4 rainbow sharks

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Torrean

The Hairy Potter
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I have four rainbow sharks in a 29 gallon. I need to do something about this pretty soon as they are reaching aggression size. As I see it my options are

1. sell three of them/give them away
2. buy a bigger tank.

My question is how big of a tank will I need and are there any options that I have overlooked.

Thanks a lot
 
thank you very much wilder. I now know that they can atleast go into the same tank. But I have seen so much varying info on these fish that I believe it's like betta's and most other fish. It comes down to the individual. I'd still like an opinion or two on how big the tank would need to be to house these little guys.
 
If I put them in a 100 gallon tank what else could I put with them?
 
Good links...But it all does come down to the individual fish and in my experience i wouldn't even bother with trying to keep 4 of them. If you do decide to keep them and place them in your 100g, i would see how it goes...You might get lucky and have no problems...If you do notice aggression than you could try to add a few more as I've seen a group of 8 in a 120g which was great as they will school together.

One comment in the those links was that RTB/Rainbows don't seem to cause and visible damage to other fish...BUT..they will chase and pester fish to death (this has happened to me many times)...They can be relentless at times.

HIH

DR
 
They would just kill him if I only added one more wouldn't they. Since they already have an established hierarchy? I don't really want a 100 gallon aquarium with nothing but rfbs in it. But I might be willing to add one more if that would help.
 
I wouldn't add a single one...It's always best to introduce 2-3 so the possibility of one being singled out is reduced. I was under the assumption that you "had" a 100g. You wouldn't have to just have rtb's in the tank...With a 100g you could have a great community tank...I would just set it up with semi-aggressive fish that could hold their own against an RTB.
 
sorry. I am getting a 100 gallon tank today but it probably won't be ready for another 2 months. Didn't mean to mislead you.

edit: btw it's a rFbs not a rTbs. rtbs are more agressive and smaller than rfbs I believe.
 
Torrean said:
edit: btw it's a rFbs not a rTbs. rtbs are more agressive and smaller than rfbs I believe.
It all depends on the personality but in general i'd agree that RTB's are the more aggressive of the species. How long have you had four of them in a 29gal??..I'm just curious because i thought you would run into some sort of territorial problem already.

DR
 
a little over 2 months. Keep in mind I was trusting lfs employees at this point. It's not an excuse but it is a reason. I started out with three rfbs and two of them paired off or so I thought. I didn't want the third one to be lonely so I bought a fourth two days later. for about a week the original three chased the fourth relentlessly and they were butting heads a lot. Now things have calmed down and they don't chase eachother much anymore or for very long. Just a quick chase once around the tank then everyone settles down again. I know this is going to change soon which is why I wanted the bigger tank soo badly. But for now everyone is happy (as far as I can tell) and healthy.

edit: Is there any way that I can manage five rfbs in this tank. For example what if I added the fifth one first and let him settle in. Then added two of the others from the 29. Then a week or so later I add the other two? would this break up their heirarchy enough to settle things peacefully?
 
Congrats on tank should be nice when it's up and planted.
 
Torrean said:
Keep in mind I was trusting lfs employees at this point.
I don't judge...I've seen local PetSmart ad's for 4rtbs for like five bucks or something.....Which is a complete joke and looks really bad on them...But to the unsuspecting public combined with the fact that rainbow/Rtb's are great looking fish it's just a fact that the'll sell.

Personally if i had to.. I'd introduce them all together. Cycle the tank and get another two plus your original four. If you add just one, you risk one being singled out and abused. Plus 6 is just better than 5 :p and you have 100g to go around.

DR
 
not anymore. I went to pick it up and noticed something that I didn't see when I went before. It was raining so I just checked the seals and looked for cracks. I was going for a thourough inspection and a purchase. Well the plastic frame was cracked and the glass beneath was chipped pretty badly. I don't trust it enough to haul it away for free and use it. So no go on the 100 gallon tank. :sad:

I will try my best to get a bigger tank as soon as I can but that tank just wasn't up to snuff.
 
Just a quick point, as they desire territory and are bottom dwellers, look for a tank with a larger footprint. I reckon you could just about get away with four or five in an 85 gallon (6 x 18 x 18). Especially if you put in plenty of bogwood and plants to break up line of site.

HTH

Andy
 

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