Whats up with my Iridescent Shark?

[Dakkon]

I have an Iridescent Shark thats about 5 inches long, and a couple times a week he freaks out and hits the top, spins in circles, runs into everything, swims sideways. It always looks like hes about to kick the bucket.. I was wondering if these fish are prone to anything like these freak outs.

The water temp, and all levels good. And theres nothing in the tank that starts fights or any problems. Other then his 1 freak out a week, he sits in the corner swimming up and down all day. Both of my I.S. do this. One less than the other though.


So what could be the problem? It hasent started recently, it was since i got them as babies.

 

[jaysonabrego]

Irridencent sharks were some of the first fish I ever had and they are very skittish. They do seem to freak out when you come by the tank. Mine always died and I have avoided them since. They are a hit or miss fisht hat will either do really good or really bad. I had a friend who had one for years and they can get very big! The other thing is that your problam could be a diseaese. I had 5 koi recently and they would freak out and spin to the bottom and twitch. All of them died and I do not know why. I put some barbs in from a Malaysian creek (bad idea) and afer that all my fish got that strange disease and died. Don't know what to tell you other than this.

 

[~ocean]

what's the tank size? small tanks and bright lights make ID's go crazy. try adding plants especially at the sides of the aquarium so the fish will know a "boundry".

 

[Blue Butcher]

It is normal. All of mine have and still do it. Even the big one 31", in the plastic pond does it, and he is 20 years old. They will bangup their noses, it takes a bit of time to heal. Add salt to your water for cuts and anything they ever get sick with. Enjoy.

 

[steelshade]

Yeah, they can be frightfully spastic at times.

 

[rodder506]

i have had one for about 4 yrs its about 12in in my 90g tank they are very skittish fish and are mostly blind you may see them rubbing their eyes on the glass but what u explained seems normal when i clean my tank if i touch him he freaks out and runs into the glass so i try to avoid touching him lol

 

[Industrial]

I have never had luck with iridescent sharks. I first got two small guys (maybe 2 inches) and put them in my 29 gallon planted community. They would always uproot all of my plants. When I walked past the tank they would both dart across the tank, smack their face on the glass and just lay in the gravel for anywhere from a few hours to a day. And when I would try to open the lid to feed them, they would occasionally kamikaze me.

They were cute little guys, but definitely not good fish to keep. Besides the eventual big size, they need a LOT of space and small schools.

I ended up posting an add on CL offering them for free for somebody with a large tank with more of these. When I delivered them to the lady she had a beautiful iridescent shark, maybe 6-8" that looked completely healthy and unharmed and calm. She also had two smaller sharks that would hide during the day.

I sometimes see the sharks who stay in one spot like glass cats and sometimes I see more skittish ones at pet stores. I think that they are best kept in groups and it seems that the ones in larger tanks are less skittish.

I learned my lesson though and I will NEVER get another iridescent shark.

 

[Wingsandoutdoors]

I love them. I have one now that is almost 8 inches and have had him ten years. Got him small and keep him in a large 90 gallon tank in a high traffic room. Once in a while if I bump something in the tank he does freak and yes his nose gets hurt. You can put plants in the corners and end of the tank so he doesn't scrap up his back but they will get their nose.

What I'm noticing is the eyes have a white film -almost looks like he has cataracts. Does anyone know anything about this

 

[tlindsey]

I love them. I have one now that is almost 8 inches and have had him ten years. Got him small and keep him in a large 90 gallon tank in a high traffic room. Once in a while if I bump something in the tank he does freak and yes his nose gets hurt. You can put plants in the corners and end of the tank so he doesn't scrap up his back but they will get their nose.

What I'm noticing is the eyes have a white film -almost looks like he has cataracts. Does anyone know anything about this

Welcome aboard

It sounds like cloudy eye but post a pic if possible also list your water parameters and how often do you do water changes and what % of water is removed.

 

[Wingsandoutdoors]

Water changes 25%
Temp 77
Ph 7.2

His eyes have been like this a while and st first I thought it was ick. But it is not. Not a solid coating.