Origin: The parents of this Columbian Shark originally lived in the Pacific Ocean along the west coast of North and South America.

The adults swim far up into rapidly flowing rivers in South America to spawn.

Many of the young are caught, as they swim back down stream to the ocean and end up in aquariums throughout most of the world.

Maximum Size: In aquariums they can grow to be about 12" long, which is too big for most home aquariums.

So if you get one and take very good care of it with excellent water and premium foods, it will almost surely outgrow your aquarium, and you will have a very difficult time finding a big enough home for it.

Behaviors: This is a very active swimmer that doesn't seem too aggressive, but their mouths keep growing, and eventually they'll be big enough to eat most of the fish in most aquariums.

Compatibility: Some recommended tank mates include, Cichlids even the more aggressive ones, plus Plecostomus Catfish, Clown Loaches, Large Barbs, and many other medium and large size aquarium fish.

Click here to read more about compatible groups of pet fish.

Temperature: Columbian Sharks can live pretty well from about 70 to 80-degrees F., but they're probably most comfortable at about 75 to 78-degrees F.

Click here to learn about aquarium temperature, aquarium thermometers, and aquarium heaters.

Feeding: Premium Fish Food Flakes when small and Premium Pellet Food when larger.

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Water Conditions: Columbian Sharks seem to be tolerant of a wide range of water conditions.

Probably a pH of about 7.8 with moderate hardness is best, when they are young.

Most water in the US seems to be OK, so it's probably best NOT to adjust the pH or the hardness of the water.

As they get older they need proportionately more marine salts in their water.

Eventually they need to live in marine water like the water in the Pacific Ocean, where their parents lived as adults.

Here in our facilities the water is hard and the pH is usually about 7.8. We ship them in this water.

Click here for a lot more information about aquarium water conditions.

Aquarium Size: When young and less than 3" long, it's probably best to house one in at least a 30-gallon tank, but bigger is better.

They'll soon need 50 to 60-gallon aquarium. Then an aquarium with 100, 150, 200, 250-gallons, and maybe bigger.

Decor: Columbian Shark do not need gravel, and a layer of gravel more than 1/4" thick will usually fill with bits of uneaten food that will contaminate the water.

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Live Plants are beautiful and improve the water quality, but Columbian Sharks need more marine salts in their water, as thy grow older, and those salts will soon kill the freshwater plants.

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Aquarium Filter: Bio-Wheel Filters are highly recommended.

A Penguin 350B Filter in an aquarium with 30-gallons of water is OK, when they're small, and a Penguin 350B Filter is also the right size for a 30 to 60-gallon aquarium.

When Columbian Sharks grow to be 6" long they'll need to live in an aquarium with at least 75-gallons of water and have a couple of Penguin 350B Filters along the back edge of that aquarium.

The bigger aquariums will need proportionately more Penguin Filters.

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The addition of Lava Rocks will keep nitrates in the ideal range.

Click here to learn more about using Lava Rocks in aquariums.

Life Span: Columbian Sharks live for many years and possibly 20-years or more with excellent water and premium food.

Gender: It's not easy to tell the males from the females, when they're young and sometimes, even as they mature.

As females mature they often fill with eggs and become plumper, which may be a clue to their gender.

Breeding: This fish spawns in the ocean. The males pick up the eggs in their mouths, and swim upstream in rivers in South America, where they release the fry.

As the fry swim back downstream, some are caught and shipped throughout the world for aquariums.

Popularity: In spite of the comments above about their eventual size, Columbian Sharks have been popular for many years.

We like to tell our customers, what we know about each type of fish, then let each customer decide which fish to buy as pets.

Names: The scientific name of the Columbian Catfish is Ariopsis seemanni.

This fish has several other common names like the White Tip Shark Catfish, Black Fin Shark, and many other names.

Variations: There are no variations that we know of now.

Click here for a lot more information about keeping and caring for Columbian Sharks, including a picture gallery.

We hope you've enjoyed reading these comments.