Jessie

I was hoping for the possibility that someone might know something about this.

As of right now I have 6 Iridescent Sharks in a 75 gallon tank. I am well aware that they will out grow this. And I was intending to transfer them to a outdoor pond that is almost 2000 gallons, when they get too big for a tank.

Someone I saw earlier had put there's in an inflatable pool for them to grow in until they reach there proper size which was a good idea that I'm sure I will end up using eventually.

The biggest problem I see is in the winter months. I live in North Carolina where the average temp during the winter is 35 to 45 degrees if not lower. And I was wondering if anyone knew what the minimum temperature was that they could withstand.

I know breeders tend to keep a lot of there larger breeding fish in ponds and I was wondering if anyone knew how they took care of there tropical fish in the winter months. If need be, I may end up buying a pool heater to keep it warm during the winter, but I was wondering if anyone had any imput on the sudject.

Cody

well you can get a heater for ponds im pretty sure...honestly i thik you would be better just finding a new home for them..it would save you alot of money, work, and time.

Jessie

Yes, it would be easier but that's not why I got them. I got them with the intent of raising them to there full adult size, for there full life span, in proper conditions, to keep them happy and healthy.

Thousands of fish are traded, adandoned, or "released" each year. The Baltimore aquarium which is only 40 minutes from my house, turned away 700 hundred fish last year that people tried to donate to them. Though they did accept about 150.

Besides if you didn't have people like me who like dealing with large fish. Who would those who want to get rid of them give them too.

Cody

i like your veiws..i feel bad..well you have to look inot how to maintain it.and keep it heated and clean..keeping things like that outdoors is a chore ..its exposed to alot...and if you have any animals ..like racoons, stray cats..etc you might lose them

ITHURTZ

Inflatable pool ya! I know they cant go under 70 degrees. They like 75 and a little warmer. I dont know how big a 2000gal is, but these puppies need some room!

I havent set mine up yet, I need to let them and the balas grow before they can be in a 210gal pool with the other speed eaters. I have to manually feed them and chase the other fish away so they get their share.

Jessie

2000 gallons is a pond that is roughly 9 feet long, 9 feet wide, and 3 feet deep. Give or take a few inches.

As a tip if you ever need to know how big a pond is the formula is

"Length x Weith x Depth x 7.5"

Dino

I would not go with inflatables.
What you would do better to look into is cattle watering troughs.
We use several here.
Our largest is 10 feet across.
They are easy to find at co-ops or Tractor Supply.

Heating the water is not the way to go.
You will do better to heat the room in fish are in.

Over the years I have kept several 150 and 200 gallon troughts in my home.
Another thing too be aware of is floor strength.
That much water weighs quite a bit and regular fllors might not hold up.

If you have any questions, please post back or pm me.

susitna-flower

One factor to point out here is that most cattle troughs "used to be made of" steel, since this can cause fish problems, you need to look for the new hard plastic type.

ITHURTZ

It comes down to cost, inflatable pools are cheap. The 210gal I have was 20$. You can get 120"x 96"x20" for $50. Those cattle bowls are in the hundreds. Mine as well buy a real tank then.

Dino

All the cattle troughs here are plastic.
Thanks for reminding me not all folks would be aware of the ones they need to use, SF.

Sorry, I just do not trust something inflatable with my fish.

Also, the pectoral fins of the sharks have hard spines.
This may not matter when they are 2 inches but upon full size, well, thats another story.

Gozer_1

Yeah Dino's very right about those spines. I have 2 in a 150. One of them is about 10 inches and those are some monster sharp spines. Anyway I truly feel your pain on this topic. I only have 2 and a 150g tank, but as those who know these fish, know that 150 is a mere puddle to one of these fully grown. Heating an outdoor body of water to the necessary temp would probably cost a fortune every month. I live in Colorado so it's totaly out of the question. I have one possibility if I should ever need to give them away. A nearby public hot spings pool has a nice pond in the front that is fed from the hot springs. They have one Ir Shark and some Tin Foil Barbs as well as a large Gar. They group around the inlet in the winter but it stays warm enough. I may be able to donate them to the pool. I love my sharks but they are one of my biggest mistakes in this hobby. I bought them after reading the litle sticker on the tank that said 10 to 12 inches and thought they'd go well with my Tin Foil Barbs. That's how I came to learn that those little stickers LIE. Anyway, all I can say is good luck to you. I hope you come up with something. Look on the bright side, they aren't super fast growers. Atleast mine aren't. Probably cause they live with a piggy Oscar who gobbles every piece of food I put in there. The Tin Foils have learned to just follow the Oscar and catch what spews through her gills. The Irs are too timid to do that. Ok I'm rambling now. Good Luck I'm interested to hear how it goes.

ITHURTZ

Spines? Mine dont have any, the only thing that does is my pleco and the only way a spine would puncture a pool would somehow fish goes into reverse real fast

And not real fast growers? Mine DOUBLED there size in just 3 weeks of having them. When I added them in nov I thought my fish were going to eat them they were that small. 2 months later they have out grown my balas and are the length of my fantails!

And they are to gain 12" in there first year

Dino

The spines are the first ray of the pectoral and dorsal fins.

ITHURTZ

At what size is this mostly seen? I dont want to grab them and find out, but by looking at them so far they look like regular fins.

Dino

They are present by the time they are the size they are sold in stores.
The front/leading ray of each of the fins mentioned is more solid than the other rays in those fins and ends in a sharp point.

Gozer_1

Dino's right trust me I've been stabbed trying to free one from a net when I didn't know the spines were there.

Most fish grow pretty fast in their first year. Once they hit a point they slow down. My Ir Sharks hit about 10 inches and slowed way down. I doubt they'd reach 12 inches in a year in captivity. Mine are about 9 and 12 inches after 3 years. I could see it in the wild but wild Irs grow to 4 feet. I've seen them at public aquariums and they don't get to be their full size. Though I've seen them close. 4 feet long doesn't do their size justice either. They're also like a foot tall.

Jessie

Well, so far I have found part of my answer. I found a company that supplies pond heaters to Aquaculture Farms. Though I'm still looking around it seems the average cost for a heater for a 3500 gallon (it seems they don't make them for 2000 gallons) pond is *DRUM ROLL PLEASE* around 1500.00$. I've already started saving my nickles and pennies. along with 50's and 100's. And I'm still experimenting with the pond itself.

Amnagrla

lol interesting post so far...

Quick question/comment. My boyfriend's father has 1 IR in a 10 gallon tank. (I know... ) However, he's had him for about 3-4 years now and he's only about 5 inches.

He was getting this awful boils and blisters and sores... and he hardly swam at all. I thought he would die. Then one day, he turned the heater down. Turned out, the IR kept too close to the heater and was getting burns. Now he swims like CRAZY and all the blisters are gone.. and in the 2 months since he fixed it, I swear he's grown...

I thought it was interesting/sad that he hadn't grown that much. I really thought that IR didn't get stunted to that extreme, I thought they would at least grow a few more inches. HOWEVER, there is a happy ending. He is getting a a much larger tank for Christmas from someone.