Pond Boss Forums STOCKING A NEW POND Types of fish to choose Chinese Hi Fin Banded Shark

Does anyone know anything about their cold tolerance (what climate hardiness zone could they tolerate up to)? Could they survive outdoors in a pond type setup in the Northern USA or Southern Canada?

This piqued my interest so I did some reading. Yes, looks like these fish are considered a coldwater fish, being native to rivers in China. They get huge in the wild, over 3 feet in length. One of their favorite foods is filamentous algae, which I can assume is one of the reasons for this inquiry. I'm interested to hear more. I wonder if, since they prefer cold, moving, well oxygenated water, if their spawning would be indicative of that, much like trout. Having a fish incapable of spawning in a pond might be a huge factor in potentially using this species as a weapon against FA. I'm very interested in hearing more.

Also read they are illegal in the UK, so I wonder what invasive tendencies they may have.

They're probably tolerant to zone 6 maybe further north than that. They definitely won't spawn in ponds. They are becoming popular with koi/goldfish pond owners because the young look very unique and they do seem to eat algae. They're only wild caught from their native China where they are endangered.

I seem to remember reading on this site or elsewhere on the internet a few years ago that someone kept one outside in a pond in Idaho for a while and also someone else kept one in a pond which froze over in winter (didn't say where) and they survived. Not sure how true it is though.

Get one from the fish store and find out.

They do seem to be pricey though as juveniles