shark fish (Arius Seemani) How can you tell male from female

mom63pr · Post by **mom63pr** » 02 Feb 2004, 00:50

Hello all,

I have two Shark fish. If I go by the picture that best identifies him they are, Colombian shark fish or Arius Seemani Juvenile. My question is how large will they get and how can I tell which is male and which is female. Also, I am planning on putting in a pond in my front yard with some gold fish a pleco and the two shark fish. The size of the pond is 63 in. X 88 in. It's a 220 gal. already made liner. I have 6 reg. gold fish and a pleco that looks like a frog, big head small body...
Will this pond be big enough for these fishes?

Post by **Silurus** » 02 Feb 2004, 01:03

Most of your questions can be answered here.

mom63pr · Post by **mom63pr** » 02 Feb 2004, 01:16

What does it mean (if anything) when they lower its dorsal fin?

magnum4 · Post by **magnum4** » 02 Feb 2004, 16:35

What does it mean (if anything) when they lower its dorsal fin?

Could mean that something is wrong with your water, test it for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH...ect. How long have you had the fish for, did it come from saline conditions?

I hope you noticed that this species requires salt and long term would not do well in a freshwater pond.
I have not know one to live for more than 18months in freshwater and the average is likely to be less than 12months.

Caol_ila · Post by **Caol_ila** » 02 Feb 2004, 16:37

Hi!

Just theoretically is it possible to create a brackish/saline pond? Or would that be too expensive/technically not possible?

Post by **Silurus** » 02 Feb 2004, 16:41

Theoretically, it's possible. But it would take a lot of work to maintain the correct salinity of the water and to make sure that the salt doesn't leak out to the water table.

mom63pr · Post by **mom63pr** » 02 Feb 2004, 18:34

when I bought them at the pet shop, the owner had approx. 10 in a 10 gal. tank. with salt and amonia remover and a clorine remover, besides the water filter, that is all he had... he did tell me they need a little salt, 5 tsp in my ten gal. tank. so thats what i do. he never told me the fish would grow 12 inches or anything about the brackish water.

what does brakish water mean anyway?

this morning he's ok. but he's been swimming at the bottom and sometimes he just sits still until the other one comes and kind of bumps him with the tail. they he (the first one) kinda swims under him and visa versa? they kinda look like they are dancing... but who knows... they are only about 2 inches long. and one is bigger then the other.

I dont have the kit to test the water because the pet shop owner has a no return policy and really doesnt know much himself. i did see the kit at wal mart but it didnt say anything about amonia so i didnt buy it. this kit test. ph. nitrate and some other things i dont understand.

i want to keep the fishes thats why im building the pool out side.this week end i went to the river in the mountains and brought back a lot of (what we call) chineese rocks. for in side the pool and around. & I plan on going to another river and getting the water lillies.

I dont want to get rid of the fishes but i dont want them to suffer....

magnum4 · Post by **magnum4** » 02 Feb 2004, 23:51

suggest you do some research on the internet or get a basic book on how to keep aquarium fishes, one that explains water quality and filtration techniques.

Brackish means half freshwater half saltwater.

stop shopping at c*ap LFS.

chupapiedras · Post by **chupapiedras** » 04 Feb 2004, 03:54

Hello to all,
I just wanted to say that please don't blame mom63pr.This is a common problem here.
Shop owners not only try to sell you everything you don't need(overprice), but they also try to convince you they are always right. My advice, just don't buy this fish. USUALLY they arrive near dead. By the way, I also went with a preformed pond, although currently houses two Oscars.
Regarding the test kit I've NEVER even seen one a d you problaby don't needed if you have enough filtration, do regular water changes, and acclimatize your fish slowly. After all , en RÃo LA Plata y Carraizo you will find guppis(local variety. as well as big/small catfish and tons of water hyacinth)

Brackish=Agua de mangle

BTW, magnum4, the no return policy also applies to special orders that you even have to pay in advance.As far as I knowin every store that I HAVE VISITED.

Eduardo

Post by **Rusty** » 04 Feb 2004, 04:09

This is why doing your own research before buying fish is so important. Most (not all) LFS owners are just out to make a quick buck. If that money comes from someone putting an Arius, RTC or TSN in a 10 gallon, they don't care. They'll encourage you to go that route if that is what it takes to open your wallet. Saying the shop keeper said it was OK is just a convenient way of shifting blame for your own irresponsibility.

Rusty

Post by **Dinyar** » 04 Feb 2004, 04:49

I agree with chupapiedras that we shouldn't rush to judgment on people who are just starting out in the hobby. Forum admins who want to keep Bagarius yarelli in Manhattan apartments are another matter. They should be locked in fetid closets and fed exclusively on applesauce.

Dinyar

muridae · Post by **muridae** » 04 Feb 2004, 07:09

Dinyar wrote:I agree with chupapiedras that we shouldn't rush to judgment on people who are just starting out in the hobby. Forum admins who want to keep Bagarius yarelli in Manhattan apartments are another matter. They should be locked in fetid closets and fed exclusively on applesauce.

And corn, hey. Wouldn't want them to suffer from malnourishment.

mom63pr · Post by **mom63pr** » 08 Feb 2004, 23:52

Magnum the pet shop owner didn tell me the shark fish need more salt so i bought some And add the recommened amound and a little more cause he did say the live in rivers near the ocean and when the ocean tide comes in thats where they get their salt. if im wrong please let me know any how I believe that i am adding the salt correctly.

and all of you guys are right:

I should have done some research and I didn't But Im accepting my resposibility and trying to get the information I need in order to raise healthy fishes...

I thought that is why you guys were here...

Post by **Barbie** » 09 Feb 2004, 00:56

Just to clarify a bit, we're all "here" because we love catfish. The job of moderating doesn't pay much, but we DO do our best to help when we can. We sometimes get more than a bit frustrated trying to answer the same questions over and over from people that purchased fish, THEN decided to try to figure out why they weren't thriving.

You haven't mentioned how long the tank has been up, or any of your water parameters, but its a safe bet that a water change won't hurt anything. Only replace the amount of salt you take out. Meaning if you take out 3 gallons of water, put back in 3 teaspoons of salt. (On a side note, this is nowhere NEAR brackish conditions, but the fish is young and will tolerate more freshwater parameters for now).

Basically if the tank is less than 2 months old, it is cycling, which is a very toxic experience for the fish. Reduce what you feed, increase the frequency of water changes and buy some test kits. Read what you can on "cycling" the aquarium. Google is the search engine I usually choose, but there are also articles available Here and Here.

Good luck!

Barbie