Labeo Erythrurus........i Think ?

[Skint]

Hi again everyone,

Well as the newbie, I will live up to my description and post some basic questions over the next few days...hopefully some of you will be patient enough to help me

I have bought a fish which I think is LABEO ERYTHRURUS, a 2" long albino shark with red fins and tail.

It seems to be quite happy and healthy and also looks to be vacumming the bottom of the tank which is nice, but my question is.... are these fish known to be bully`s. Mine seems to take great pleasure in chasing around other fish, even the tiger barbs which I thought were quite tough

I have a few lava rocks and a plant in the tank so it should have enough places to hide etc...

any info on this little fella would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[kat and james]

we have a rtbs, which is basically the same as your albino shark (just a different colour)! they can be very territorial, especially when they get a little older. how big is your tank, and what are the other tank mates?

 

[Skint]

Hi Kat and James,

My tank is approx 16.5 Gallons (UK). Not too sure on the fish, not many in there at the moment. I will give you brief descriptions hehe, and try to add some images soon.

There is a Silver Shark (black tips on fins and tail ), I bought this 6 weeks ago and it has trebled in size to now 3.5".

4 Tiger Barbs
4 silvery fish with very Red Faces hehe, like they are embarrased.
1 siamese fighter

2 Plecs

And there is also One other Catfish ?... but looks more like a dead leaf with whiskers, dont do much but looks awesome.

I will get my digi camera on Thursday and try to add an image

The albino is not causing any other fish any trouble i dont think, but I am not sure wether this bullying stresses the fish ?

 

[kat and james]

heya
well it sounds like you have a bala shark (which by the way will outgrow your tank.. as it grows to 16inches, it is also better to have balas in small groups maybe 3-4).

i've read somewhere that tiger barbs should be kept in groups of 6 (as they tend to be a little aggressive, this will keep any aggression within thier own group, and they should leave other fish alone, although these guys could present a problem for your betta, as they're fin nippers)

the silvery fish with red faces could be rummy nose tetras.. but i'm not too sure, do they have black and white on thier tails? if they are rummy nose, then the fact taht they still have bright red noses is a good sign, as this means they are happy (it fades to pink when the water is bad, they feel threatened.. or anything like that)

i am not too sure on siamese fighters, and how they will react to the bala shark or the albino.. you may need to wait for someone a little more knowledgeable about these guys.

what sort of plecs are these, as they can grow very large! like over a foot long!

the catfish sounds like a banjo catfish maybe, from what i can gather they are good community fish, if indeed you have a banjo!!!

well hope that helped.. finally yes the bullying will stress out the other fish!

phew..

 

[Skint]

Wow thanks,

I had better check my shark out, he does seem to be growing rather quickly. It is no trouble to the other fish though, infact its very calm. 16" is rather large I guess Ahh, just had a quick search on internet for Bala Shark and yes he certainly is the fella. Hmmm...what to do

Your correct with the rummy nose tetras also ( internet is ace int it ) Well when I bought these they were very pale with hardly any redness at all, so I am happy because they are glowing red now

OMG Kat, your good at this. Yes its a Banjo Catfish, reading up it seems they are very friendly and should be ok with anything. I was worried what he feeds on (as i never see him move let alone eat anything ) ) but he is doing fine.

I will let you know on the plecs, thing they are the cheapest of the kind lol.. £2.50 each. There cool though !! I prefer the plecs, catfish etc... I like more unusual looking fish. The siamese is also doing ok, seems happy. He has only been in there a few days.

Thankyou very much for your help. I can add some names to my Fishy Profile now

See ya in a bit

 

[kat and james]

i wouldn't worry about the banjo not appearing to eat too much, we have a pictus catfish, who i thought wasn't eating (he spends all his time hiding.. seems to have buddied up with one of our plecs), anyways it turns out he is getting really big now (well about 1inch bigger than when we bought him.. so still pretty small.. ) anyway i figured it out, he hides in a slate cave, which is open at the back (more of a tunnel then), he must be eating the food which falls down the back of his cave!!
just keep an eye on him, to make sure is growing..
glad i could help!