Columbian Shark?
- Thread starter nickfish
- Start date
moraym
Active Member
I believe you're referring to Arius jordani which I've referred to as Cat Sharks (specifically West American Cat Shark). Contrary to their name, they are actually a peaceful, not aggressive fish. They are often sold as freshwater or brackish fish, but I have acclimated several to full marine for the LFS's new display. They needed a host tank for a year to get the cat sharks big enough to hold their own, and so I volunteered since I already had a large brackish tank, and I could use the discounts they were offering.
I then decided to keep a couple in my brackish tank as well, and after five years, they reached over a foot in length, closer to 14" or so. So contrary to DFS's website and catalog, I'd recommend a tank over their suggestion of 70g (they list 10" as max size, and mine is much larger than that). I'd say keeping a pair of them in your 180 is doable.
They have an omnivorous diet, and may eat smaller tankmates (if it fits in their mouth, they cant take a bite of anything). They acted as vacuum in my tank, sucking up any bit of flake, pellet, or food that hit the ground. They loved brine shrimp and blackworms as well, gave them something live to go after.
If you get a pair to breed, the male will actually keep the females eggs in his mouth. However this would prove too difficult in a predator tank as it takes careful changing of salinity levels, and most of the fish you listed wouldn't like being in freshwater for a couple weeks.
Regarding the main question you asked: I would hesitate to keep them in a SW predator tank. They are more closely associated with catfish than sharks, in regards to their demeanor and such. They are a peaceful fish, and their whiskers and fins are prone to predators. Especially in a tank with triggers. My large moray never bothered the cat sharks too much, although they did end up with bite marks once or twice a year if they were after the same food. Just remember that cat sharks (or colombian sharks) are a peaceful fish, good for a community tank, and won't defend themselves if they are picked on. Unless you can find a couple foot-long adult specimens, they'll likely have trouble in the predator tank you described.
I then decided to keep a couple in my brackish tank as well, and after five years, they reached over a foot in length, closer to 14" or so. So contrary to DFS's website and catalog, I'd recommend a tank over their suggestion of 70g (they list 10" as max size, and mine is much larger than that). I'd say keeping a pair of them in your 180 is doable.They have an omnivorous diet, and may eat smaller tankmates (if it fits in their mouth, they cant take a bite of anything). They acted as vacuum in my tank, sucking up any bit of flake, pellet, or food that hit the ground. They loved brine shrimp and blackworms as well, gave them something live to go after.
If you get a pair to breed, the male will actually keep the females eggs in his mouth. However this would prove too difficult in a predator tank as it takes careful changing of salinity levels, and most of the fish you listed wouldn't like being in freshwater for a couple weeks
.Regarding the main question you asked: I would hesitate to keep them in a SW predator tank. They are more closely associated with catfish than sharks, in regards to their demeanor and such. They are a peaceful fish, and their whiskers and fins are prone to predators. Especially in a tank with triggers. My large moray never bothered the cat sharks too much, although they did end up with bite marks once or twice a year if they were after the same food. Just remember that cat sharks (or colombian sharks) are a peaceful fish, good for a community tank, and won't defend themselves if they are picked on. Unless you can find a couple foot-long adult specimens, they'll likely have trouble in the predator tank you described.