Columbian Shark

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abiddle

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 17, 2008
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Sweet Home Alabama
I already searched the shark forum and didn't find much info.

I went to the LFS today with my 8 year old son who wanted this columbian shark. It is about 13 inches long, in good health and very active.

The word is that these start out in brakish water and eventually need to be in total salt water. I have him in a 180 gal with CA/SAs. I add some salt after water changes, but I am not making accomodations for this shark.

Has anyone kept these in fresh water before?

Thanks!
 
Yes i have i had one living for about 3 months he was a few inches. But a 13 inch i bet he looks really good. I didnt know anything about them being saltwater. Sorry i couldnt help.
 
They almost all are mass produced in freshwater now and can live a perfectly happy long life in freshwater. Many people prefer to keep them in brackish and that is still good. Hard water with a little salt is always best. Just do not keep them in a ph of 6 with soft water.

They are nice looking when adult (Enjoy)
 
Thanks for the info!
The lady at the LFS said it came from a tank at a nursing home that was not being maintained. they told the LFS to come get the tank and everything in it they didn't want to keep up with it anymore. So I imagine he has always been in fresh water.

My Red Devil and Vieja want to attack him so badly, but I think they know what his dorsal fin will do to them.
 
They start off in fresh water but at about 6 inches they should go into brackish.. and then eventually full marine.. this guy to make it to this size was probably at least in brackish.. if you keep him in fresh water eventually you will notice his skin turning black.. and other skin irritations were become an issue until he is weak and dies..
 
ive never heard of a columbian shark in saltwater or brackish but i see them in freshwater and they live happy long lives.
 
View attachment 495271
Reptilesfishbirdsmammals;4171990; said:
ive never heard of a columbian shark in saltwater or brackish but i see them in freshwater and they live happy long lives.
Click to expand...
All pet stores sell them in freshwater... as far as seeing them live long healthy life... how many have you seen that are a foot or more... ;) Heres some info on columbian sharks.. and a pic of mine
Columbian Shark

The Columbian Shark seems to be one of those fish that are always at the pet stores, often incorrectly identified and/or with misleading or incorrect information. For the majority of home hobbyists (95 percent or more of us) this fish is not a good one to keep. Let me explain why...

They usually get lumped in with the freshwater fish species but this fish is not purely a freshwater fish. It is actually a brackish water species as juveniles that will slowly need to be acclimated to a full saltwater tank as they get bigger. The potential adult size of this fish is also often misrepresented. They can reach 20 inches (51 cm) or more in size if taken care of properly.
The other thing to keep in mind with the Columbian cats is that they are predators and will eat smaller tank mates once they get big enough. In fact, some hobbyists will feed them small feeder guppies as an occasional treat.
They can be fairly active and will need lots of swimming room. Couple their activity levels with their potential adult size and you can start to realize that you will need a pretty big tank to keep these guys happy and healthy.
They should accept most fish foods including flakes, frozen, freeze dried and live foods. Drop in some sinking shrimp pellets or catfish pellets when the lights are turned off and let them scavenge around for them.
Colombian Sharks also have venomous dorsal spines, so be very careful when performing your tank maintenance. It's probably a really good idea to get some of those long rubber aquarium gloves.
 
Reptilesfishbirdsmammals;4171990; said:
ive never heard of a columbian shark in saltwater or brackish but i see them in freshwater and they live happy long lives.
Click to expand...

Hm that's strange they only live in brackish and saltwater, freshwater when young and when at pet stores but they wont make it long in freshwater once above 5-6"
 
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