red tail shark

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tbiffis

Registered Member
Feb 11, 2005
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Has anyone had a problem with this fish in a tank with mollies, platties, gouramis and guppies.
He seems rather aggressive...though small still I am aware they can grow about 6 inches.
Thanks for any feedback.
 

TKOS

Registered User of Fish
Feb 6, 2003
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tkos.unsta.com
How big is the tank? They get more aggressive as they age and become very territorial. Does he have a cave to hide in?
 

Holly9937

AC Members
Jan 20, 2005
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Michigan
I have one now that is a very well mannered fish, about 3 inches or so, the one I used to have was terrible, he terrorized the entire tank including fish bigger than him. I had tried many different things and had finally given up, the week I decided to take him back to the LFS I found him dead behind the tank, he found a tiny gap and apparently hopped through :( . Like TKOS said, a bigger tank can help and maybe more caves, etc. with good hiding places. They like to be able to claim a spot all their own, and if he is competing for one with other fish, that may be part of the problem
 

Nexus

AC Members
Nov 24, 2004
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Red tail black shark? I love these guys, but couldnt keep ours. Beautiful fishy, but he harrassed the hell out of our bala, who ended up dying, pretty sure due to him.

One of these days, Im getting a school of them.
 

Big Al

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Feb 6, 2005
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I've had a redtail black shark for about six months with 8 neons, a few danios and other tetras and he seem to be fine as long as you give him his own little hideaway like a tunnel or a cave, mine loves to wedge himself between a piece of slate and a rock that form a tunnel top. Good luck!
 

Karnaaj

AC Members
Jan 7, 2005
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Cincinnati, Oh
Great fish! My experience with them is that they seem to vary quite a bit in temperament. Some will be killers, others will be meek, but most of them show at least some aggressive tendencies. Just remember don't try to keep more than one in the same tank. in fact don't even try to mix different species of shark together.
 

Swimfins

This is as good as it gets.
I've got a ruby shark that likes to chase any and all of the others that he accidently come across. Sometimes he'll chase, sometimes not...seems like its for fun. My fish don't seem to stressed by it. There are tons of hiding spots and lots of plants that break the line of vision if he gives chase and so if a fish gets behind a plant,he forgets what he was doing or who he was chasing and starts grazing algae again....until next time. I keep him for his beauty and accept this slight aggression. I doubt he'd kill, its just mostly a show of territorialism. Its better to introduce these guys as the last fish in the tank.
 

congealedmeat

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Feb 2, 2005
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My Red-tail is one of my favorite fish. I call it the Tank Police. It spends its time herding my cory-cats out of its territory by rapidly twitching and bashing them around with its body...Looks hilarious and my cory-cats couldn't even care less. If the shark gets too big I can see this being a problem, but now it's funny.

I bought another shark at the time I got mine and gave it to my brother. He threw it in his cichlid tank and its still doing just great. Its much more aggressive than my shark and certainly holds his own against the cichlids.

Here's a really horrible pic of the bugger:



Anyone know anything about sexing these guys/girls?
 
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