90 gallons??? Should I buy

[Paul_MTS]

my honest opinion is leave it and wait until something better comes up.

 

[Torrean]

thank you. surprisingly that is what i wanted to hear. What if I can get a serious deal on it like 50 bucks for the tank hood lights and stand?

 

[wrs]

I dont think that you should keep 5 plus rainbow sharks in there!

It isnt big enough

 

[Torrean]

I wish I had more options. I only have four rainbows at the moment. I have read a great many opinions on stocking them. 100% of them said to keep one in a tank. Too bad I didn't know this when I bought them and my lfs was selling them in three's. When stocking more than one I read that odd numbers over 3 work. I have also read that more than one and they'll kill each other. I'm hoping that I got lucky and they will not be that aggressive. My only other option aside from putting them in a larger tank would be to try to sell them to an lfs(do you think they'd take them?) What size tank would be suitable for 4 six inch rainbow sharks if a 90 gallon isn't big enough. Or is the problem the footprint not the total gallon. Would a 75 be good enough it it was only 18" or so high?

EDIT: I am in a bad way here. I wish lfs didn't do things like this to people. You shouldn't have to research fish before you buy them. The lfs should provide all the information you need. Instead they manipulate your tank in such a way that if your fish live you will have to buy a larger tank in the future.

Another edit: I don't think I should keep any rainbow sharks together, in any size tank, but what else can I do, but four 20 gallons and put a rainbow in each, i mean this really sucks, I oughta be able to sue for mental anguish and cruelty to animals?

EDIT: there's a guy going through the same thing in the begginer's forum. His LFS aparently sold him two rtbs without telling him they couldn't go in the same tank.

 

[andywg]

While not much use to you now, if you have a larger tank and have territory for 5 rainbows then they can be kept together as there is a number of sharks to dish the aggression out on each other. It's like piranha and almost ny aggressive schooling fish, keep one or keep many, never few.

 

[Torrean]

that is very uselfull info as I have two options at the moment. Sell three of the rainbows to an LFS or Buy a bigger tank.

Now I need to know how big of a tank I need to support four-five rainbow sharks.

Edit: I'd prefer not to buy another one as I have read that adding a rainbow shark into an established group will cause him to be picked on by all the others. So what tank will accomadate 4 rainbows and if it has to be five please say so and I'll try to think of something.

 

[Paul_MTS]

thank you. surprisingly that is what i wanted to hear. What if I can get a serious deal on it like 50 bucks for the tank hood lights and stand?

if it's an absolute bargain for the EQUIPMENT then buy it just the for them and go about finding another tank.

whats the tallest tank you maintain at the moment? Mines a 2ft deep and on your standard height stand made by Eheim it's a right pain doing any maitenance. 2 other of my tanks are 2ft deep aswell and one is quite low but it's still hard to maintain it properly.

you could probable get away with 4 sharks in something like a heavily planted 200g. and nothing less than say 100 for 2 sharks even then it's still risky.

i'ved found the sharks tend to get agresive once they hit 2-3", at work this is the sixe they always come in at as there too agresive for there tank.

EDIT- ok just seen andy's post and thats a very good point, i'll leave someone else to say a tank size though!!

 

[Torrean]

well a 200 gallon tank is deffinitly OUT OF THE QUESTION. You make a very good point about the depth. I hadn't thought about gravel vaccuming through three feet of water. I love this place cause it forces me to think things through. So my only option is to sell three of them or to find a tank for each of them to be seperate in. Can any one think of anything else I can do?

BTW would RFBS (rainbows) be ok in a cichlid tank with parrot fish, and possibly (but hopefully I can talk them out of this) a red devil? It's a 55 So I think I could talk them into taking one?

 

[Torrean]

bump
any more opinions on this topic. I really need some info. How big of a tank would I need if I wanted to keep the rainbow's

 

[penguinpimp1990]

add also like to see if black lights can harm aquariums.......i thought about trying it but i dont want to blind the fish

 

[troutfly]

I'm wondering why you guys are saying that a 70 gal plus tank isn't big enough for 4 or 5 Rainbow Sharks, here is what I have found out about them.

http/www.elmersaquarium.com/10shark_redrainbow.htm

This site says that they are community fish, and this is what it says:

Scientific Name: Labeo erythrurus
Grows to: 5"
Temp Range: 72-80
Number to Buy Hardiness: 1 or groups

 

[andywg]

What that site doesn't tell you is that they are a very aggressive fish, especially to any fish of the same species or appearance (think Red-Tailed Black Shark). If you have two in one tank they will fight until one wins (usually by killing the other). You need a group of 4 or 5 to keep the aggression spread (hence stock them in one or many) nad stop any from being picked on too much.

The reason why 70 gallons may not be enough is the foot print. These are a bottom dwelling fish and there is not enough room in a 4 foot by 1 foot (or probably even 4'X2') tank to allow territories to be set up. Result: lots of fighting as the fish can't get away from each other.

Finally, the website you have lists a load of fish that can go together in tanks from 10 gallons bigger. I myself would not put danios, Rainbow sharks or elephant noses in 10 gallon tanks. Furthermore, it lists plecos as growing to 10". It does mention that there are a number of different species but doesn't mention that they can grow to 18". Always be wary of getting your information from one source.

 

[wrs]

actually rainbow sharks are not the agressive ones, they are more on the peaceful side, as the RTB's are the agressive ones.

 

[Torrean]

how closely related are the rtbs, rfbs, and the black shark?

 

[troutfly]

I was using this site because it was the first one I came to, I usually call my LFS (not real local it is in LA but the only one I deal with) to find out any info I need about fish, I haven't heard of Rainbow Sharks being aggressive, I have however hear that the Red Tail and Red Fin Black Sharks do get aggressive. Rainbow Sharks are close cousing but are far less aggressive then their cousins. Lumping Rainbows in with RTBS or RFBS is like saying that all plecos get to be 12" long or longer. I do know there are different species that carry different temperments in ever type of animal, hell even us humans have different attitudes.