Iridescent shark tank mates

Iridescent shark: peaceful, 51.2 in, fine on its own, swims in the middle of the tank and needs about 4532 gallons. It eats fish that fit in its mouth. The list below checks every species in our catalog against it.

Each species is checked against iridescent sharks both ways: mouth size, fin nipping, temperament, territory, water overlap and keeper reports.

Good tank mates

Assassin snail
Anentome helena
Fits
A yellow-and-brown striped predatory snail kept to control bladder, ramshorn and trumpet snails; it breeds slowly and never becomes a pest.
1 in · 3+ gal · 70–81°F · pH 7.2–8
Bladder snail
Physella acuta
Fits
A small left-coiled snail that usually hitchhikes in on plants; a self-fertilising hermaphrodite, so a single one starts a colony.
0.6 in · 1+ gal · 63–84°F · pH 7–8
Malaysian trumpet snail
Melanoides tuberculata
Fits
A cone-shelled snail that lives in the substrate and stirs it; it breeds without a mate and gives birth to live young, so it fills a tank fast.
1 in · 2+ gal · 64–77°F · pH 7–8.5
Mystery snail
Pomacea diffusa
Fits
The most popular large aquarium snail; it leaves healthy plants alone and lays its eggs above the waterline, so numbers are easy to control.
2.2 in · 7+ gal · 68–82°F · pH 7–8
Ramshorn snail
Planorbarius corneus
Fits
The classic flat-coiled snail every fishkeeper knows; it cleans up film and leftovers, breeds easily, and the red form is especially popular.
1.4 in · 4+ gal · 70–81°F · pH 7–8
Red swamp crayfish
Procambarus clarkii
Fits
A hardy but aggressive American crayfish that digs burrows, wrecks plants and eats snails and fish; invasive in many countries and banned in the EU.
3.9 in · 25+ gal · 68–79°F · pH 7–8.5
Redclaw crayfish
Cherax quadricarinatus
Fits
A large blue-green crayfish with red patches on the claws, up to 8 inches; a predator and plant shredder best kept alone under a tight lid.
7.9 in · 47+ gal · 64–82°F · pH 7.2–8.2
Colombian ramshorn
Marisa cornuarietis
Fits
A large striped ramshorn from South America that grows to about 2 inches and eats almost every plant, plus other snails' eggs.
1.8 in · 13+ gal · 70–81°F · pH 7–8
Rabbit snail
Tylomelania spp.
Fits
A large, colourful snail with a rabbit-like face from the lakes of Sulawesi; it needs warm, alkaline water and plenty of detritus.
2.8 in · 13+ gal · 79–82°F · pH 7.5–8.5

Risky

Great pond snail
Lymnaea stagnalis
With care
Great pond snail needs cool water; iridescent sharks need tropical heat.
2 in · 7+ gal · 50–77°F · pH 7–8.5

Avoid

And 127 more in the species catalog.

Every tank is different. Set yours up once (size, water, who already lives there) and each species is checked against it.

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