Anyone have sucess of keeping more than one redtail shark in the same tank?

watermelon

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Jan 5, 2006
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I have a 55 gallon and I bought 4 redtail sharks..My past experience were mixed on if they kill each other off or not..What is your experience?
 
Young redtails will get along with most fish, maybe even other sharks...

However, in less than a year they will be unable to tolerate anything that swims. In a 55g tank I'm afraid they will either kill each other or die trying.

The only way you would have any chance is if your tank is literally a maze of caves and hiding spaces. If the fish see each other, it's over.
 
pedzola said:
Young redtails will get along with most fish, maybe even other sharks...

However, in less than a year they will be unable to tolerate anything that swims. In a 55g tank I'm afraid they will either kill each other or die trying.

The only way you would have any chance is if your tank is literally a maze of caves and hiding spaces. If the fish see each other, it's over.
Hi, I read your other posts about your redtail shark and saw the picture of yours...I was wondering, at what size did you buy your redtail at and how big is it now? And how long did it take for it to grow? I really want mine to grow since they are only about 2 inches now..

Other websites said, to keep more than 6 redtails to calm the aggression? Maybe I might try that..
 
I had two in the same tank, before I knew they should not be kept together that way. When I bought them there were several in the tank at the LFS, but they were small. The ones I bought were the same size, but eventually, one grew larger than the other, being the female. Again, they started out ok together, but over time, one became more dominant and harrassed the other at every opportunity. I no longer keep Rainbow sharks together in the same tank, unless they are quite young. When they start to grow to three inches, then it's time to separate them.

[EDIT:] arg. I just noticed you were asking about Redtailed sharks, not Rainbow sharks... sorry.
 
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watermelon said:
Hi, I read your other posts about your redtail shark and saw the picture of yours...I was wondering, at what size did you buy your redtail at and how big is it now? And how long did it take for it to grow? I really want mine to grow since they are only about 2 inches now..

I love my shark... he is the coolest fish I own. I have had him for less than a year (I believe since last spring), and he is now full grown (I think), at about 5-6 inches.

As you probably read in my other post, he's been a real pain! I bought him as a tiny baby shark, and put him in my community tank, where he did very well for the first few months. As he grew he became more and more aggressive, until I finally had to remove him to his own tank.

At this point, he will try to kill anything I put in the same tank with him. He even went head to head with a rather large crayfish. I was afraid the shark would get cut up, because he would ram into the crayfish head-on. The shark is fearless.


The only fish he sort-of tolerates is loaches. He will leave them in peace about half the time, and try to chase them the other half. But thats in a 20-gallon tank. I am looking to upgrade to a tank with a rather large footprint (75-125 gallon). I'm hoping that the shark will be able to co-exist peacefully with a handful of loaches in a tank this size.

If not, he will just have to stay in his own little 20g. :(
 
I had a Red Tailed Shark and a Rainbow Shark in a 55g. They were both rather large. 5-6 inches. The Red Tailed Shark constantly hounded the Rainbow Shark & my Flying Fox. He was actually leaving bite marks on them. We finally decided enough was enough and took the Red Tailed Shark to LFS. Soon after the Rainbow Shark began getting bolder and started really picking on the Flying Fox, so we got rid of him too. Now our Flying Fox is much happier!
 
I bought another two redtails today...I have 6 redtails now in a 55 gallon..And they seem like they are hanging out together..They are somewhat hostille..I might add two more and see what happens..
 
watermelon said:
I bought another two redtails today...I have 6 redtails now in a 55 gallon..And they seem like they are hanging out together..They are somewhat hostille..I might add two more and see what happens..

Nothing like adding fuel to a fire raging out of control and crossing your fingers!

My friend has two RTS together in a 55G along with a slew of other fish. One chases the other all day long. One is healthy, one is miserable... I would imagine with several, you will have a couple of nice healthy dominant fish, and a bunch of stressed, unhealthy picked on fish.
 
graphicdesign_r said:
Nothing like adding fuel to a fire raging out of control and crossing your fingers!

My friend has two RTS together in a 55G along with a slew of other fish. One chases the other all day long. One is healthy, one is miserable... I would imagine with several, you will have a couple of nice healthy dominant fish, and a bunch of stressed, unhealthy picked on fish.

I am just going by the advice from aquarimfish.net..I know that two in a tank will not do but maybe if it is more than six in a tank...This is what **************** said about the redtail shark:

Scientific Name: Labeo bicolor.

When they live together in large numbers in a large aquarium, they get along well with each other. They quarrel but almost never hurt one another.

But if you have less than six sharks in the same aquarium, they'll begin to quarrel, and the weakest ones will be miserable. So if you keep Red Tail Sharks, keep one or keep several, but don't keep just a few together. This guideline is true for most aggressive fish.
 
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