Help! My Irdiscent sharks are starving to death

* Water temparature is 28 deg C
There are no other kits in my possession
*My tank is one year old.
* 2 albino oscars - both 2.5 inch;
2 Bala Sharks
5 tiger barbs.
2 Yo Yo loaches
1 Sucker Fish
3 Irdiecent Sharks

* have a submerged water filter pump. Change 20% water every week..Just did, Sand Substrate used. have one driftwood piece in the tank.

* I know about the nitrogen cycle, I use unprocessed ground water.

* I normally feed fish pellets and freeze dried worms.


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I have had the sharks for the past 4 months. I had 3 IDsharks then had brought one more, this one I think was a bit sick had white cotton like stuff in its fins which later disappeared, Foolish it was of me of not having quarantined him. he finally starved to death about a week back.

Now one of my other ID Sharks which was actually very healthy has started starving, looking at him it seems he won't last long without help. His belly has gone in, and he seems to have shrunk in size its like his body is feeding on himself. I think he is starving to death:'(, but he is moving around..

Once he gets too weak i'm quite sure the oscars will go after him:-\. The other 2 ID sharks are doing fine with their bulging bellies, the pair scoops 40% of the food that I put in.

Please Help!!!

 

It sounds like water quality issues. ID sharks are prone to white spot and other fungal diseases. And you are extremely over stocked if all them fish in your info are in a 15gallon.

 

Overstocked- I totally agree....
I don't see an fungal diseases though the tank is well aerated and filtered, but there's no denying 15 gallon is too small.. and most of the fish I have will grow large.. yes... I will upgrade. I resolve to upgrade but is there anything that I can do to save the starving one.. is he gonna feel ok if I isolate him in or something?

 

Try and isolate him if you can and see if you can get him to eat, but unfortunatly I think he is on his way out. Sorry to tell you that. I does sound like a disease of some sort if 1 of your other ones has been through the same thing and died.

 

I think this is a stocking nightmare scenario. Sounds like a combination of ammonia burns and possibly a bacterial infection. I would isolate the fish both to make sure he is getting enough food and if a bacterial infection is diagnosed, to treat the infection. Do you have a hospital tank/rubbermaid container you can heat/aerate? Do you have a testing kit?

And also, I would try to rehome some of these fish, it just is not a practical longterm goal to house multiple fish that can exceed 12" in length. Your smaller fish will also become food for them in time. The word "upgrade" just doesn't really cover what you'll have to do to keep some of these fish in the long term, lol. I think you need to sit back and have a serious reality check. It would be more humane and better for you to rehome some of the big guys like the balas, iridescents, and oscars. Judging by your other choices, I would venture a guess that the "sucker fish" is a common pleco, another tank buster. If so, you will have to contemplate his future as well.

It just makes me angry that the aquarium industry sells these fish, even though they're totally impractical to the average person who buys them. Balas have been pushed to endangerment in the wild just so they can die in someone's too-small aquarium. :/ Please research before you buy.

 

Hello,

I've moved your thread to the Freshwater Sharks/Iridescent Sharks section of the forum.
Thanks!
Ken

 

Here is a pic of the shark that I just took..


here is the pic of the tank..

Here is a panorama of the tank.. I used photoshop to merge s..


I guess the pics are not the best in quality but I hope they give a vague idea.. I willl post better pics in the morning..

I think this is a stocking nightmare scenario. Sounds like a combination of ammonia burns and possibly a bacterial infection. I would isolate the fish both to make sure he is getting enough food and if a bacterial infection is diagnosed, to treat the infection. Do you have a hospital tank/rubbermaid container you can heat/aerate? Do you have a testing kit?

And also, I would try to rehome some of these fish, it just is not a practical longterm goal to house multiple fish that can exceed 12" in length. Your smaller fish will also become food for them in time. The word "upgrade" just doesn't really cover what you'll have to do to keep some of these fish in the long term, lol. I think you need to sit back and have a serious reality check. It would be more humane and better for you to rehome some of the big guys like the balas, iridescents, and oscars. Judging by your other choices, I would venture a guess that the "sucker fish" is a common pleco, another tank buster. If so, you will have to contemplate his future as well.

It just makes me angry that the aquarium industry sells these fish, even though they're totally impractical to the average person who buys them. Balas have been pushed to endangerment in the wild just so they can die in someone's too-small aquarium. :/ Please research before you buy.

I agree With you Etcetera.. I should have researched before the purchase.. I feel sorry for not having researched more before having bought these fish.. Bala's are on the endangered list on Wikipedia, I found that after I had bought them and was trying to find out more about their natural habitat.

When I say upgrade I mean to a 250-300 gallon tank which would house only bala's and oscars.. maybe a pair of sucker's
the remaining tiger barbs and loaches would be comfy enough in the 15 gallon.. The ID sharks I will rehouse or better stillI will put them back in a nearby river I think they will be ok.

P.S: what I called a sucker fish is indeed a pelco

I Have put the ID all by himself in a spare 15 gallon that my friend offered I think I'll make a trip to the river tomorrow morning..

 

Unless you live in the Mekong River basin please do not introduce this species to the wild! Introductions such as this have caused disasters for native species and have far-reaching effects! I would much rather these fish be euthanized as a worst case scenario than introduced into a foreign habitat. Please consider finding a fish rescue, aquarium society, or returning the fish to the pet store.

 

"The species is found in Southeast Asia in the Mekong basin as well as the Chao Phraya river, and is heavily cultivated for food there. It has also been introduced into other river basins as a food source ..."

I understand your concern.. Only thing is eventhough I don't exactly live in the Mekong basin, I do live Asia. But its not worth the risk.

"As a rule of thumb, an iridescent shark requires a minimum tank size of 12 m (40 feet) to develop naturally and live a long, healthy life. "

definitely not something my pet-store guy has.. I'd guess very few people have a 40 foot tank.

P.S I don't think its ammonia burns though, I would have thought if the ammonia was high enough to cause this to one fish, the other fish will be showing signs of ammonia poisoning as well, if not poisoning, they would be behaving slightly different..

can you tell me if this is overstocked as of now?
the pleco is under the driftwood- where he likes to hang out when not feeding, the oscars are behind it.

Cos if it is then I gotta get rid of all my fish and start over in the middle of next month.
If not I guess I'll get rid of the ID sharks and buy a 300G in a fortnight.

 

Welcome to FishLore
Even if a tank looks like it has more room for fish, doesn't mean that it's not overstocked.
Things to take into consideration are the adult size, amount of waste produced by each fish, schooling needs and territorial issues.

I'm sorry to say the only fish you have that are suitable for your tank are the tiger barbs.

Here is a great thread to read:

 

Thank you for the link Lucy. I went through it and found it very useful.
I Think i'm gonna return the ID sharks and the bala to the pet store guy. I'm gonna keep the rest though- I resolve to buy a 300G at the end of a fortnight.

The Oscars are peaceful for now they only attack fish that gets too weak..

 

Yeah I am sorry to be cridical. But yeah you are very over stocked! The ID sharks get up to 4ft long and require much larger tanks. The Bala Sharks require at least a min 55 Gallon tank and get up to 13 inches. The Oscars require the same size tank as The Bala shark and get up to 13 inches as well and they can tend to be very aggressive toward other fish not their size. So I would def get a larger tank real soon...

 

Thank you for the link Lucy. I went through it and found it very useful.
I Think i'm gonna return the ID sharks and the bala to the pet store guy. I'm gonna keep the rest though- I resolve to buy a 300G at the end of a fortnight.

The Oscars are peaceful for now they only attack fish that gets too weak..

I'm glad you found it helpful.
You've made the right decision for your fish.
I know it must be hard. Once your fish are in proper conditions, they'll be happier and you'll enjoy them more.

 

All ID's and bala are gone but for one ID which the Pet store guy said will not survive He'll probably die out in Quarantine and be a meal to my cat

but on the plus side - I think this will be my final setup.



and 2



or

 

1) The Tiger barbs will most likely attack and probably kill the gouramis. There could be aggression issues with more than 1 DG in your tank. That is, if they survive the barbs.

2 and 3 You have 135g tank and a 145g tank?

Please do not blindly follow any aquarium stocking tools. Do research, read more than one site and look at several sources.

Edit:
Since you last question is about stocking (off from the original topic), would you like it moved to the forum?
You'll probably get more input there.

 

Hmmm... Yes I will research before I make the purchase .. I think I will just look for a standard setup for the 15 Gallon tank those are easy enough to find.

Edit :

and also I think the setup is tried and tested as well.


No i'm not going for 135 and a 145G tank I meant to say only one of the two.. Depends..

The site gave me a 106% stocking on the 135 gallon I think that should be ok.
and I think the balas and the oscars will do fine together. I have come across many places where they say the two are compatible.

P.S I think the issues in this thread are more related to stocking than ID's particularly..
ID's were just more susceptible in the end.

P.S.S Is that your "cat"- fish in the aquarium?

 

Is that your "cat"- fish in the aquarium?

Yup. lol