My Red Tailed Shark

[Jackman]

seems to do sod all but hide. and its annoying me as i find them an attractive fish.

any ideas?

 

[modaz]

how long have you had him

 

[mommyof2bettas]

Did you just get him?
Does he have a lot o places to hide (plants caves...)
How many fish do you have in the tank, and what kinds?

 

[bobross]

What size is this tank?
Are RTBS' behavior similiar to the Rainbow shark? ( I would assume so, since they look similiar) - I had a rainbow shark in my 55g for just about a year and the tank has lots of fake plants and several caves and she stayed in her two caves or patrolled her territory most of the time. mostly hung out on the bottom of tank and circled her area for about a month. then i noticed over time, it seemed she'd get 'curious' and start going all over my tank scouting for food - so hopefully, your rtbs' problem is temporary. If I remember right, aren't these 'sharks' supposed to be nocturnal?
I just got another rainbow shark (my first got attacked by a gourami and later died getting stuck on the intake tube on my filter ) and this little guy took about two weeks to get comfortable enough with the tank before he started exploring. I didn't even see him for the first week at all except for an occasional glimpse of his tail...I doubt I answered your question but hopefully your rtbs comes out of seclusion eventually...

 

[thegnu]

i would be very worried about your RTBS, especially if it is small. they eat algae using their underslung and rough mouths by rasping algae off anything in their tanks that has algae growing on it. they need to be eating all the while as algae isn't much of a meal in small helpings. he may be starving if you hardly see him. has your tank got a lot of algae, do you feed it any extras

 

[Jackman]

i would be very worried about your RTBS, especially if it is small. they eat algae using their underslung and rough mouths by rasping algae off anything in their tanks that has algae growing on it. they need to be eating all the while as algae isn't much of a meal in small helpings. he may be starving if you hardly see him. has your tank got a lot of algae, do you feed it any extras

Width: 25cm

Height: 30cm

Length: 50cm

the red tail is fairly new had it about 2 weeks i think. its in the tank with 13 neons a bristle nose and a banjo cat.

the shark is definatly eating and has plenty of things to hide behind. rocks, plants, bogwood.

 

[Jamesham]

1. i don't know how many litres that is but i would say that ur rtbs is going to get too big for the tank

2. ur neons will soon be lunch

3. the first 1-2 weeks indroducing ur rtbs, it will hide, then it will eventually come out more. and at the end it will be 50-50 with hiding and open swimming


hope thant helps!

 

[dwarfgourami]

I make that a 9 gallon tank.

 

[Jackman]

I make that a 9 gallon tank.

my uncle works for madienhead aquatics and honestly knows what hes on about and said it should be fine. my dads one never grew that big in his tank.

and i cant see the neons becoming lunch anytime soon. my dad and grandad have both had redtails and they have never gone for any other fish.


thanks for the advice.

 

[@ombomb]

my uncle works for madienhead aquatics and honestly knows what hes on about and said it should be fine. my dads one never grew that big in his tank.

Honestly... he doesn't.

Your dad's never got that big becasue it was stunted and probably dieing much younger than it should have.

I'd be surprised if it did go for the neons (which also aren't ideal for a tank that size), but it does need a bigger tank and lots of hiding places. You'll see fish far more when they have somewhere to hide. Also they are not algae eaters, they're omnivors and will eat pretty much anything.

 

[modaz]

at the moment hes fine in your tank so enjoy him until that is he gets to big for it cause i promise you he will, easy solution to that, buy a bigger tank, dont get rid of him as you said their amazing fish and they live for years when kept right.

i got a albino red tail shark 3 weeks ago and he went in hiding for a week that is until he came face to face with my knife fish in the depths of the caves i have, shot out like speed boat and only vetures back in to have a sneeky look.

yours just needs time to adjust to surroundings then he will be fine, and your neons will not become lunch

bare in mind that they very teritorial (have i splet that right?) anyway they will have a got at any fish that wanders into its space

drop in some sinking algae to feed him

 

[mommyof2bettas]

A 9 gallon is too small for the banjo catfish which needs a minimum of 15 gal, it's also too small for the red finned shark. I'm not sure about the bristlenose or the neons.

 

[Jackman]

my uncle works for madienhead aquatics and honestly knows what hes on about and said it should be fine. my dads one never grew that big in his tank.

Honestly... he doesn't.

Your dad's never got that big becasue it was stunted and probably dieing much younger than it should have.

I'd be surprised if it did go for the neons (which also aren't ideal for a tank that size), but it does need a bigger tank and lots of hiding places. You'll see fish far more when they have somewhere to hide. Also they are not algae eaters, they're omnivors and will eat pretty much anything.

go tell him that been as you live in surrey. he works in the woking one.

and no offence but what do you know about my dads tank? my dads had two that both lived for years..

i dont wish to start an argument with this post. but i have a feeling that is whats gona happen.

 

[DarkEntity]

my uncle works for madienhead aquatics and honestly knows what hes on about and said it should be fine. my dads one never grew that big in his tank.

Honestly... he doesn't.

Your dad's never got that big becasue it was stunted and probably dieing much younger than it should have.

I'd be surprised if it did go for the neons (which also aren't ideal for a tank that size), but it does need a bigger tank and lots of hiding places. You'll see fish far more when they have somewhere to hide. Also they are not algae eaters, they're omnivors and will eat pretty much anything.

go tell him that been as you live in surrey. he works in the woking one.

and no offence but what do you know about my dads tank? my dads had two that both lived for years..

i dont wish to start an argument with this post. but i have a feeling that is whats gona happen.

This is getting to be a routine lately,

People ask for advice, then when the advice arrives which doesnt suit them they go off in a strop!

You asked for help re your RTBS, it isnt really suitable for a 9Gall tank, which is really rather small. In a larger tank with more places to forage and feel secure it would probably become more active. Its a similar situation for the Banjo. They will thrive in a larger sand bottomed tank where they will dig about and in most cases lay under the sand.

Neons are ok for a tank that small.

Basically what im getting at is both the RTBS and BAnjo will survive in that tank, but it probably wont thrive. You yourself could live in a cupboard, but you wouldnt thrive in it.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Are you sure the dimensions you gave were in centimetres and not in inches? If it had been inches, then that would be absolutely fine, but if it is centimetres, then that tank is too small for both the sharks and a grown bristlenose.

It doesn't matter if someone has managed to keep one alive in such a small tank - ponies have survived being kept in garden sheds and never exercised, children survived Roumanian oprhanages. This forum is about promoting the wellbeing of fish. But I am still wondering if there hasn't been a mistake with the dimensions.