Chameleon Shark?

[Paul70]

Hi all.
I went to my LFS yesterday for my first batch of fish for my new tank and was sold a mix of green tiger barbs and wild tiger barbs and after asking if a red tail black shark would be ok with them I was told yes it would. my own gut feeling was that it should be fine as well.

Got them all home and popped them gently into my tank and everything going fine to now. The only slight concern I have is that the red tail black shark was a lovely deep black colour in the shop but when i put it in my tank it kind of went a pale brown colour and its tail almost disappeared. it now is back to the deep black colour and the tail is kind of an orange colour but it has changed once back to pale brown but is again deep black. is this normal for these fish or is it just that it is getting used to its new environment. He has found a nice sheltered spot under a rock and doesnt come out very often. the barbs also just spend all their time in the plants and at the bottom of the tank except when I fed them this morning when they went crazy for the food.
water parameters are
pH 7.6
temp 25-26c
ammonia- oppm
nitrites- 0ppm
nitrates- 30ppm (same as tap water)
I have had the light on and off for mixed periods but it is now on for the daytime.

 

[Paradise3]

What size is the tank?

Cheers,
Paradise<3!

 

[KittyKat]

The colour change is stress, where pale fish = stressed fish. It was probably caused by the tank move.

Just wondering, how many fish did you get in total? How big is the tank?

 

[Paradise3]

The colour change is stress, where pale fish = stressed fish. It was probably caused by the tank move.

Just wondering, how many fish did you get in total? How big is the tank?

I wasn't too sure whether the colour would have been stress or something else so I left that matter alone. I am interested in the tank size though... I guess I'm not the only one.

Cheers,
Paradise<3!

 

[Paul70]

tank size is 26 us gallons. having read several things it looks like it may be too small for the shark when it is fully grown. however within the next 6 months I plan on getting a much larger tank so I will transfer him there once I am set up with that. I got a shoal of 16 small tiger barbs and the shark and they all seem to be quite happy. My shark is currently a nice black colour so he may be settling in somewhat.

 

[Davo86]

How new is the setup? 16 fish in one go can easily cause a spike, especially in a new setup

 

[Paul70]

set up is relatively new. ammonia and nitrites were reading 0 in 12 hours for 7 days as recommended and water pH settled from its previous 8.2 to 7.6 yesterday. did 95% water change and treated with prime and let that settle for a good while before I introduced my friends.

I am checking my water every day and intend to do it in the evening. fish very active at the moment if a little shy but looking good so far.

 

[KittyKat]

Paul70, I wish more people would do their cycling and research properly, like you did..

I look forward to seeing the updated photo!

 

[Vin Swords]

Yes... Time for pictures...

 

[saltynay]

Just remember those ammonia checks and you should be

 

[L4byr1nth]

The answer is yes, RTB Sharks do change colour completely when stressed/sleeping/ill/upset in some other way.

Mine goes almost completely grey with a transparent tail at night!

Ben.

 

[Paul70]

just what mine does at night. first thing this morning he (not sure if it is a he but heyho) was very pale with a translucent tail. within a half hour of the light going on tho he was nice and black and his tail was getting coloured again. he still hides under rocks all the time but is this typical of the species?

checked my water at 4pm today.
pH 8.1
amm 0.25
nitrites 0
nitrates 40-80ppm
gonna do a 25%water change to try reduce nitrates

 

[Paul70]

25% water change done. will monitor fish to see how they are.

 

[KittyKat]

Ammonia over 0.25 ppm is toxic, so I would be more worried about keeping that well under and as close to 0 as possible. Remember, feed no more than they can completely finish in 30 seconds or under and only once per day for the first few weeks.

Not uncommon, give it time to settle in.

 

[Paul70]

i think more patience is needed once fish are in the tank than when doing a fishless cycle. my fishless cycle went very well indeed. will just monitor over this next week and seek advice as necessary. fish are swimming around nicely so hopefully things will be ok. gonna try and upload a video to facebook then post the link here for you to have a look at things.

good advice about feeding kat, thanks.

bloke in LFS said to feed enough for 2 minutes. a tropical fish book I have states 5 minutes but I suppose 30 secs will help to make sure that I am not overfeeding.

the only problem is that my shark is hiding under a rock all the time and by the time he comes out the barbs have eaten all the food!!. any ideas