Red Tailed Black Shark. Will it or won't it?

[mickey]

I have kept a red tailed black shark alone in a 20g for the past 6 mths,it is a very beautiful and fun fish to watch but now that it is
growing bigger,about 3 inches i was thinking of moving it to my 100g community tank so it has more room to grow and swim about.
My community tank is planted and has several peices of driftwood.
Do you guys think that the RTBS will get along with the other fish in the tank.
Tiger barbs, serpae tetras, black widow tetras,a mixture of danios,some ottos and a bristle nosed pleco.
Anybody ever kept a RTBS in a community tank
All advise and info greatly appreciated.
Cheers.

[Deliverme314]

I never had any problems with mine when I owned one. But I have heard of potential aggression...

[carpguy]

I think that the thing with Red Tail Sharks is territorial aggression amongst themselves, or against similar fish like SAEs or Flying Foxes (both close relatives).

They should leave everyone else alone. It might need to sort out a few things with the pleco, but they're generally described as a community tank fish.

[brianfl]

You may want to make sure you have a cave in there. If there is a cave of some sort, everything should work fine.

[Slappy*McFish]

It really depends on the individual fish. Mine killed off a school of Lemon Tetras, and chases my Serpae tetras around to this day(hasn't killed them yet). They do need space, and a cave(or shelter) to call their own. It will be very happy in that 100g..I wouldn't worry about him too much.

[brianfl]

Slappy,

That's too bad. Every once in a while you get a mr/mrs evil:) I had one once as well that was obsessed. Most of the ones I had in the past would chase away if another fish came around their territory. Even then it would only chase for a six inches or so and then return to the cave.

[mogurnda]

It sounds like a good bet to me. Those guys can be merciless to anyone who looks like them or hangs out in the same areas, including loaches IME, but your crew sounds pretty compatible.

[phpKerouac]

http://www.formattheweb.com/modules.php?set_albumName=aquarium&id=P6070028&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php


http://www.formattheweb.com/modules.php?set_albumName=aquarium&id=P6080056&op=modload&name=gallery&file=index&include=view_photo.php

mine like to kick it together in their whale cave.

???

is it really a shark if it has mobile dorsal and pectoral fins? i thought sharks fins were, um, retractable?

[TKOS]

My brothers shark has been having an on going battle with a small school of cherry barbs. There is no winner so far but each believes that they are the rulers of the tank.

[Slappy*McFish]

phpKerouac, you have a rainbow shark, a relative of the redtail shark....it can be aggressive, but not nearly as much as the redtail. Not sure what you mean by mobile and retractable fins. :confused:

[chewey]

Ihave hed a few RTS over the years and they are indeed one beautiful fish, full of fun and entertainment, but as they approach full size [ Aprox 6" or so ] they become very fast swimmers and need good hiding places such as a gnarly piece of drift wood, and a large cave also if you intend to keep a pleco. Trust me chasing will never stop between RTS AND PLECO IF GOOD HIDING PLACES ARE NOT PROVIDED. As for the rest of your tankmates, as long as there is room for them to run once in a while, and they DO NOT resemble another shark you should be ok.

[brianfl]

Slap,

I have had both over the years (their is usually at least one in at least one of my tanks all the time). I think it is about a 50/50 propostion of which is more agressive. I have had very agressive rainbows as well as rts. The rainbows seem a little sneakier with their aggression, but can get very aggressive.

[phpKerouac]

I dont know the right word to use, retractible is the best word i could come up with.

example - shark fins, like the big guys you see during shark week - their fins dont move relative to their body as far as i can tell, i mean they are most likely pliable and have some bend to them, but not like say a bass or perch whose dorsal and pectoral fins have a full range of motion and have an UP and DOWN position like a sail boat.

my rainbow shark (i thought rainbow and redtail were the same thing) has fins that move more like a bass or perch (why did i pick those as reference) than a big ole shark.

just curious if they were really related or just given the name "shark" plus he has a moustache.

:D

[brianfl]

RTS and rainbow sharks are close relatives and are not real sharks. They get the name from their appearance. They are actually minnows. RTS and rainbows are very different though, especially appearance.