Irradescent Sharks & 10g Tanks

I saw a post on here saying that you can't keep this fish in a 10g tank. Well I beg to differ! I had one for about 7 years in a 10g tank until my nephew poured nail polish remover in the tank and he died. Yes it's better to have them in larger tanks but they will live in a smaller one.

 

Quite honestly, I don't believe you, and even if it did manage to survive that long, it was SEVERELY stunted, wasn't thriving, and really, was being abused. Iridescent sharks get over 4 feet long. If yours was small enough to fit in a 10 gallon tank, there's no way it was healthy.

It would be like if you kept a great dane locked in a closet it's entire life and it only got to be the size of a cocker spaniel. Sure, it may survive, but there's a HUGE difference between surviving and thriving. And when you own an animal, you are responsible for giving it the best possible care and ensuring that it thrives.

-Chelle

 

Well, the store that I bought him from told me that the best tank to keep him in was a 10 g tank for a kid because they will only grow to thier environment. You know like a pleco. So is it also worng to keep one of them in a small tank knowing that they get huge????? :roll: It wasn't some mall pet store or Petco I got him from either. It was an exotic pet store so I am led to believe these people know what they are talking about. :y_the_best:

 

Fish "grow to the size of thier tank" because they are being stunted. That leads to deformities, poor immune system, and premature death. And yes, it is just as wrong to keep a pleco (or any fish for that matter) in a tank that is way too small for it.

And just because it wasn't a large chain store, it doesn't mean they know what they're talking about. Anyone who will sell a fish that gets 4 feet long to someone with a 10 gallon tank either doesn't know what they're doing, or is flat out lying and is only in it for the money.

-Chelle

 

Yah, Our LFS are pretty good they helped me pick out the right fish, and yeah get ride of the shark asap its the complete opposite of thriving right now. :roll:

 

I don't have the fish anymore. My nephew killed it, I said that in the begining!

 

Please don't burn me for asking this question because I am just curious, but, I know some ppl who keep i.d sharks, and some of them have kept them in 50 gallon tanks and they got up to about a foot and a half or so and I know some other ppl who have kept them in 250+ gallon tanks but yet the i.d sharks only got to a max. size of about 8 inches, why is that when they are given a larger environment than the others.

 

Could do with diet, water quality, other fish in the tank, frequency of water changes, a lot of things.

Tank size is a major contributing factor to stunting, but there are other things as well.

-Chelle

 

Calm...I was just saying something... :wink:

 

I have witnessed an irredescent shark in a 75 gallon tank, bang into the glass at high speed. It seems like they panic very easily and cannot judge the size of the tank very well. Usually they develop sores on their frontal areas due to always swimming into the glass. The tail area can become bent and they just dont grow properly the aquarium setting. It's kind of sad to see so many of them sold in the LFS.

 

That's why when they get about 6" long your suppose to put a type of aquarium padding on the sides of the tank.

 

I think they should be left in the wild

 

You honestly don't think anything is wrong when a fish that is supposed to get over 4 feet long only gets 6"?

-Chelle

 

Ok miss obvious here :roll: , Wouldn't that just make the space in the aquarium smaller?

If a fish that's supposed to be 4' normally, only grows to 6" in a 10G then I say we take their advice and start keeping whales (I know they're not fish) in our swimming pools, they'll only grow to their environment, right? :roll: