Shoal Of Sharks?

[pinkdolphin_113]

is it possible to keep a group of ruby sharks?

i saw in the fish tank in my lfs there were like 15 2inch-ish ruby sharks all in one tank and they seemed to be getting along.
would this work out are would it be a disaster waiting to happen?

also, if this worked out, would discus be okay with the sharks? or vice versa?

 

[dwarfgourami]

Lfs can get away with this sort of thing because the fish are juveniles, so territorial instinct is not developed; also fish are kept there for a short time and crammed in so many that they have no chance of establishing territories. This isn't really a situation you can replicate at home. Fish in an lfs are like people on a commuter train, they can get through the journey without murdering each other, but if you tried to make them live like that all the time, feelings would start running high. . You would need lfs filtration to keep lfs stocking numbers and you would have to accept the fact that, like the people on the commuter train, these fish weren't really living, not what you'd call a life.

 

[pinkdolphin_113]

yea but thats not really a fair argument because there's a group of cichlids that have to live like that because of their terratorial behaviour. why not ruby sharks?

 

[Griz]

Ruby sharks Epalzeorhynchos frenatum get to 6" and when they mature can be rather aggressive, especially with others of their kind. I should think that a rather large tank would be needed to house more than one successfully. There are many fish that will school together when young. It's a defensive instinct. But as they mature they will begin to establish territories and you are bound to have trouble. This is different than tetras and others who will school together all of thier lives.

 

[pinkdolphin_113]

yerakno that but could ruby sharks follow the same "theory" of "get lost in the crowd" as the family of old world cichlids? i cant remember which ones they are. you have to over stock the tank to get the aggression down.
like if there was a fully stocked 250 gallon tank of only ruby sharks, would the aggression be cut down?

 

[Griz]

You're thinking of Mbuna. Yes, they can be overstocked to suppress aggression but it's not quite that simple. Different species are used and male/female ratios are important. The use of rock is also very important in those tanks. It's something that needs to be done carefully, after a lot of research, to get it right. Sharks are an entirely different situation. Besides, I can think of a lot better things to do with a 250 gallon tank.

 

[pinkdolphin_113]

yea so could i but it was just an example lol
okay well erm, would a RTBS be compatible with tiger barbs?