Member

Posts: 57
From:Boston
Registered: May 2003

posted 05-20-2003 12:07 AM         

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Hi all-
I just got an iridescent shark and a few rainbow bosemani. I have had fish before, but not either of these species. Any info. anyone has would be great. I know the "shark" gets big and I got a great tank for him to grow into, but right now he just hides behind the fake plants and doesn't do anything? Should I be worry or not since I just got him. The bosemani love to just swim so I am not too worried about them. Please e-mail me at HCL113083@aol.com and just put something in the subject that will catch my eye so I don't delete it....I get more junk! Thanks so much.

-New "Shark" owner

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posted 05-20-2003 02:02 AM         

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I would suggest getting 2 more Iridescent Sharks. They don't really school but they will stay out more often swimming around. Don't worry about them getting too large. When they start getting too large your local pet shop will be more than happy to trade stock for a large Iridescent. Another name for Iridescent Sharks is Pangasius Catfish. As with all catfish they need aquarium salt (1 tbsp per 10 gal. water) in the tank to add electrolytes to the water. They love frozen bloodworms. I use a rinsed empty Novaqua bottle to squirt the bloodworms into the tank, a trick I learned trying to ween my fish off of live brine shrimp to frozen, making the frozen shrimp look like they are alive. Put a little tank water into a squirt bottle, put in the frozen bloodworms, and let the bottle thaw in hot water until it feels tepid. Remember adding cold water to the tank will cause ick. I also feed freeze dried tubifex worms which they come up and take out of my hand. Take a tubifex cube and knead it (squish it around) in the tank until it is soft. Good luck with your sharks. They're really neat fish.

[This message has been edited by kc5gvn (edited 05-20-2003).]

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Posts: 57
From:Boston
Registered: May 2003

posted 05-20-2003 10:29 AM         

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Thanks very much that info was very helpful. Once I make sure that none of the fish I just got have any diseases I will buy some more. I have bloodworms that I feed to my betas so that quirt bottle idea is great. Thanks.

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Posts: 183
From:austin,tx, usa
Registered: Dec 2002

posted 05-20-2003 11:38 AM         

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I have/had both fish. I found them both easy to care for. Rainbows like clean and salty water. Turquoise rainbows are particularly beautiful but are sensitive on water quality. Bosemani are awesome! one of my favs by far. Nothing beats full grown rainbows! They like 1 tsp of salt per gallon. If they seem sluggish and not as colorful, they might need salt. Parkinsoni are also lovely with subtle colors.
some pics of our tank (though a bit different now) http://home.austin.rr.com/maughan/fish.html

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Posts: 57
From:Boston
Registered: May 2003

posted 05-20-2003 04:15 PM         

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Thanks for the info on the bosemanis! I love them and they really are beautiful!

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Posts: 57
From:Boston
Registered: May 2003

posted 05-21-2003 11:13 PM         

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Ok it seems that I got a new problem! I added more "shraks" to the tank and they are doing fine. However, now the bosemani, which I figured to be male and female, are barring. I don't really want babies, but at the same time if it happens it happens. My question is wouldn't the iridescents eat the fry?!?! Please help, but I think I might just let nature takes it course since I just got done breeding my bettas.

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Posts: 1
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Registered: Feb 2004

posted 02-26-2004 09:38 PM         

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hey guys I'm kinda new to this fish stuff now. I think I have a problem. I went to the pet store a few days ago and bought a 14 gallon tank. I really liked the look of the ID sharks and wanted some but din't really know much more than they look cool. Now the sales people convinced me they pretty much knew what they were talking about and told me I could fit 2 ID sharks in my 14 gallon tank. Now I think I have a problem here from the research I've done. These fish are now in my tank and look "pissed". They smack the glass a bit and I'm afraid they're going to get injured or die. What should I do? Also I have those shrimp pellets and I keep trying to feed them but never see them eat. Now there is a green (algea?) tint in the water from the pellets I suppose. I cleaned them out with that thing with the net on it. Whats wrong with my fish I feel bad. Thank you for any help. I feel screwed over by this pet store, I told them I wanted cool fish that would be happy but these guys just seem pissed. ONce again thank you.

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Posts: 146
From:canada
Registered: Nov 2003

posted 02-26-2004 10:58 PM         

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you could try and take the fish back to the pet store. If they dont give you cash back, sometimes they will give store credit. Youre right, they screwed you over. Tank is too small.

Good luck

Oh, and Dianemn, what size are your tanks? They look huge!

[This message has been edited by fishybiz (edited 02-26-2004).]

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From:Missouri
Registered: Feb 2004

posted 02-27-2004 07:59 AM         

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You should definitely return the fish. Iridescent sharks get HUGE (4+ feet) and aren't suited for a vast majority of home aquariums (LFS's shouldn't even sell them IMO).

-Chelle

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Posts: 57
From:Boston
Registered: May 2003

posted 02-28-2004 11:44 AM         

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I posted this about 8 months ago. My ID's are in a 45g tank right now and doing great! I am vey happy that I have them and love them dearly. I wouldn't ever return them.....I rather make my house a fish tank first. They are a huge responsabilty though and require a lot of cae. they are very skiddish and that's why the run into the glass......it's not fair to the fish though if they are too stressed and it could even kill them. If you think you can't take care of themthey way they need to be then you might want to return them. They can get up to 36 inches and I have one already at 6 inches and he is only 8 months.

[This message has been edited by HCL113083 (edited 02-28-2004).]

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