Iridescent Shark Injury

Problem- I have a small iridescent shark. I had tiger barbs. I don't know if he got the injury on his forehead area by swimming into something or directly from the barbs, but the barbs were picking at it a lot and they had caused LOTS of other problems in the tank at this point so I removed them. He is doing better, i.e. swimming more, eating, etc. I treated for a week with Melafix. But his sore on his head has improved very little and it's been almost 2 weeks. What should I do?

Now- some help for you: The barbs had also been stealing the shrimp pellets meant for the iridescent shark and the shark wouldn't/couldn't eat. I thought by removing the barbs and changing the water maybe or maybe feeding new foods like brine shrimp and blood worms, the shark would eat. He still didn't eat anything. I used the newly freed up space in the tank to get 2 new sharks after hearing they like to school when young. Now he eats He started eating regular flake food (still ignoring the shrimp pellets) the day I got the 2 others. I was so happy . But I'm still concerned about the sore on his head.

 

welcome to fishlore

how long has he had the sore is it healing?

and I sorry to say that you iridescent sharks grow huge and you will need a huge tank for them in the future , just in case you didnt know

 

Welcome to Fishlore!

I would say that the wound is from banging against the glass and/or decor. ID's are skiddish and half blind so they need to be in groups of 5+ to calm them. Damaged noses is a common wound with them normally because they like to rub the glass and because of their partial blindness.

Heres the downs side your tank isn't even close to big enough even for a juvie. They are very active and get very big. You need to rehome him immediately or get at least a 400g tank.

 

Hello Greenswordtail and welcome to FL,
I looked at your profile and see that you have about 37 gallons. I am not sure how much you know about these sharks:
Juvenile iridescent sharks are often sold as pets for home aquariums. However they are not easy fish to keep and are not recommended for most home aquariums. Iridescent sharks are schooling fish that prefer to be kept in groups of 5 or more.[3] Accustomed to living in rivers, they are very active fish that require a lot of space. They have very poor eyesight, so any foreign movement they detect outside of their habitat, they will see as an utter threat. If stressed, their first instinct is to flee, and such a blind dash can result in injuries, especially in an aquarium environment. These flights may be terminated by the fish sinking to the bottom, where it may lie on its side or back until it recovers.[5]

Many fish owners are unaware of the enormous size that an iridescent shark can reach and also that they can bite very harshly. If given enough room and fed adequately, an individual of this species can reach 1 m (3 feet) in length. In most home aquariums, the amount of space an iridescent shark has severely stunts its growth. It's for this reason that most iridescent sharks kept in home aquaria grow to only 15 to 30 cm (6 to 12 inches) in length and die prematurely from organ failure.
Referenced.
I respectfully suggest that you rehome these animals because unless you are able to provide an enormous tank you really cannot provide a good home for them. I am sorry to sound so negative, especially as you obviously care so much for them. Many of us at FL have been faced with the same situation. I myself have a common Pleco in a 75 gallon tank and he is going to be put into a 150 gallon tank that I am getting this summer. I didn't know how big they grow because at that time I didn't do my research.

 

Welcome to Fishlore!

Good info above. ID Sharks grow to 4 feet and need 300G for a single specimen. Here's the fact sheet on them: https://www.fishlore.com/profile-iridescentshark.htm

 

I didn't find out about the size until after I had him. The pet store guy warned me "they grow up to 7 inches" so I thought, I'll just move him to my larger tank when he gets bigger. He also said he was a solitary fish, which I have since learned is also not the case. I read up on him after he got injured and found out the adult size as well. I also read they live 10-20 years, so I have a little time at least. Yes he probably got hurt by swimming into a wall. He does that. All 3 do. The other 2 are fine though. I added plants all along the back. Now they swim into plants and then turn usually. I don't blame the barbs for hurting him. I blame them for picking at it like crazy. When I first saw the injury, they were just feasting on his head and he was darting frantically around the tank. That's when I took the barbs out of the tank. The other fish didn't pick on him.

But yes, I will move him to a much larger tank later. I was hoping to get a big big tank sometime any how, with the sharks and may a couple clown loaches and a pleco. Idk, I'll decide that later.

For now- WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE SORE!??? It's been almost 2 weeks. It's about 1.5 cm = HUGE covering his forehead. I really like this fish and want to save it. I did a week cycle with Melafix. I didn't see much improvement. Should I do another week? Any suggestions?

Catsma- Also I read certain varieties grow 30 inches and others grow over 90 inches. Is that not true? Sorry for not citing this. I doubt I could find it easily on my history. If it is true, is there no chance I have the 30 inch variety? 2.5 feet would be ridiculously big and difficult to care for, but it would be better than 4 feet!

Also, Brainlady- if I were to give them away, who would accept them besides people wanting to eat catfish? I figure I will keep them for awhile and see how it goes. Hopefully, I will be able to keep them healthy and happy. For now, I just want to fix this one.
And thank you for letting me know that they bite. I read wikipedia but didn't catch that. Will they attack other fish of similar size? Everywhere I read painted them as quite peaceful.

Thank you all for all of your concern. I know I probably made a poor choice getting this one. But now that I have him, what can I do?

Merged back to back posts.
Ken

 

weve all made mistakes , iv'e had my fare share , you should be able to take them back to the petshop , and maybe give you the store credit . from where did you buy them if it was petco I doubt theyll take them back .

 

1 from pet supermarket and 2 from Petco

 

well I think you could try and ask them for a refund or they should take them .:-\

 

Well I wish this wasn't hopeless. If I end up leaving them in the tank, will it hurt the other fish? I haven't noticed them bothering or swimming into other fish yet.

I'm just wondering if nobody for some reason wants them, should I still get them out of the tank and flush them

Obviously I'd MUCH rather not do that.


Merged back to back posts.
Ken

 

oh no no no don't flush them , you can hopefully find a great owner for them , but if yo leave them in a small tank they will just stay small , "most" are in tanks too small for them , they eventually die from their organs failing

 

I was thinking I'd let them stay in this 20G tank until they grew another inch and then move them into something bigger. Will they simply not grow? The tank is fully stocked I think, (hope I'm not overly stocked already) but the other fish aren't going to be getting any larger except the algae eater I don't think...

20 G Tank =
3 swordtails, 1m 2f
3 black mollys, 1m 2f
3 2.5-3 in I Shark
1 cory cat
1 sm (1 inch) algae eater

 

its already a bit over stocked , sorry . if you leave him his growth will be stunted and will die at an early age , so I think the best thing you can do is try and find someone who can take proper care of them , sadly there are very few people with big enough tanks , hey are one the fish that should'nt be sold at petstores , almost all the id sharks you see at petstores , won't get a good home , what type of algae eater is it . sorry I have to go to bed now . well caht more tomorrow bye

 

Just a Chinese Algae eater.

Also, about flushing the I Sharks, I was just asking to see if for some reason nobody took them, would they kill/injure all my other fish by keeping them, stunted in growth, in the same tank. Not that I'm that lazy or cruel. Just explaining.

Merged back to back posts.
Ken

 

I use fish as live bait, so I'm pretty desensitized when it comes to flushing... but I would only do so if the fish was dead or on the verge of death, not simply to get rid of t.

 

I'm sure somewhere will take them. I just wondered if they'd harm the other fish in the tank if they were left in there much longer.

 

Good morning,

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Thanks!
Ken

 

The sharks will only attack the others if hes hungry and they fit in his mouth.

Ive had the before, I really love them but I sold them to my lfs because I just cannot house them.

API general cure would work, it will heal him and keep it from turning into a fungal infection.

 

You could try craigslist or see if someone has a pond maybe?

 

I don't know I think he might hurt the other fish just keep them well fed

 

I tried 3 pet stores and the 3rd, Incredipet, took all 3 off my hands. Thank you for all your help!

 

oh great did you just give them or did you get something back?

 

HI GreenSwordTail,
I am so happy that they took them back. You are obviously a caring person and I hope you will carry on in the fish-keeping hobby world! I do hope the LFS that has them lets people really know what they are purchasing. It is hard, as you know, to get attached to a fish and know you cannot keep it. See you around the forum!!

 

oh great did you just give them or did you get something back?

They didn't give anything back, but just took them. arky

 

Could you place an ad in Craigslist. Many fish keepers look at this to stock their tanks and it may be possible to find someone with a huge tank. Let us know how it goes. Please don't flush them, there really has to be another solution.