PlanetCatfish.com

Hi Everyone! Im new here. I just bought an 18" columbian shark. Unfortunately, it fell from the net to the styro container when the people caught it from the pond. Now there are lots of bruises around it's mouth and i put lots of kitchen salt into his new 120 gallons home. What else should i put inorder to make the wounds heal faster?

I also bought small live fishes and pellets to feed him, but havent seen him eating since i bought it. is this advisable?

Hopefully it is an established tank and he won,t have to go thru all that.Was the salt non iodized type as the iodize they add to can be bad for them.Basis questions but just checking. Otherwise he should be fine.Let him get hungry,dont try to overfeed to quickly.It may take a few days for him to settle in.

Thanks for the reply We call it rock salt here, its not the iodized one. The tank set up (including the water) was done a week before i bought the shark, is that established enough already?

I have many small fishes inside the tank for the shark to eat, if i wont feed them then they will die. If i will feed them, then the shark might also eat their foods. Do I need to get rid of the small fishes first so that the shark will starve?

by the way, some of his bruises are turning yellowish and white (from red). Are these fungus or just a sign of healing procedures? Will it leave scars to his face?

One week is cutting it close on the tank.Might be a good idea to get some test kits to ck the water for amonia and nitrates.25 percent water changes will help also. As far as the looks of fish now its hard to say but sounds like nomal healing and yes it,ll probably leave scars. I,m not expert by the way just saying what I,d be doing

Ok thanks. Whats the name of the test kit that im suppose to buy, is it amonia and nitrates test kit? are there any medicines that can help prevent or minimize scars?

That is correct on the test kits.They will be labeled. As far as the scars no worries.It,ll give you a story to tell about your pet.Good luck

Ok thanks. Whats the name of the test kit that im suppose to buy

makes me happy, when advice is taken etc.
When I worked in a LFS some years ago, I used to tell people that if they looked on things as if they where keeping water and fish was a bonus they were 50% there, so to say. One guy once said "there is nothing wrong with my water its crystal clear". I informed him that Vodka was crystal clear but would he expect his fish to live in it?

Ok thanks guys. I sure got lots of infos from this forum

by the way, are there other infos that you guys want to share regarding columbian sharks? I dont ask lots of questions, since i only have the basic ideas yet. hehehe

Try the cat-elog entry for . There's a link there for Catfish of the Month article too.

--
Mats

there are quite a few recent postings in this forum on shark cats that may interest you.
heres one example.
http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... hp?t=12192

ok mats. thanks a lot

Hello Mr. Suave,

Check out the sites below for fishless cycling. So far I haven't had any problems with the dozen or so set ups that I have done using this method in the Philippines. And, I don't have to waste fish.

http://www.tropicalfishcentre.co.uk/Fishlesscycle.htm

http://www.algone.com/fishless_cycling.htm


Use test kits all the time. So far the most convenient that I've used that is easily available there is the 5-in-1 Test Kit by Tetra sold through Bio Research. It includes practically all the important test readings. A bit expensive but will do for all your fish needs.

Don't follow the usual crap that the LFSs there advise. They are usually either not fully informed of how to really care for fish (they are practically just there to sell) or they don't tell you what to really do because they would want your fish dead so that you can buy another (preferably from them).

Tip: Check out the magazine Animal Scene and try to find one of the writers named Angel Ampil. He has an e-mail address there I'm sure. You can probably try to get some advise from him. He has been doing fish for close to 32 years.

By the way, There are a number of Filipino catfish fanatics out here in this site. Hehehe. See you at the forums.

Regards,
Mike D.

hahaha! ok mike thanks