to be very skittish fish. How long have they been in the tank? It could be a matter of letting them acclimate to the tank and the activities outside it, but if they've been there for a month or more, it's likely that some bigger changes will be needed. Provide some more cover for them--large, tall plants (real or fake) would be a good choice. They will need some thing they can all hide behind, and the plants will be something they can swim through without harm. They prefer to be groups--but adding 2-3 more fish would really cramp the tank. Irridescent sharks get very large, and even your pair will liekly outgrow the tank.

[WarriorZ]

The sharks have been in the tank for well over a year. The tank is heavily planted (java), front to back, end to end. Up until a few months ago you never saw them, only at night. But now they swim all the time?

I love the Tinfoil's and there size, but don't trust them.

Thanks for your reponse!

[OrionGirl]

Part of it may be size related--while smaller, they could hide, but now can't. How tall are the java ferns? Tall enough for them to hide in? You are aware that these gusy get to about 1 meter as adults?

Tinfoils are pretty, and more managably sized, but tend to be hard on plants. With the balas in there, if you remove the idrries, I wouldn't add anything else.

[thecareys]

it makes me sick that walmart sells them and says they only get 10 inches

they also say pictus cats and columbian shatks only get 6 inches when they get from 10 to 12 inches.

[RTR]

Where/when did the myth of foot-long P. pictus come from?

[Slappy*McFish]

I'm curious as to what your nitrate levels are in that tank. Though I'm not absolutely positive of this, I think that high levels of nitrate and/or dissolved organics in the water can contribute to skittish behavior in some fish. Also, be sure the fish have ample hiding places and a shoal of dither fish would help them as well.

[TKOS]

Walmart seems to get the facts wrong for a lot of fish. Dwarf puffers that eat flake food, white clouds that are tropical and so much more.

Hopefully, your sharks will get used to things. Another trick is to cover the ends of the tank so that only one side is open (the front). This lessens the amount that the fish can see and tends to make them less skittish.