Iridescent Shark inactive

[Rizen]

My albino irridescent shark is very inactive. I had two before my tank crashed and everything died, but the new one just isn't very active - my old ones would school around the tank together, this one just hides under a rock.

I have a 20 gallon extra high with an Emperor 280 filter, the water is probably mid 70s (I live in Florida..), and his tank mates are a bala shark of similar size, and 3 zebra danios. I got 2 new long fin rams tonight and 4 white clouds, I will see how they do.

I don't think it's the water quality, but I just did a water change and he perked up noticeably for a day - but now he is doing the same thing again. The other fish appear happy.

I may add a heater and keep the water at 78 and see how he responds.. I hope he is okay

 

[catfishmike]

well, you are the third one this week with id shark problems .welcome to the tank.i hope this will help you.id sharks are very skitish fish that are not very good aquarium inhabitants.these fish are sold for food in asia and grow over 3 feet long.id sharks are known to beat themselves against the sides of aquariums in an attempt to escape.your best bet is to return him to where you got him and try a more manageable fish.try a pictus cat,very similar in looks and shape and stays mch smaller.your shark may be suffering from a lack of oxygen.thats why when you added the fresh water he perked up.another thing to keep in mind is that bala sharks will get too big for this tank as well.you should have a heater either way although in florida you do have a very constant temp. that doesn't change too much.

 

[Rizen]

I have an additional air pump on the tank, a Tetratec AP200 that is pushing quite a bit of air into the tank so I somehow doubt that is the problem. I understand they are skittish fish, but he doesn't have aggressive tank mates at the moment, and the previous ID sharks didn't have problems. Could this one just be more skittish than previously?

I really like the fish so I would prefer not to get rid of him.. I would love to have a 55gal or larger but unfortunately I want to have a tank that I can move to college with me into the dorm, so a 55 is out for now Anyways, thank you for your advice. Anymore ideas?

 

[catfishmike]

not too many ideas to think of.yes it's very possible that he is just more skittish than most.try to reduce the lighting in the tank as that may help.they come from areas that have heavy vegitaion and dim light.it's tought to say.another thing is that id sharks are very social fish so it could be disturbed by the fact that it's alone,although i don't think more sharks is a good idea.sorry if thats not too helpful.

 

[Rizen]

I could put another juvenile in there for now, I can get them at work for about a buck fifty. LOL. I know that a 20 really is too small for them though. Hm, I'm not sure. I had a purple waffle plant in there that the sharks hid by before, I'll put another one in. I have a CO2 injection setup on the tank with fertilizer in the water, I need to get a plant light though.

 

[GT3050]

Id sharks really do need large tanks. I would suggest getting a much larger tank if you plan on seriously keeping them. Just think, a 36"+ fish trying to live a tank that's 24"x12"x15". That's the same as keeping a 6' man is a room that messures 4'x2'x2.5' for his entire life!!! Not fun at all. The 55 is also way too small. I would say at least a 180 gallon. Either buy the big tank or get some cories. I don't mean to be harsh or anything, so I am sorry if I do, but you really do need to make some serious changes.

 

[Rizen]

Don't fish grow to the size of their enviroment though? Does it really drastically shorten their lifespan to have them in a smaller tank even temporarily? He's maybe 2.5"-3" right now.