I got three new fish for the tank. I was concerned that the Jack Dempsey would kill any fish I put in there since he has been alone for so long. I wanted something colorful and lively and considered Tiger Barbs but they are too small at the size the pet shop has. A group of large adults would be nice though. I like Silver Dollars but they are too skittish and I was afraid the Jack would chase them down. I ended up getting these Iridescent Sharks, which turned out to be a bit of a mistake, although not for the reason I was concerned. I was not too familiar with them and did not know the eventual size of the fish. The card on the tank in the pet shop said 8 inches. The clerk said about a foot. That would have been fine.

I got them set up in the tank and they are getting along swimmingly with the Jack. He was mildly curious but he leaves them alone. Good. Now I went on the internet to look up these sharks and guess what? The pet shop was dead wrong about the size. They get huge, up to 52 inches long! Why do they sell these in pet shops and not tell you how big they really get? Realistically, hardly anyone would have the room to keep a fish this large and probably less would actually want to, there are more interesting large fish out there.

So now I have three of these sharks (not really sharks, they just call them that) and we'll have to see what happens.That's what I get for trusting the pet shop and not doing my own research. Too impatient I guess. James likes them and they are active, just like I wanted. Could be a bit more colorful though. I should have tried to find Clown Loaches now that I've done some more reading up. I haven't seen them around, though.

The moral, I guess, is - Don't buy Iridescent Sharks!

If you have to leave the pet shop empty handed and come back another day to make sure you get the right fish, do it.