Oh the IDS forum!

First off let me say this site is awesome and fantastic in all fish help and information. Congrats! Also the forums are awesome and helpful.... for the most part.
this forum though as much as it's helpful I find the only constant repeated thing is "don't get these sharks, sell , return it, dumb pet stores selling them" and on and on. I can't speak on everyones behalf but as for mine that's only been around these forums for a bit... I get it. these aren't for homes. BUT for THOSE who did buy the fish and have it regardless the reason how about a little more constructive help than saying I hate pet stores that sell them? I find a lot of the threads here get taken over by this. The person has the shark , just help if you can in advice. Without going on a rant about how they shouldnt have it. I think most people who've browsed the site know they made a mistake.

What a terrible first post of me lol! Hope you don't all hate me! love the site! And all of you I might add!

 

Welcome to Fishlore!

The person has the shark , just help if you can in advice.

We give the only piece of useful advice that can be given, and you point it out yourself.

"don't get these sharks, sell , return it,

These are not just fish that will suffer a bit for being kept in a too-small tank. These are fish that will literally outgrow their tank, eventually panicking and slamming into the walls of the aquarium. At best, this will end in the fish killing itself by dashing itself against the glass. At worst, it will break the walls of the tank.
There is no way to care for these fish in any but the most gigantic aquarium, something that 99% of aquarists will never have. Just as the only advice I would give someone who had purchased a baby tiger shark for their marine tank would be "take it back," so too is my only advice for someone who has purchased an iridescent shark.

 

HI Justred, Welcome to Fishlore! Do you have an ID Shark?

 

Haha I did! But I returned it after I read about it! though I do find them very good looking fish. they look exactly like minI sharks! Probably why pet stores still sell them! Popular demand yaknow? I'd honestly keep it if I wasn't so afraid it would eat my smaller fish. I have to ask though. Why can't you keep it when it's small and just give it away when it gets bigger? I don't see what's the big deal really. As for what's in my tank 29 gallon 3 black phamtom tetras 3 lemon tetras a pleco and a corydoras.

 

It's more of a moral issue than anything else, thinking about what's right for the fish rather than yourself. My own personal opinion is that when somebody purchases a fish it is their responsibilty to see that they give the fish the best life that they can, and have a responsibility to do so until the end of that fishes life. In saying this, I feed live fish that I breed to my Cichlids, but whilst they're still alive I make sure they have the best life I can give them. I also will not sell tfish to people unless they have an adequate tank and understand that particular fishes needs. I think it would be unfair to purchase a fish that grows huge, keep it only until it has outgrown a tank and then get rid of it.

 

Hello Justred and Welcome to Fish Lore!

Ken

 

Welcome to FishLore!!
Most new members who have an Iridescent Shark in their tank really have no idea how large they can get.
After all, they're small when they buy them and definitely cool look looking.

It is of my opinion, it's easier to return a fish right after it's purchased rather than take the chance of a store not taking it back when it gets big.
Let's face it, most people cannot provide the size tank this fish needs.

We also need to look at what else is in the tank. We try to buy tank mates that are compatable.
Why build a stock around a fish that someone most likely cannot keep.

;D Anyway, that's just my opinion.
Enjoy the forum!

 

I think it would be unfair to purchase a fish that grows huge, keep it only until it has outgrown a tank and then get rid of it.

Of course the problem then is that most people may not know someone they can rehome the fish with properly either. If it outgrows your tank and you rehome to someone with a 55 for example and they shift to someone with a 90 and still the fish needs to be moved again - it isn't fair on or safe for the fish. :

 

I have to ask though. Why can't you keep it when it's small and just give it away when it gets bigger? I don't see what's the big deal really.

Hey, welcome to the site!

I know a girl who loves dogs. She would buy the cutest puppies (not cheap either, mind you) and she would bring it around with her all the time. After a few months, the puppy would get bigger, and start becoming more of a handful. At that time, the fun would wear off, and she didn't want it anymore, so she'd find someone to give it to.

Moving right along, 4 puppies later (that I know of), and she resorted to dropping one off in a random neighborhood and leaving it.

I think the moral of this real life example is that when you take the responsibility of keeping a pet, it should be intended for the life of the pet.

With something like a large breed dog, or large fish like an ID, there just aren't as many people capable of properly taking care of them, so it's not as easy as just giving it away when you can't take care of it anymore.

 

Why can't you keep it when it's small and just give it away when it gets bigger? I don't see what's the big deal really.\

Eventually, someone who receives that ever-growing shark is going to have to find someone who has a heated, multiple-thousand gallon pond, and is almost guaranteed to not find it. At that point, the fish is going to be euthanized, released into the wild, or will languish in a too-small tank until it dashes itself to death or breaks the tank walls. None of these three options are, in my mind, acceptable for an animal that we took it upon itself to turn into a pet.

By convincing people to bring them back to the stores, eventually, fewer stores will carry them, which will mean there are fewer instances of people buying the cute little shiny fish without knowing what it is.

 

When it comes to the whole dog thing. Though at the risk of offending some i'd care more for a dog than a fish... to me at the end of the day a fish is a fish. Not to say I am cruel to them or anything but I see your point with the dog thing. I Don't think fish go ahead and regret being owned by someone or have hard feelings to their new owners as a dog or cat would if it kept getting passed on. Just my opinion of course and it's not worth anything. =)

I have another question than. At the pet store they literally had a tank of maybe about 20 of these IDS and it was smaller than my tank. Naturally when I had bought him I thought I was doing him a favor my tank is better than what hes in. (I don't have him anymore don't worry) What does the pet store do with all these IDS after they start growing? do they kill them? set the free? what exactly?

 

Well I wasn't talking about the feelings of the animal as much as the responsibility of the person taking care of them, but I know what you mean. I have no problem culling fish by feeding them to other fish, can't say I'd do that with dogs.

 

Setting them free would most likely be against the law not to mention just plain wrong for a variety of reasons.

So, what do they do with them? They sell them to people who have no idea how large they'll get.
What happens after that? Read the forum. Stunting, illness, death. The lucky ones go to people who have a massive tank.

 

They quickly sell off the current stock of ID sharks to unsuspecting customers, then restock those cute little juvies. They aren't staying around the shops long enough to start to really grow.

 

Welcome to fishlore.

 

Welcome to fishlore!
I've said some things on the IDS forum and I have no problem backing myself up.

They are much too large to be in the home aquarium trade. They are actually a staple part of many people's diet overseas. They should not be available, but they are. I do what I can by giving what I feel is the best advice. Can the person with the fish afford a 300 gallon tank MINIMUM? Do they want to maintain one? If not, they need to give the fish back. Plain and simple.
I'd say the same thing if someone bought a Tuna or a Salmon.
Giant fish? Giant workload.
The fact that they are available in the trade is because when being farmed someone decided to market them as a pet. They taste pretty good though.

 

Hrm well that really is too bad... that they sell a fish that shouldn't be sold though. I still think it looks cool.. oh wells.. the new fish that seems interesting sometime in the future when I move. The dwarf puffer fish! he looks sweet! Hey on the other side of things.. why not just eat your IDS when hes big than? your raising a meal! Not exactly fast food though.

 

I love dwarf puffers, considering getting a couple soon myself.

 

Alright. This discussion has been done to death, and has now, rightfully, moved on. I'm closing the thread.