LA
Usually black sharks bleach out over white gravel. They do like caves.
Origins.
Most
black sharks come out of Thailand.
No one breeds them in our neck of the woods.
They consider them a food fish in Southeast Asia
– not a particularly a
good aquarium fish.
LA
Foot-long black shark. Note the barbles. Note the nicked
scales and tears in top fin.
LA
Cichlids, in this case American,
like to hit on black sharks.
Colors.
When kept over natural or dark gravel, these guys turn jet black.
They tend to bleach out over light colored gravels.
When you see the two-inch, jet black youngsters, you can’t help but
want them. When fed poorly, they
look a washed out grey – very non-commercial.
LA
Two-inch albino.
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Same little dude.
LA
Not so tough when small.
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Mouth on a "white" black shark.
The
Opposite Color. You can now find albino black sharks. Even if
you don’t want one, the concept of an albino black color is intriguing.
Water
Conditions.
Black sharks appear to adapt to most water conditions – as long as you
keep them in clean water. If you
notice your black turning grey (or even gold), he probably needs a water change.
Diet.
You feed it; black sharks will eat it.
They are not picky. They do
love brine shrimp and other treats and they respond very favorably to color
foods. Color foods bring out their
full jet black color. Vegetation and
vegetable foods also help them maintain their black color.
Sexes.
Female black sharks grow plumper than the males.
Sex makes little difference. You
won’t breed them unless you take them home to Thailand. Thailand
appears to be the place to go to breed.
LA
Small black sharks about 1.5 inches. They're jet black most of the
time. They like caves.
LA
Four-inch black shark mixed with two-inch red devils -- not a good mix.
Size.
You see black sharks in our sales tanks at about two inches, sometimes four
inches – very cute. However, they
keep growing – even in moderate sized aquaria – and growing.
Black sharks grow to 24 inches in 100-gallon + tanks. Their
size makes them a destructive force in any aquarium – just like koi, which
they closely resemble in the face and in body shape and in housing requirements.
They’ll knock your filter stems loose, rearrange your plastic plants,
and crack your heater tubes. Arrange
their tank accordingly. And avoid
adding rocks or ornaments with sharp edges.
They get up enough speed to severely injure themselves.
Juvenile
Temperament.
At the two-inch size, black sharks like to play peek-a-boo.
They’ll hide behind any wood or rocks – even standing straight up
behind your filter tubes. They
outgrow this shyness as they increase in size.
The bigger they grow, the more they stay out front and in your face.
Keep
Covered. Disease
claims very few black sharks. Usually
a quick 50% water change will cure most of their problems.
Most die of desiccation. They
jump out of your tank if given half a chance and dry out fast.
Keep a strong cover on them with a weight on top.
A flimsy glass cover won’t stop an adult black shark from bailing.
LA
Black sharks do not mix well with big African cichlids. Note the orange
spots and the barbles.
LA
Although this one does fine with African cichlids.
Tank
Mates.
Large black sharks hate each other. You
can’t keep two of these territorial juggernauts together.
You can mix them safely with most other large fishes – as long as you
give everyone plenty of room.
Very
Territorial.
We get our large black sharks as trade-ins.
Many people tire of them as they increase in girth.
In tanks too small for them, they will bully and even kill their tank
mates. They need lots of room.
Black sharks need a 55-gallon tank within two years.
After that, they need a BIG tank.
Plants.
If you want to plant your black shark tank, use plastic plants.
They devour live plants – just like koi.
If you want to feed them live plants, anacharis works fine.
The price is right.
Feeder
Fish?
You’d think big lunkers like adult black sharks would love feeder
goldfish. Not so.
For their size, they have a very small mouth.
They share their quarters happily with feeder goldfish one-tenth their
size.
LA
Torn fins, missing scales, good color. The plants help this black shark
color up.
LA
Two weeks later (in with some 2-inch pearlmutts) and our black shark's pretty well healed.
LA
Another two weeks and we have a black shark with no missing parts.
LA
Quite a bit of similarity with this four-inch variegated shark.
LA
Here's another variegated shark to compare.
LA
This 12-inch black shark lives in a 90 with several African cichlids
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14-inch black shark living with a plecostomus but over light-colored
gravel.
LA
Another big black shark.
Koi-Like
Qualities.
Notice those little koi-like barbells on their mouths.
Black sharks share many other similarities with koi.
They grow nearly as large. Eat
the same things. Jump like maniacs.
Bump into things. And have
even been kept in cool water aquaria with koi. LA
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© 2007
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