Red Tailed Shark

[adam12345]

hey, today i went into my local fish shop had a bit of time before work luckily its only across the road and i was looking at all the different fish thinking about what to stock my tank with. ive had ideas which i ahve posted in other topics in this forum which was 5 zebra danios 5-10 cardinal tetras and a bristlenose plec. but as i was looking around they had baby red tailed sharks and they looked amazing! and i thought about getting one, but i dont know if would eb okay in my tank. i have a 95 litre with 5 danios in at the moment. so whould a red tail shark be okay in a 95 lite? if not maybe ill just have to get the original stocking idea.

cheers for the help!

if not the best idea maybe some recomendations of a slightly smaller fish that is bigger then my danios to go in my tank with a bristlenose plec. because i love cardinal tetras but i have danios who are fast moving and swim together so would be nice to maybe have 1 bigger fish swimming around the tank.

 

[lilfishie]

not certain but pretty sure Red tailed black sharks need a bigger tank than 95l and can be aggressive to bottom dwellers especially similar shaped ones.

someone correct me if i'm wrong

 

[adam12345]

i read they can grow up to 6 inces? is that right? if so surely there is plenty of room in my tank? i also used a stockign calculator and it sed that 5 danios a red tailed shark and a bristlenose plec is fine cant remember the percentige though, but it did say that the shark may out grow my tank but 6 inces my tank is bigger then that by far?

 

[ian]

yep i'd go with that, they get pretty big for a 90l.

 

[adam12345]

yep i'd go with that, they get pretty big for a 90l.

so not a good idea for a 95 litre ?

 

[ian]

i wouldn't bother in a 95l, needs a bit bigger with lots of hiding places.

 

[Assaye]

Red tailed sharks get to between about 6 inches as adults. They are also notorious for being aggressive and territorial and so generally need bigger tanks than their size would suggest.

If kept alone they need a 3 foot/36 inch tank minimum. If kept in a community, they need a 40 gallon tank which could easily equate to a 4 foot/48 inch tank.

In short - 95 litres is about half what you would want for one of these fish. It's about simple swimming room and territory. I think it is unfair give fish less than 6x their body length - imagine spending your entire life in a room you could only take 6 large paces across.

 

[kaivalagi]

So I guess your looking for something else that's bigger than danios...you could go for some of the more full bodied tetras such as black widows or serpae maybe, or possibly a gourami or two?

 

[Assaye]

How about some dwarf cichlids? A pair of kribensis, trio of apistos or pair of bolivian rams could be cool. They are a little territorial but nothing compared to the sharks.

 

[kaivalagi]

How about some dwarf cichlids? A pair of kribensis, trio of apistos or pair of bolivian rams could be cool. They are a little territorial but nothing compared to the sharks.

Will they be okay in a 95 litre tank? I always assumed something a little bigger was necessary, more like 30USG / 110 litres+, just curious, not suggesting you're wrong or anything...

If that is okay then for definate get some dwarf cichlids! You will not be disappointed with any cichlid

 

[adam12345]

How about some dwarf cichlids? A pair of kribensis, trio of apistos or pair of bolivian rams could be cool. They are a little territorial but nothing compared to the sharks.

Will they be okay in a 95 litre tank? I always assumed something a little bigger was necessary, more like 30USG / 110 litres+, just curious, not suggesting you're wrong or anything...

If that is okay then for definate get some dwarf cichlids! You will not be disappointed with any cichlid

cheers for your replies, dwarf cichlids what are they like what do they eat are they easy to care for are they hardy? also are there any tetras that get a little big? i do like all the different types of tetras what would you recommend?

 

[meguro]

80L minimum for a pair of either m. ramirezi or m. altispinosus, the former needing much more specific water parameters. apistogramma are also ok to keep in 20g, should have room for 1m2f. no idea about the kribs though

edit: some apistos are harder to keep than others

 

[adam12345]

maybe Emperor tetra ? are they one of the larger tetras i could get?

 

[kaivalagi]

cheers for your replies, dwarf cichlids what are they like what do they eat are they easy to care for are they hardy? also are there any tetras that get a little big? i do like all the different types of tetras what would you recommend?

They tend to not get past at most 4", more like 3" max for most...

Have a look here for a species listing: http/www.dwarfcichlid.com
Then search on the name elsewhere to get better details on pH, temp and general environmental requirements. Once you know what names you are dealing with try the american cichlid species section on this site to get some details too.

Pay close attention to the water requirements, as already said some are okay with 7+ pH but others are a little more picky. Do you know what your out of the tap pH and KH is?