shark catfish

sharky · Post by **sharky** » 26 Feb 2006, 20:05

i was just wondering, when people say shark catfish brackish to marine, does this mean from a young age as well. also if these fish can be kept in marine, are they reef safe, for eg, do they damage coral, eat crustaceans, and molluscs etc? might sound a daft question to you but i couldnt find the info anywhere else?

thanks in advance!

beer_baron1 · Post by **beer_baron1** » 27 Feb 2006, 00:45

I slowly began switching my columbians over to full marine within a week of purchasing them. At that time, they were about 1.5 inches long. they've grown to be about 5" in about 3 months. As for tankmates, I'm not sure about corals, but I would imagine any crustation or fish that can fit in their mouths will quickly dissapear.

These fish swim even faster than they grow, so they could potentially starve more, errr, gracefull tankmates.

That being said, I too have been looking for a tankmate or two to liven up the aquarium a bit. If things work out for you, let me know!

sharky · Post by **sharky** » 27 Feb 2006, 15:45

cheers, i dont have livestockin the tank now so what i can do is lower the s.g and add the columbians, then slowly rais it back up so i can add my clean up crew such as hermits and snails etc, which will probably vanish anyway after being eat! what would happen if the columbians were just introduced to a marine set up straight away? is this a BIG no no or what?

thanks for the help

beer_baron1 · Post by **beer_baron1** » 01 Mar 2006, 03:16

The gal at the LFS told me that one can just take them out of a freshwater setup, and drop them into marine, but I'm not sure that is such a great idea. Mine seem to get stressed out enough as it is without having to deal with a transition like that.

Do you know of an affordable source for the 'cleanup crew'? I know I've seen hermit crabs and critters of that nature for dirt cheap, but they seem to be a bit more $$$ at the marine retailers around here.

I should ask if you have done any thinking about how big these fish get. Your initial note showed that you have done some research, but it never hurts to be sure, right?

Caol_ila · Post by **Caol_ila** » 01 Mar 2006, 03:59

Maybe somebody with marine experience can confirm this but just thinking about this I would make a slow adjustment from sweet to brackish to marine within a week or longer. Not sure how these fish swim up and down inland rivers and through brackish habitats but imo you can do more harm with a quick change of chemistry than with a smooth adjustment over a week or two or three. Just tossing it into saline water will most probably stress the fish a great deal and maybe kill it.

sidguppy · Post by **sidguppy** » 01 Mar 2006, 11:41

I would play it safe; keep a group of Shark cats, feed them well, and very gradually increase the salinity as they grow (and they grow fast!).

OK it'll take months, but you're guaranted to success, it's harmless for your fish and all, and it takes nothing but patience

Something that's sorely missing in our hobby, way too often.

fishfarmer · Post by **fishfarmer** » 01 Mar 2006, 14:22

I don't disagree with the thought that it's easier on the fish to make a gradual transition. On the other hand I have seen sailfin mollies moved back and forth from fresh to salt water with just a couple of minutes adjustment time and they have done fine. But I do have another question about a slow transition. When you gradually change the salinity, there is also a transition for the bacteria culture (nitrogen cycle) to make. Are the bacteria that remove ammonia and nitrites in fresh water able to make the transition? If not the gradual transition approach could lead to a crash ( or a series of crashes) and ammonia/nitrite bloom(s) that could be a major problem.

Steve

sharky · Post by **sharky** » 03 Mar 2006, 10:31

all these taken into account comments taken in i can assure you thanks for the replies by the way! i have good patience as i keep marine now and no that patience in this hobby is a big virtue!! i have read up lots about these fish aswell, as again keeping reef aquariums has tought me that this is vital! crashing the tank yeh, i thought about this thats why i asked if i could transfer them to my tank at a brackish stage and over a period of a fortnight maybe if there feeding ok, raise the salinity! what do you think?

grateful for all help!

sharky · Post by **sharky** » 05 Mar 2006, 15:21

can you convert a salt water tank to brackish? without changing media in filters, and still using protein skimmers etc, after all it does still contain salt in the water right? or will it just destroy all the bacteria and start all over again, going through a cycle? does anybody out there know about this?

Chrysichthys · Post by **Chrysichthys** » 06 Mar 2006, 13:44

The main effect on bacteria would be osmotic; an influx or efflux of water depending on which way you are going. I think they would adapt pretty quickly, though.