Red-Tail Shark Problems

[AHackett72]

My Red-Tail shark's tail was red when I bought her. I've had her for about a month n her tail has never turned solid red... Can anyone help me out!!??

20 gal(Tropical)
12 guppies (born in early Dec.)
2 neon tetras
3 White clouds
3 glowlight tetras
2 rasbora het
1 cory cat
1 clown pleco
1 red-tail shark

 

[AHackett72]

I wish someone cloud help me out on this one!!!

 

[Pointy_kitty]

first of all is she eating?
is she active?
is she pale?
any strange behavior?

i need a bit more info


on another note,
i hate to be negative but do you have another tank or are you keeping all of those guppies in there?

red tailed black sharks should not be kept with any guppies or other "weaker community fish"
red tails are only community in very large, well planted/caved tanks
otherwise, as they grow older they become very territorial and aggressive, especially in such a small tank

and i was taking a look at your sig and i read that you are keeping several sharks in a 29 gallon
first of all, bala sharks will get to be around 14" and need way more room to swim
(like a 70 gallon)
secondly you said you are keeping a black finned shark,
would that be the black finned shark, AKA columbian shark, AKA shark catfish?
the columbian shark or "black finned shark" gets to be 18" and is best suited for a 100gallon tank

once again i do not want to be negative,
i am just helping you avoid disaster!
too small a tank will take a very harsh toll on your fish, shortening their life span and causeing lethargy and stress over time

 

[AHackett72]

The red-tail shark is eating and very active. I have 7 plants and a cave. She always hides out in the cave. I plan to move her to my 29-gal if she becomes aggressive. If I do that I will get rid of some of my fish in the 29-gal. Right now the red-tail shark seems to enjoy the guppies company. They get along fine right now.

 

[Pointy_kitty]

The red-tail shark is eating and very active. I have 7 plants and a cave. She always hides out in the cave. I plan to move her to my 29-gal if she becomes aggressive. If I do that I will get rid of some of my fish in the 29-gal. Right now the red-tail shark seems to enjoy the guppies company. They get along fine right now.

thats good,
like i said they aren't a problem until they grow up,
as babies they are usually quite social and playful
it sounds like she is fine
some are just paler than others

but you really don't have enough room for a bala shark in your 29gallon
if you plan to move the red tail to the 29gallon will you be getting rid of the albino?
they are completely intolerant of their own species or anything like it
the only acceptions are in 70-100gallon tanks where they have plenty of room for separate territory
no matter how many caves you shove in your tank it still won't make up for lack of territory room, they will claim every nook and cranny and spend their day swimming in amd out of them all chasing away intruders
they cannot even be kept with flying foxes, or other simular looking cyprinids

also is the fish i mentioned before a columbian shark?
check out these pictures on the link below
these guys need ALOT more space then you have to offer
like a 70gallon+ (idealy 100gallons)

http/www.aquariacentral.com/species/db2....ure_page_view=1

 

[AHackett72]

OK! The shark is the columbian shark. My dad and I have talked about upgradin to a 55 gal when the fish in the 29 gal get bigger. I probably will get rid of the albino shark. I would like to stay on my topic tho. Why isn't the red-tail shark's tail red

 

[Pointy_kitty]

i have told you that she is fine
possibly a little stressed or scared
check your water conditions
i have answered your question
but the things i have said HAD to be said
look for a 70gallon not a 55gallon if you wanna keep those fish healthy

all i can really say is that it is your decision on whether you take your fish back or buy a suitable tank, or even leave it til the problem really starts as your fish get older
but, all of the information i have given you is true and it would be in your best interest to read it over and take these problems into account
maybe do a little research of your own to?

good luck with whatever you deside to do

p.s.
i know how much it sucks to have to decide to give away a fish, especially when you have gotten attatched,
i just hope that things work out

 

[Cheese Specialist]

I think you are being very rude considering pointy kitty is just trying to help you!!

I will not be so polite, I'm afraid. Your 20 gallon is very overstocked. The RTBS will get to 6" and become very territorial. Corries should be kept in groups of 3+. Neons should be in groups of 6+ also. Your sig says you have a rainbow shark, is this as well as the RTBS? If so, this is a very bad idea.

You also have problems in your 29gall from what I can see. Silver dollars should be kept in groups of 6, but they get to 5" each meaning your tank is too small. Bala sharks need to be in groups of 3 and will get to 1 foot and require at least a 6 foot tank. Your albino rainbow shark will not tollerate any shark shaped fish and your cory should have cory friends.

The RTBS's tail colour is just a simple case of individual colouring, colours change with mood and health. Healthy sharks would be very black with a very red tail. I am quite sure PK said this, in one way or another.

What are your water parameters?

 

[AHackett72]

I just tested my water this morning and all is fine. Thanks for your help!

P.S. can you help me out on my cloudy water problem(It's a topic).

 

[AHackett72]

Hey cheese specialist my fish are all healthy! and you may want to look at my sig again...the albino rainbow shark and the red tail shark are in different tanks. All my fish get along fine at the moment. I'll do something when a problem arises!

P.S. Red-Tail sharks only get 4.5 in. Rainbows get 6 in.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

Hey cheese specialist my fish are all healthy! and you may want to look at my sig again...the albino rainbow shark and the red tail shark are in different tanks. All my fish get along fine at the moment. I'll do something when a problem arises!

P.S. Red-Tail sharks only get 4.5 in. Rainbows get 6 in.

Strange that my information is that they grow to 6" and I have personally seen them of that size.

link

It doesn't really matter, your problems are bigger than that.

And you do have a rainbow shark in with a black fin shark, yes? I just thought you were being rude and you say your fish are healthy but you are also reporting poor colour and cloudy water.

There will be problems in your tanks. You have too many of fish that should be on their own (as in no other sharks) and too little of actively schooling fish like silver dollars, corries, tetra and balas.

You only seem to be reading small bit of the posts, what about all the other things I and PK mentioned?

 

[Pointy_kitty]

all fish are different like people
they do not all get the exact size as in books
some red tails only get 4.5" while others can get up to 6"

http/badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile10.html

http/www.aquariacentral.com/species/db.c...&view_records=1

and rainbow sharks will more often then not reach 6"

http/www.aquariacentral.com/species/db.c...&view_records=1

 

[AHackett72]

Red-Tail Link

 

[AHackett72]

red-tail link

 

[Cheese Specialist]

I did say that it didn't really matter and your problems are bigger than that. I also said that you only seem to consentrate on one thing that is said and you are doing it again. Would you like me to put it in bullet points?