Siamese shark (pangasius hypothalamus)

[GuardedResponse]

Can anyone provide / point me to info on the above please. I've seen one, I
want one, I know nothing about them.

Thanks, GR

[NetMax]

"GuardedResponse" > wrote in message
...
> Can anyone provide / point me to info on the above please. I've seen
one, I
> want one, I know nothing about them.
>
> Thanks, GR

Also ID shark or Iridescent shark. Here are my usual fish ID URLs.

http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery.html
http://www.fishindex.com/phpinfo
http://www.fishprofiles.com/profiles/
http://www.aquariacentral.com/species/fresh.shtml
http://www.jhobbyhaven.com/The-Fish-Encyclopedia.htm
http://www.fishbase.org/
http://cichlidresearch.com/identify.html
http://www.planetcatfish.com/ilibrary/
http://www.scotcat.com/home.htm
http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/library.htm
http://fishgeeks.com/index.htm
http://www.marksfish.f9.co.uk

There are a number of ID sharks available. Some grow very big, others
don't, and you can't tell them apart as juveniles. Lovely fish but IMHO
inappropriate and challenging for home aquaria. I call them the 'canary
in the coal mine'. If there is a problem developing in the tank, they
are the first to contract Ich. They are also very prone to eye fungus.
They bounce off the glass when startled and they startle easy. Turning
bright lights on in a dark room is cruel to any fish, but ID sharks seem
particularly sensitive to this. In the right bio-tope, big tank, clean
water, subdued lighting and appropriate tank mates, they are beautiful
fish to admire. hth

NetMax

[Flash Wilson]

On Mon, 7 Jul 2003 01:23:08 +0100, GuardedResponse
> wrote:
>Can anyone provide / point me to info on the above please. I've seen one, I
>want one, I know nothing about them.

I've got one which I bought under bad advice from an LFS I no longer
use. I hear time and again that they aren't an aquarium fish.
I'd not recommend them to you.

That said - I've got one, so some info...

I bought two small ones, one of which died about a week later from
an ulcer which came on fast. The other has had ich and then an eye
fluke, both of which were treated successfully but took a long time.
Initially he was very nervous and panicked at any movement near the
tank etc, which made me feel awful every time I went near.

He's now in a 200l tank and seems happy enough; no illness, he
gulps down catfish pellets and always has a plump/full belly.
He's not nervous of movement or the other fish and although quiet
by day, by night he swims lengths of the tank and seems to be
growing well etc.

But he's not as cute as he looked in the shop, and although I will
care for him while he is still getting along well (and while he
isn't too big - he's 4" or so at the moment) I really wouldn't get
one again. Sure, the juvenile stripes look nice, but it's quite
distressing seeing fish nervous or ill, and he had more of his
fair share of those in the early days.

Hope that's of help.


--
Flash Wilson
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Commuting around the North Circular? Bored of the journey?
Have fun and be better informed at http://www.gorge.org/a406

[E. Mito]

In article >, (Flash
Wilson) writes:

>On Mon, 7 Jul 2003 01:23:08 +0100, GuardedResponse
> wrote:
>>Can anyone provide / point me to info on the above please. I've seen one, I
>>want one, I know nothing about them.
>
>I've got one which I bought under bad advice from an LFS I no longer
>use. I hear time and again that they aren't an aquarium fish.
>I'd not recommend them to you.
>
>That said - I've got one, so some info...
>
>I bought two small ones, one of which died about a week later from
>an ulcer which came on fast. The other has had ich and then an eye
>fluke, both of which were treated successfully but took a long time.
>Initially he was very nervous and panicked at any movement near the
>tank etc, which made me feel awful every time I went near.
>
>He's now in a 200l tank and seems happy enough; no illness, he
>gulps down catfish pellets and always has a plump/full belly.
>He's not nervous of movement or the other fish and although quiet
>by day, by night he swims lengths of the tank and seems to be
>growing well etc.
>
>But he's not as cute as he looked in the shop, and although I will
>care for him while he is still getting along well (and while he
>isn't too big - he's 4" or so at the moment) I really wouldn't get
>one again. Sure, the juvenile stripes look nice, but it's quite
>distressing seeing fish nervous or ill, and he had more of his
>fair share of those in the early days.
>

I had a similar purchasing experience of my ID shark as Flash, but I only
bought one and he never fell ill. At first he was quite skittish and nervous,
but after a while he became more comfortable. I know lots of people say these
fish aren't good aquarium fish, but I have to admit he is one of my favorites.
He is very active, very graceful, and very beautiful (of course I'm biased).
:) I don't think the loss of the juvenile stripe deflects any from his beauty.
I've had my shark for nearly three years now, and he's grown from about 3"
long to close to 7" long. He can eat like a pig (will gulp down a couple of
Hikari sinking wafers, in addition to a a few cichlid pellets) and has the
stomach capacity to hold it all. He gets along fine with all of my other fish
(rainbows, platies, angels, SAE, and cories, as well as a few Amano shrimp) and
all of the other fish are fine with him (except for the angels when they are
breeding, who don't give peace to anyone near their breeding grounds).

While these fish are probably not a good choice for a beginner with a small ten
gallon tank; I wouldn't say that they don't make good aquarium fish at all. My
tank is a 55 gallon and he appears to be fine with plenty of room in this size
tank.


Erica
http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/mitoem/index.htm

[GuardedResponse]

"Jim Brown" > wrote in message
.. .
> A close relative of the Iridescent shark, this one grows to the 100 cm
mark.
> Prefers group life, and LARGE aquariums. The only difference between the
> various species within the Genus Pangasius is ultimate size (and possible
> the legality of owning one of the species).
>
> Jim
>
> GuardedResponse > wrote in message
> ...
> > Can anyone provide / point me to info on the above please. I've seen
one,
> I
> > want one, I know nothing about them.
> >
> > Thanks, GR
> >
> >
> >
>
Thanks to all.