Just Got A Red Tail Shark :)

[adam12345]

so ive always wanted a red tail shark and today i got one i couldnt resist now problem is in my tank i have fully grown neon tertas and a baby bristlenose plec. im guessing the plec will be okay. but what about my tetras? so far the red tail has been in the tank for about 2 hours and hes been swiming with the tetras and had no problems. but im guessing when the shark gets bigger there will be a problem? at the moment hes only a baby hes just a little bit bigger then my fully grown neons. will there 100% be a problem? if so when the time comes im thinking of getting rid of my neons and getting tiger barbs everyone has told me these work really well in a tank with a shark. in my other tank i have zebra danios will they be okay with my shark and if i get tiger barbs?

cheers

 

[Jenste]

whoa, what size tank do you have? red tailed sharks need a very large swimming area!!! they also become quite territorial and aggressive as they mature and will stake out a massive chunk of the tank for their territory...

so before you get rid of your neons to add more aggressive tankmates (tiger barbs are aggressive! they need to be kept in a huge group otherwise they bully each other so much that they start dying off!)



you really need to research and plan before getting a new fish! its not fair to your old fish and new fish to just buy with out lots of planning... you just put a predator into a tank with little fish....not a good choice!

 

[nurglespuss]

Reasonably accurate, but a Red Tail Black shark isn't 'predatory' in a Pisciverous sense, they are generally omniverous (favouring benthic invertebrates and plant matter).

However, in general, yes they do turn into quite a chunky, active fish that need a large swimming area. They can range from shy to boistrous to beligerant, and will tend to targe fish in the same 'zone' of the tank (e.g. your bristle nose), or anything else in such a confined environment. They tend to bully/stress fish to death rather than outright kill them, and in doing so (continually defending their territory) get stressed themselves.

It can be decieving in petshops, where they are often small and, are often housed in a 'shoal' together, where a combination of jouvenile status and inability to stake any kind of territory, result in little infighting.

Anyway, I think the advice you have been given is good, return the shark, and go for something a little more peaceful.

 

[adam12345]

yeah i understood that they grew up to 15 cm. which i think my tank could handle. i did also think if it gets to big i will give it to my friend who has a bigger tank. im goign to put my neons into my other tank so that should ne fine. wanted to know if my zebra danios would be okay witht he shark and the tiger barbs really.

 

[nurglespuss]

Tiger barbs are a risk, as they are aggressive, boisterous, and 'nippy' they are likely to annoy the shark, or even bully him, plus tigers get to a chunkier size than most people think, and form their own large shoaling territory.

The danios should be fine, as the two fish (the shark and the danios) occupy very different levels of the tank.

Again though, can't really offer 'good' advice without knowing how large the tank is? I'm not going to criticise and say 'OMG! you need to get the shark out of the tank immediatly or the world will end' - but if the tanks is (say, a 3 foot tank) he's going to select a cave or hideaway thats 'his' which no one is allowed near, and will have a regular patrol area, usually networked between plants, neiches and caves, where he will chase other fish out of (and if those fish keep getting in his way, or accidentally bolt for his 'cave' then all hell breaks loose).

 

[walkers101]

Care Level : Easy, good for freshwater beginners

Size : Up to 6 inches (15 cm)

pH : 6.5 - 7.5

Temperature : 73°F - 79°F (23°C - 26°C)

Water Hardness : 10° to 16° dH,

Lifespan : 5 - 8 years

Origin / Habitat : Thailand

Temperament / Behavior : These fish can be hostile and are not recommended for community fish tanks with smaller tropical fish. They seem to behave when kept with larger fish.

Breeding / Mating / Reproduction : Very difficult to breed in the home fish tank.

Tank Size : 10 gallon or larger.

Compatible Tank Mates : Larger tropical fish given their aggressive nature but none large enough to eat them. It is not recommended to keep them with the Rainbow Shark unless your tank is sufficiently larger.

taken from another site

 

[adam12345]

Tiger barbs are a risk, as they are aggressive, boisterous, and 'nippy' they are likely to annoy the shark, or even bully him, plus tigers get to a chunkier size than most people think, and form their own large shoaling territory.

The danios should be fine, as the two fish (the shark and the danios) occupy very different levels of the tank.

Again though, can't really offer 'good' advice without knowing how large the tank is? I'm not going to criticise and say 'OMG! you need to get the shark out of the tank immediatly or the world will end' - but if the tanks is (say, a 3 foot tank) he's going to select a cave or hideaway thats 'his' which no one is allowed near, and will have a regular patrol area, usually networked between plants, neiches and caves, where he will chase other fish out of (and if those fish keep getting in his way, or accidentally bolt for his 'cave' then all hell breaks loose).

my tank is 95 lites 20 or 25 gals something like that. okay i think i will leave the tiger barbs then and just keep my danios red tail shark and my plec u say about hideaways i have a large peice of bogwood in my tank as my centre peice and my plec is normally around that area and now my shark is doing the same there has been no agression so far but when he gets bigger could there be a problem? if so might look into making a cave

 

[Jonno]

95 litres is far to small, you'll need to get a bigger tank or his growth will be stunted and he'll die.

 

[nurglespuss]

Yeppers definately need more than one hideaway a couple more pieces of bogwood, and 'fringes / lines' of plants ofetn help break up visual territory.

Origin / Habitat : Thailand

This should be updated to note that it is no longer found in its natural habitat/in the wild, and now only exists in the aquarium trade/with aquarists/breeders etc.

 

[arobinson1984]

Care Level : Easy, good for freshwater beginners

Size : Up to 6 inches (15 cm)

pH : 6.5 - 7.5

Temperature : 73°F - 79°F (23°C - 26°C)

Water Hardness : 10° to 16° dH,

Lifespan : 5 - 8 years

Origin / Habitat : Thailand

Temperament / Behavior : These fish can be hostile and are not recommended for community fish tanks with smaller tropical fish. They seem to behave when kept with larger fish.

Breeding / Mating / Reproduction : Very difficult to breed in the home fish tank.

Tank Size : 10 gallon or larger. <--- This is completely wrong, a red tailed black shark requires minimum of 55 us gallons otherwise once it matures its agression will become out of control. A red tailed black shark claims large areas of a tank as its own territory and will begin to attack any other fish entering its 'territory' meaning you require a large tank to allow the other fish decent space after the rtbs has claimed its space. Things may seem fine at first because this aggression doesnt show itself until the fish hits maturity, trust me I have seen this plenty of times myself and if you search this forum you will find lots of threads where people have added these to tanks that are too small then come back months later asking for help when its started killing other fish.

Compatible Tank Mates : Larger tropical fish given their aggressive nature but none large enough to eat them. It is not recommended to keep them with the Rainbow Shark unless your tank is sufficiently larger.

taken from another site

Andy

 

[Assaye]

I've seen them hit 8 inches. Wouldn't keep on in a community unless it was with fish that wouldn't encroach on it's territory and wouldn't be likely to bully it. They really do need a lot of space and are not suitable for tanks under 3 foot full stop and would need to be kept alone or with very limited stocking in a typical 3 foot tank. A 4 foot + tank is a much better choice.

May be OK with danios but I would be exceptionally wary of putting with nippy fish like tiger barbs in such a small tank. I had a red-tailed black shark a few months ago that a friend gave me because she couldn't care for it. Although she was only 3 inches she was clearly miserable in my 2 foot tank, even though she had the whole thing to herself, and would have lived in my 3 foot tank on her own as an adult if she hadn't jumped out of the tank one day.

Shops are very good at convincing people that the juvenile fish they sell won't get too big, won't become aggressive and can be kept in any old tank with any old water and any old tankmates.

 

[fluvial]

Against all the advice that you read on this forum, I too got myself a Red tailed Shark.
I have a 180 litre, 3ft tank and for the first 2-3 weeks he was absolutely fine.
Then one day, when still quite small, he took a total dislike against my male Rosy Barb,
a very active fish in its own right, and hounded it unmercifully.
He would have killed it eventually if I hadn't removed the shark and returned it to the LFS.
And I knew that once he had finished off the Rosy Barb he would have turned on another fish in the
same way.
You do read of some people who manage to end up with placid ones, but their nature is aggressive,
and they are quite capable of destroying a community tank.

 

[Assaye]

Yep, as fluvial says, a lot of people get them against advice because they seem small/quiet/gentle/their friend has one/the pet shop recommends them/etc. And a lot of people come back days/weeks/months later and say they have a total terror on their hands.

 

[superman1]

i had one in a 4ft tank with fully grown barbs and for about a month or 2 the shark was the most peaceful fish in the tank untill it just turned aggressive on the tiger barbs. it never bothered any other fishes such as rainbows or neons but absolutely hated the tiger barbs. i personally wouldnt get one ever again. plenty other fishes more suited.

 

[Assaye]

Actually, we were talking about tiger barbs - I should have mentioned that the RTBS I got given by my friend had to be rehomed because even at 3 inches, she was savagely aggressive and killed an entire shoal of tiger barbs in one evening.