haytrev

I have 2 columbian sharks which i have had for just about a week.The pet shop in which i bought them told me to give them just 1 Tetra pleco wafer each per day to eat.This does not seem alot.Can anyone offer me some advice on this please and suggest a book which will help me keeping brackfish.

KittieKat

WELCOME TO FISHLORE!!

well 1st of all... ure going to need a much bigger tank than what u have. these "sharks" aka catfish can grow up to 24" (thats 2 feet!) yet they generally stay at about 12-14" in a large aquarium. one of these boogers needs a 55-75 gallon tank just to himself.. so by having 2 you need more room.

are these tetra pleco wafers small?.. usually catfish are known for eating algae hence why i feed my catfish an algae wafer (kindof large sized) and a bottomfeeder wafer (small wafer) i have a lot of fish that eat the same stuff so there is no waste
the more u feed fish the more they grow.. just keep that in mind.

columbians are never the best fish for a beginner because they go from freshwater to brackish to complete saltwater in their lives. which limits what u can put in with them. if they dont get this change in their water they can have a very lethal skin condition develop.

if uve only had them for about a week im sure u can return them if u decide that they are too much work. but remember that u need to buy a huge tank asap to properly keep them. if i were u i would switch to a redtail shark or a rainbow shark. they are very easy to keep, much more exciting to watch, and u can put other fish in with them. its just an idea.

good luck to ya and your fishies

edit: BTW columbian sharks have their own section in the forum. to get more answers to ur questions its best to put them where they should be so people can find them to read.

haytrev

yes the wafers are quite small.All the info i read regarding the columbian sharks said that u would need a 75 gallon+tank but when i asked the man in the local Pets @ home shop he told me that a 190 litre tank would be large enough.

KittieKat

one thing u will learn.... never listen to a petstore associate. they care only about making money and not about the welfare of a customers pets.

this forum was made for people that specialize in fish related information to spread the truth and the importance of it.

its true that a 75 is always better than a 55. last resort a 55 would have to do. i own a 125 gallon/500 litre (i think i converted that right) just for the fact that i do have a columbian shark.. i was lied to as well when i first bought him.

if u really like them then u would have to invest in a much larger tank but if that 14 day policy still applies to the LFS that u went to then i would return them and try a different fish to start out with.

haytrev

okay.
thanks for your help.