OK, I have had my tank for about six months. I have two catfish, four neons and six glowlights, along with my rainbow shark. Oh, and a placostomus (sp?). My problem is that anytime I try to add new fish, my rainbow shark chases them around until they die. He killed two fish lastnight!!! This makes me want to flush him, but I think he is too pretty for that! I had asked at the store where I bought the new fish (can't remember what they are called right now!) and they said they would be good. Am I stuck with just the neons and glowlights until my shark dies? I want to have some interesting looking fish in my tank. Can anyone recommend something that can deal with the shark? Thank you for the help!
Aggressive rainbow shark
- Thread starter iamaredneck
- Start date
pretty typical behaviour for these 'sharks'. don't flush ... take him back to the LFS if his behaviour gets too much for you.
Oh, I wouldn't really flush him....unless he died. Is there any kind of fish out there that can tolerate him?
Rainbow sharks can be aggressive, though they're usually listed as good community fish so long as you don't put them with other sharks.
Their agression stems from terrritoriality, if they are kept in too small of a tank, they'll claim the whole tank as their territory. They also should have a cave that they can claim as their own, that way they'll concentrate on protecting it--which allows the other fish to use the rest of the tank in relative peace.
Sharks will tend to go after anything that looks like a shark, so make sure your new additions don't have the same body type.
What size tank do you have it in?
Their agression stems from terrritoriality, if they are kept in too small of a tank, they'll claim the whole tank as their territory. They also should have a cave that they can claim as their own, that way they'll concentrate on protecting it--which allows the other fish to use the rest of the tank in relative peace.
Sharks will tend to go after anything that looks like a shark, so make sure your new additions don't have the same body type.
What size tank do you have it in?
easy solution is to get another shark.
They will keep each other "occupied" instead of harrassing your peaceful fish.
They will keep each other "occupied" instead of harrassing your peaceful fish.
My Rainbow Shark is doing just fine. He will occasionally chase one of the Harlequins but never actually attacks them or causes any damage. I have decoration in the tank that looks like a sunken barrel with a few holes in it. The shark has claimed it as his cave and chases other fish away.
What size is your tank and does your Rainbow Shark have a cave claimed as it's territory?
What size is your tank and does your Rainbow Shark have a cave claimed as it's territory?
I have a 20 gallon tank. There is a castle that he likes to go in, whether he thinks it is his I am not sure as the placostomus also goes in. Perhaps he has claimed the entire tank as his, but puts up with the others. They were all there before he was. I will try to find another "cave" to put in the tank and possibly more plant life so that the other fish have more hiding places. Would that help??
He might have claimed the entire tank as his territory. You could get something else for another cave you could also try moving the decorations around when you add new fish. I added my 4 new Espe's Rasboras a week ago and my Rainbow Shark never bothered them. But each Rainbow Shark has it's own personality. How big is your Rainbow Shark?
More hiding places certainly sound like a good idea. If he prefers the castle, you might also want to move it to the very corner of the tank, that way two of the walls will act as boundaries for this territory, leaving only the smaller space out front for him to feel he needs to protect. Worked for our salt fish, I would imagine it'd work fresh as well.
Absolutely DO NOT get another shark. In that small of a tank they'd terrorrize each other.
Absolutely DO NOT get another shark. In that small of a tank they'd terrorrize each other.
Your tank is a bit small for the rainbow. I have a fully grown 6 inch rainbow shark and he loves to chase fish around also. To minimize this behavior, I provided him with a vase like structure which he uses as a cave. He goes inside it and is not seen for hours a day but this makes him feel safe and minimizes the aggression. I also planted very heavily giving him lots of territories to choose from (not only one place). I would reccomend that you re-arrange the entire tank prior to adding new fish to give everyone a fresh start. Don't add another shark as this will cause problems with your rainbow killing the other shark.