Pangasius Sharks (Iridescent catfish Shark)

K

keitha

AC Members
Jan 19, 2010
22
0
0
England
Ok people, time to help the newbie!! lol

I just got a very small 50l tank with three of the above fish in it. I already know that the tank is to small for them as they are over 10 inches long and are in poor condition.

What I need to know is the following: -

1. Is it normal for them to swim into things all of the time.
2. Is it normal for them to constantly swim up and down the tank rubbing the noses against it till its red raw.
3. Its front fins are so badly damaged that the fin has come away from the cartlidge in it. Will it repair of its own accord?
4. Do they ever stop swimming and rest as one of them is mental!!!
5. Is it normal for them to have sudden dreams of escape from the tank and try to either swim through the side, front, back of the tank or to just jump clean out!

2 of them have gone into my 500l liter tank but the largest is not upto it yet.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

Thanks!
 
You say you already know size is an issue... I believe the answer to all of your questions is: get a bigger/longer tank. These guys get huge and are constantly moving. Better yet, get them a pond. A 10" fish in a 12.5 gallon tank sounds ridiculous! Even 125g sounds too small.
 
Our ID Sharks are over 3' and probably still growing. It's probably a good idea to try to rehome them before they get too big. When they are small they tend to be very erratic, they slow down as they get older, but because of this behaviour, they tend to freak out a lot and run into things, the tank walls, etc. With limited room, you are just asking for trouble with them. They are interesting fish, but need a lot of room.
 
I whole heartedly agree with Debra Mark. I personally don't think these fish are really aquarium fish, at least, they wont fit any of the common sizes. They are true monsters that need a heck of a lot more space than 99% of people in the hobby can offer.

As mentioned your best best would be to rehome them before they get too large. I would actually try MFK (www.monsterfishkeepers.com) which is one of AC's partner sites. There is a good possibility that someone in your area might have the space for your IDs.

On the bright side, at least you know what they are. More times than not someone encounters a problem with them without even knowing that they have a Pangasius...just a "shark".
 
IDs are some of the worst aquarium fish I have encountered. The only time they stop swimming is when they bash their heads into the walls of the tank really hard and fall down.

They come from fast moving and deep waters in nature resulting in their constant movement and because they have such poor eyesight they just have to see movement outside of their tank and that will be enough to cause them to panic and hurt themselves.

Edit: I totally forgot to read the dates, sorry to bump!
 
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