Paroon Shark partner in a tank

[BamBeckham]

I love to introduce Paroon shark & golden belly barb or golden tinfoil barb into my tank with Senegal Bichir inside.

Is it fine? The LFS here said it is gonna be ok. I just want to make sure first before buy it from you all guys.

Info: Tank 122cm X 46cm X 46xm (Fully cycled)
Albino Senegal Bichir 17cm

Thanks
Bam

[Viktor Jarikov]

Welcome to the Planet! If the bichir will fit in the Paroon's mouth, it will get eaten sooner or later. Paroons are quite predatory, in strong distinction to their cousins iridescent sharks. Same for the barb.

[Richard B]

That tank would be ridiculously too small for a Paroon shark!!!

Generally we talk about minimum tank size having a footprint of 4 times the size of the adult fish by twice the size of the adult fish - for example a fish that gets to 6" needs a minimum tank 24x12.

There are some exceptions where smaller tanks can be utilised & then again there are some species where larger tanks than this guide is required - this is one of those!

As a paroon can get to almost 100" inches long - you'd need a 30+ foot long tank! These fish are not suitable for captivity really

[Viktor Jarikov]

Good point, Richard.

BamBeckham, we don't know your experience level and neither do we presume how deep your pockets are... but keeping a paroon is quite a tall order, requiring lots of efforts and money over 20-50 years.

Still, I understand you are in Malaysia and, thus, you could keep it in an outside pond rather easily, if your pond is big enough and deep enough, and not accessible to the predators of land and air that can kill your young paroon... Still, you will have problems with pond-mates - the paroon will eat all that he can.

If you make the Forbes list of 100 richest people in the world, then I say go for it! You can keep it in an indoor Olympic swimming pool/pond or a Public Aquarium size tank.

BTW, not all reach that ~100", ~8'. I have not seen a paroon much bigger than 4'-5' in captivity... but this is the chicken and the egg argument because the reason that they stay "small" is likely the insufficiency of space even in the best and biggest man-made accommodations.

[BamBeckham]

Hi Guys, Thanks for your replied.

I'm new on this hobby. I just setup my 68Gal tank a month ago which is Albino Senegal Bichir my first fish. I already finished cycling my tank & now I'm planning to add some friends for my bichir.

Actually my bichir is females.(I did some research of it). At first I want to find another male bichir to couple them. Once I went to LFS, I saw this Paroon Shark (7-8 inch). I start loving this fish. 1 reason is because it looks like shark & looks predator & dangerous even though his nature not 100% like jaws. Thats why I ask here first before buy it. Unfortunately my tank not suitable for that fish. . Maybe in the future I try to make a bigger tank to keep that Paroon

How about Mahseer/Hampala Barb? Or any Catfish which is suitable partner for my bichir & can fit to my tank?

Bam

[Viktor Jarikov]

Totally agreed. Many fish that grow huge are quite attractive. But one is wise to know their limits and do research before buying like you are doing.

Mahseer is a common name for a bunch of fish from one family but across more than one genus. They are known to grow huge too, 3'-6'. Most, if not all, are on the endangered list of various levels - they have been most heavily overfished, sadly. So, if you find one, make sure it is farm raised, not wild-caught. The only one I came across for sale in the USA is the red mahseer. This guy grows to 100-150 cm according to FishBase and Fishing World Records.

Hampala Barb is not far behind: FishBase Max length 70 cm SL; common length 35 cm SL. FWR 66-100+ cm; 6.5-15 kg.

68 gal is likely suitable for a catfish that does not grow beyond 6"-8". IDK what's commonly for sale in that size range in Malaysia. If it was here and because you have to climb a steep learning curve ahead of you, I'd suggest a group of Pimelodus pictus or blochii. They are hardy, quirky, and look amazing in a large group, especially pictus.

[BamBeckham]

Actually, here familiar with the red mahseer.. We locally call it "kelah/empurau/pelian". Different state was different name but still the same fish Mahseer. Some peoples here do the business for the mahseer. They keeping the fish in multiple big pot & sell them either for fish keeper or restaurant. They truly making money because 1 live big mahseer can cost u RM500/kg, around $170/kg.. Even for 4-5 inch mahseer cost u around RM50/fish, around $17..

But I'm not intend to do business, I just like that fish for my hobby only.

[Viktor Jarikov]

I see. So very sad. I fear much that this is the major reason or one of them that these poor fish have been overfished and are on the brink on the extinction and, as it stands, have no chance of survival. No large adults of most mahseer species have been caught in a long while. Forget about 5'-6' lunkers. Even if they are farmed, the wild ones will still be poached to extinction as long as someone pays good money for them. Kind of like rhinos and elephants and tigers etc. except without so much international attention, hype, and awareness and well-funded measures to save them.

And all of this because the poor guys taste good, AFAIU...