My red tail black shark

[Zenn]

Ok, from my experience with RTB sharks, this one is acting strangely, and i am fearing he is ill somehow, his two front barbs are folded back to his mouth and he seems to lay do alot in his cave, wedging himself in a small gap at the back of the cave that acts as a quick escape route for him, but the other RTB sharks i kept always kept their barbs out and i never saw them laying on the bottom, well in the mornings i did, but all my fish do it, they get up and get active when i do

Is he ill, or is this normal for those more experienced at keeping them than me

Some extra info ou might want to know;

He is only a baby you can see it from his size and complexion, he is only about a inch long, and i bought him last thursday, he is eating well and building his belly, his colouring is fine proving he is healthy, the only thing i can put my finger on is him not adopting to my enviroment yet, bu it is worring, normally it only take one or two days for a RTB shark to settle into my tanks, is it taking longer prehaps because he is really young?

 

[Shelzbells]

Are you keeping other red tails in the same tank with him? Redtails are very territorial, and if more then one are kept in the same tank - One of them will dominate over the other. The submissive one will hide and his colors will lighten/fade, in order to show his submissiveness. You should only keep ONE of these per tank. He will be much happier.

 

[Zenn]

I know about how aggressive Red Tail Black Sharks are towards their own spieces as well as other sharks, thats why i do only have one...

His condition is getting worse, he is hovering near the surface now, i cant see whats wrong, all the other fish are fine whats wrong with him???

 

[Zenn]

NOOOOOOOOOOO! WHAT HAPPENED, WHY, FOR HEAVENS SAKE WHY?!?!?



If you havent guessed, he died, sometime between 11:30 and 2:30 while i was at college...

He is under the seven day garantee, so i will go replace him later, but still



The very first RTB shark to die on me, and for unknown causes, i have examined the body and there are absolutely no signs of illness, he is in perfect shape, has good colouring, perfect and intacts fins, eyes are normal, or were, they are now going white, i really dont get what went wrong, my other fish are perfectly fine, maybe he was too young, younger than i thought, i should go with a older look one this time, if they have any in good condition (i am hoping)

I am sorry my RTB shark, i would never of let this happen if i knew what went wrong

 

[Ferris]

Sorry to hear that zenn. . I'm a big fan of RTBS too, they are great fish. No obvious symptoms there, which is strange as their colouring normally fades very early on if they are ill. Put it down to experience and get your self another one to cheer you up.

 

[abstract]

water parameters are...?

sorry for your loss

 

[WILDER]

Sorry for your loss, what is the size of the tank, can you please list all the fish you keep in the tank, also what are your water stats in ammonia,nitrite,nitrate,and ph.

 

[Zenn]

I swear i posted yesterday here

Well the water perameters are fine, or as Rob put it perfect (Rob owns Chilten aquatics, i got him to test my water for me since i never done it before)

Plus my tank is 36" x 18" x 12" which is suitable for a Red Tail Black shark...

I know what i am doing from experience of tropical fish keeping for three years now, my other fish are all fine as well, there was no clear reason as to why he suddenly died, it just one of those unexplained deaths...

But i got him replaced with another RTB shark, which is even younger and smaller, but he is doing fine so far, and to be honest he looks like he enjoys it in my tank and i have named him Chip

But i will never forget Timmy (The RTB shark that died) because he was the very first fish you could watch on clockwork 8am, he is up with me and scouting the tank, 8pm in his cave resting from the days work and getting ready for tomorrow...

Lets hope this one will survive, because Timmy was the VERY FIRST RTB shark to die on me and he is going to be the last as well!