Red Tailed Black Shark - Color

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Kevin007

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May 27, 2008
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I remember keeping a red tailed black shark a long time ago, he was really chubby and his colors were very vibrant. He ended up bullying everyone so I returned him.

I brought a small one (2 inches) 2 days ago and his colours are not nearly as bright, he also has a white tip on his fin.

Will his color brighten up soon? Is size a factor? How long did yours take to colour up if you kept these guys before?
 

fishorama

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Jun 28, 2006
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Good food & some growth, it'll be beautiful. Keep it in at least a 4 ft tank & give it a cave or 2 for a home territory. Be careful trying to keep corys with them, it never ever worked for us once the shark got big.
 

Kevin007

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May 27, 2008
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He lives in a 55 Gallon tank with mbunas, so he has sand on the bottom and alot of caves.

I'll give him some time, I'll try to find my rtbs 4 - 5yrs ago
 

Kevin007

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May 27, 2008
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Chances are he won't show his best colors with mbuna. There will be added stress with the competition for territories and food.
I hope this isn't the case, this is the only place where I can keep a RTBS. Its simply too agressive for community fish.

With that said, I only keep Yellow Labs, Aceis and Rusties soon, all fairly peaceful cichlids.

They seem to leave each other alone for now, but thats because they are all juvies.
 

jpappy789

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Feb 18, 2007
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They are all peaceful relative to other african cichlids, but not compared to other tropical species. I'd definitely keep an eye out for aggression once they start to mature.

RTS's should be fine with the larger, more robust mid/top-dwelling species (i.e. giant danios). It's usually the bottom-dwellers that they have problems with.
 
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