aggresive red tail black shark

[DevilsAdvocate]

My Red tail black shark is attacking my mollies and biting them...its starting to stress them out..he only chases them when the fish run away from him...if they stay still and dont move when he comes near, he swims on past them...what can i do? i dont really wanna take him back as they are real nice fish..im going to LFS tommorow to get more plants...im thinking of maybe buying another shark for him to chase instead of my mollies? what do you guys think?

 

[Fat Boy]

Hi DevilsAdvocate, I think I'm right in saying you shouln't get another shark, they are very territorial, but more plants would cetainly help your mollies. have you had your shark long? if not he may well calm down in time but they are a semi aggressive fish by nature.

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

ive had him for about 2-3 weeks now...he has his terretory in some rocks i made into a sort of cave..hes only started to chase them within the last few days.. i knew they were pretty aggresive by nature...and it said not to have many to tank..which is why i only had the one..i had an albino one before...and that was fine.

 

[Pointy_kitty]

red tialed black sharks are very territorial fish, the smaler the tank, the bigger the problem,
i would try lots of plants and caves like you said but unfortunately in these situaltions,
a shark in a 20 gallon should only be with top dwelling fish, so it may have the entire bottom, but mollies are mid dwellers and too close for your sharks comfort
if the plants and caves don't stop him then buy another tank or tanke him back (but nothing smaller then his OWN 20gallon (or another 20gallon with only top dwellers)

IF YOU BUY ANOTHER SHARK,
THEY WILL FIGHT TO THE DEATH!
sorry to shout but it is very important that you do not get another shark or anything long and slender in body,
as red tailed black sharks will not tolerate ANYTHING simular to their species!

 

[DOLORES]

this is how looks yours?


Minimum Tank Size: 50 gallons
Care Level: Moderate
Tank Conditions: 72-79°F; pH 6.5-7.5; dH 10-15
Temperament: Semi-aggressive
Max. Size In Aquarium: Up to 4"
Diet: Omnivore
Origin: Farm Raised, Thailand
Family: Cyprinidae


The Redtail Shark, also known as the Redtail Black Shark is great for the semi-aggressive community aquarium, as long as they are the sole sharks and the other tankmates are of similar size. The Redtail Shark is a beautiful fish with a jet black body and a bright red tail. The dorsal fin is marked with a white tip.

It requires a large aquarium with driftwood, rocks, and spots of dense vegetation. This shark may set up territories around the aquarium. The Redtail Shark will become very aggressive towards its own species when mature.

Unfortunately, the breeding habits of the Redtail Shark have not been documented.

An omnivore, the Redtail Shark is not a particularly finicky eater. Flake food, freeze-dried bloodworms and tubifex, as well as vegetable-based foods should be fed.

Ideal tank mates include: Barbs, Danios, Gouramis, Rainbowfish, similar sized New World Cichlids, Loaches, Plecos, and similar sized Scavenger Catfish.

thats what i searched to give you a little information for your shark hope that helped
Dolores,

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

i guess its going back to the store tommorow with me then..i cant look after it well enough..i didn't even research into the minimum sized tank...had i known it was 50 gallon i wouldn't have even looked at them...thanks dolores

be sad to see him go tho...he was in a pretty bad state when i got him after being in a tank with about 30 other sharks...he just got all his fins back nicely and was turning a real dark black hes open to anyone on the forum who wants him and can care for him better than i can...id much prefer it to go to someone on here than back to the LFS..

 

[Zenn]

You can find Red tail black shark that can be alright with other fish throughout their whole lifetime, but i dont think you wish to be going through every Red tailed black shark you fish store has, but as many have said before the red tail black shark gets territoral and need a large tank to live in, mine was ok for while, then he started getting too aggressive and i feared for my other fish and so gave him to my nextdorr neighbour, now please note, i loved him VERY very much and find it hard to this very day to know he aint mine no more, but i go over there to look at how he is doing, and they have a much larger tank than me, and it lifts my heart to see him VERY happy, i have never seen him so happy and he gets on with all the occupates of the tank... My algea eater was also very territoral and i had to put him in his own tank, but he wouldnt leave the fish alone, so i have lost two fish through aggressiveness, yes they are pretty, but they tend to be aggressive when they are pretty

 

[Ruby Shark]

Hi,

RTB sharks are aggressive and in my opinion they should not be kept with Mollies(they are too docile and slow to keep away from the shark)...although I know that it has been done with success.

You can not add another rtb or rainbow shark as they do not tolerate their own kind or other fish that look like them. You can't add another species of shark (Bala, Id, or Black shark for example) because they will grow too large for you tank alone.

You can try adding new plants but I don't "think" that will fix your problem...
I would take him back to the lfs...I know that's hard.

You could buy another tank for him. But it has to be fully cycled and It wouldn't be fair to your Mollies to leave him in there until that happens.

 

[Ruby Shark]

hes open to anyone on the forum who wants him and can care for him better than i can...id much prefer it to go to someone on here than back to the LFS..

I would love to take him....but I already have a Rainbow/Ruby Shark.
Your are doing the right thing though.

 

[DOLORES]

i guess its going back to the store tommorow with me then..i cant look after it well enough..i didn't even research into the minimum sized tank...had i known it was 50 gallon i wouldn't have even looked at them...thanks dolores

be sad to see him go tho...he was in a pretty bad state when i got him after being in a tank with about 30 other sharks...he just got all his fins back nicely and was turning a real dark black hes open to anyone on the forum who wants him and can care for him better than i can...id much prefer it to go to someone on here than back to the LFS..

no problem! although if you dont want to give him back, i would buy a big bowl..... theres one on petsmart here it is

i think its big enough.... to house your mollies and in the meanwhile start saving some money and buy the 50 gallon tank.... here in my fav. lps this week are sellin every 55G they have in stock for 78.88 its really cheap, i wanted that one instead the 29, but i have no room to keep that , i could keep it in the other room tho. go to animaljungle.com they dont sell anything online but you can ask at least if they can ship a 55g i dunno just givin you some ideas.....

glad to had help you in my previous post, cuz this one is going to coonfuse u, didnt it?

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

i have a 15gal i could put my mollies into for abit...but i dunno how long it would be before its ready...and how long it would take for me to get the money and space for a 50gal...id love one...but i dont think my parents would!

 

[nightlife20]

mine was the same when he was in my 3ft tank.. he had 22gallons but that wasnt enough... hes now in a 46 an has calmed down quite alot.

would u mind if i asked what size tank u have him in?

 

[DevilsAdvocate]

hes in my 20 gal..which is 2 and half foot..with my 5 mollies. i know its to little...but i didn't know at the time

 

[nightlife20]

sorry just looked, u have him in a 29...


as for the tank.. if u dont mind how it looks, most lfs do a tropical 'setup' and if ur not bothered then just get a black metal stand.... but i think its still gonna cost u 200 or round abouts..

 

[Ruby Shark]

i think its big enough.... to house your mollies and in the meanwhile start saving some money and buy the 50 gallon tank....

Hi Dolores,

I would not keep one molly is a fish bowl...nevermind five. It's too small. I don't know if they need a heater(I have never kept them) but all fish should have a filter.