My irredescents are acting strange!

I have two juvy irries in a 55 gallon tank they are maybe 3 inches. One is hiding in a log and only comes out during feeding and only eats around the log it hides in, and the other just hangs around the entrance to the log and only feeds around the log and will go nowhere else in the tank. The log its self seems like it would be to small for the one to hide in but it stays in there all day!!!!! Please if anybody can tell me if this is normal i would appreciate it.

 

What are your readings for ammonia, nitrIte, and nitrAte?

-Chelle

 

alot of fish are shy like that. maybe if you put more hinding places around the tank with more plants they would be less scared to come out and swim.

 

Iridescents (Pangasius) are very active fish. They stress very heavily when being aclimated to new surroundings. When stressing they usually lay on the bottom rather than hiding (from my experience). It is also possible that the label at the store may have been incorrect. There is another catfish, Zamora, that has a similar body shape at that age. Zamoras do hide frequently. You can check Planet Catfish's website for images to be sure.

 

I was given a grown iridescent shark, about 6 inches long. It had a nodule on its "nose" where it always swam into the glass. I believe that the iridescent shark is simply to active and grows too big to keep 3 in a 55 gallon tank. They are top swimmers, so if they are at the bottom, then something is wrong. Provide them with long flowing plastic plants that they can hide out in. I still have mine, after about three years. It eats about 5 bottom feeder algea wafers whole, at every feeding. It only visits the substrate to find and eat the algea wafers.

Good luck.