getting a shark for a new tank

[nickfox45]

hello i think this is the right forum for this, if not, please yell at me!

so ive got a 65 gal. tank that im ready to add fish to, and i want to get a shark. i read that its good to either have one shark or a school of them, but i think ill just have one. but ive got quite a few questions, and would appreciate it if you guys could answer some or all of them for me. thanks !

1. is this one shark vs. a school of them correct?
2. how big will this guy get? i've read about 13" max, is this accurate?
3. is it going to harass/eat everything else in my tank?
4. is my 65 gal. big enough to support his eventual size?
5. what sort of other fish would go well with it? i want to get some tiger barbs, would that be a good idea?

thanks again!

 

[WILDER]

Red tailed shark should be fine in that tank, as they don't tend to get on with there own kind.
http/www.personalpetadvice.biz.ly/articl...edtailshark.htm

 

[WILDER]

Her is a picture of one.
http/species.fishindex.com/photo_2938epa...lack_shark.html

 

[nickfox45]

Red tailed shark should be fine in that tank, as they don't tend to get on with there own kind.
http/www.personalpetadvice.biz.ly/articl...edtailshark.htm

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thanks for the info, but now ive got another problem. i went to the LFS and the guy there suggested i get a group of fish to start my tank rather than one shark, and just add the shark later. so i got a group of 6 tiger barbs, brought them home, and they were all happy and swimming around nicely for about an hour, but now they seem to have gotten in a foul mood.

two of the bigger barbs keep fighting, not just nipping, at each other. they'll face off and bite each other, almost looks like they're kissing, while the other 4 barbs just swim around and do whatever they like. is this normal? are my barbs just establishing a hierarchy?

 

[WILDER]

Yes they can be aggresive towards one another, add a few more the larger the group the better, but it sounds like you are doing a fish cycle so i wouldn't add anymore or the shark till the tank has cycled

 

[sylvia]

1. is this one shark vs. a school of them correct? What kind of shark are we talking about? Red tailed black sharks are best kept singly. Rainbow sharks are also best kept singly. Theoreticaly, both these species could also be kept as a group of at least 7 - the idea being that aggression is then split between several individuals and thus pressure on a single fish is reduced - so no one gets killed. I personaly wouldn't reccomend this. Flying foxes will work either alone or in a group. SAEs, FSAEs and oblongus also work as a group. Many people say SAEs do better as a group but I've found them to be perfectly fine alone and, in too small a group, they will bully each other just like any other shark. If, on the other hand, we are talking balas/silver sharks, they need to be in a school. Single fish don't do well and they are extremely nervous. Due to the size they attain and the room they require, the minnimum number reccomended is 3 - idealy it would be 6 or more. If you are talking about the black shark, a single fish is realy your only option.
2. how big will this guy get? i've read about 13" max, is this accurate? Again, which species? Balas will get to about 12-14", black sharks and marron sharks to 20", apollo sharks to 10", the rest of the common species get to between 4" and 6" depending on exactly what it is you are considering.
3. is it going to harass/eat everything else in my tank? If it's a black shark, yes. If it's an RTBS, maybe. If it's a bala, probably not but it'll take anything that'll fit in its mouth. The algae-eating types are usualy safe with anything that's over fry-size.
4. is my 65 gal. big enough to support his eventual size? Once again, which species? You need a 125 gallon minnimum for a school of balas and a huge tank for the 20" sharks but most of the smaller ones like the RTBS, rainbow and flying fox would be fine.
5. what sort of other fish would go well with it? i want to get some tiger barbs, would that be a good idea? Should be fine with the smaller sharks. Obviously, the bigger ones could eat tiger barbs. Balas are very nervous fish - like I've already said - so I'd avoid nippy tankmates - at least while they are small.

 

[nickfox45]

1. is this one shark vs. a school of them correct? What kind of shark are we talking about? Red tailed black sharks are best kept singly. Rainbow sharks are also best kept singly. Theoreticaly, both these species could also be kept as a group of at least 7 - the idea being that aggression is then split between several individuals and thus pressure on a single fish is reduced - so no one gets killed. I personaly wouldn't reccomend this. Flying foxes will work either alone or in a group. SAEs, FSAEs and oblongus also work as a group. Many people say SAEs do better as a group but I've found them to be perfectly fine alone and, in too small a group, they will bully each other just like any other shark. If, on the other hand, we are talking balas/silver sharks, they need to be in a school. Single fish don't do well and they are extremely nervous. Due to the size they attain and the room they require, the minnimum number reccomended is 3 - idealy it would be 6 or more. If you are talking about the black shark, a single fish is realy your only option.
2. how big will this guy get? i've read about 13" max, is this accurate? Again, which species? Balas will get to about 12-14", black sharks and marron sharks to 20", apollo sharks to 10", the rest of the common species get to between 4" and 6" depending on exactly what it is you are considering.
3. is it going to harass/eat everything else in my tank? If it's a black shark, yes. If it's an RTBS, maybe. If it's a bala, probably not but it'll take anything that'll fit in its mouth. The algae-eating types are usualy safe with anything that's over fry-size.
4. is my 65 gal. big enough to support his eventual size? Once again, which species? You need a 125 gallon minnimum for a school of balas and a huge tank for the 20" sharks but most of the smaller ones like the RTBS, rainbow and flying fox would be fine.
5. what sort of other fish would go well with it? i want to get some tiger barbs, would that be a good idea? Should be fine with the smaller sharks. Obviously, the bigger ones could eat tiger barbs. Balas are very nervous fish - like I've already said - so I'd avoid nippy tankmates - at least while they are small.

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wow that reply was really helpful, thanks for the info,ill try to be more specific with species in the future. right now im leaving towards either the rainbow or one of the other common species, i dont need anything getting over a foot long just dominating my tank. i will be sure to not get him or any other fish for a few weeks though, as youre right, the tank is just now getting cycled.

 

[WILDER]

The red-tailed black shark is the most shark-like of the group. It is impressively colored: velvet black with a bright red tail fin. It has a shark-like swimming motion and can become the center of attention in the tank. The problem is that it is an aggressive fish and should only be kept in tanks with fish its own size or larger. It grows to about 6 inches and is tolerant of pH variations, although it does best in slightly alkaline water.
Not the writer of this information.

 

[WILDER]

Most sites say it good with barbs.
http/www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/redshark.htm

 

[nickfox45]

The red-tailed black shark is the most shark-like of the group. It is impressively colored: velvet black with a bright red tail fin. It has a shark-like swimming motion and can become the center of attention in the tank. The problem is that it is an aggressive fish and should only be kept in tanks with fish its own size or larger. It grows to about 6 inches and is tolerant of pH variations, although it does best in slightly alkaline water.
Not the writer of this information.

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good info, thanks. my LFS definitely has those in stock, they are very small now, so maybe that'll be a good mix with the barbs i just got, which are also very small.

 

[WILDER]

Could you tell i wan't one lol.

 

[nickfox45]

Could you tell i wan't one lol.

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haha i definitely felt like a kid in a candystore today buying my first fish!

 

[Grouchy]

I have a rainbow shark in a 40 gallon long tank with 20 tiger barbs. I started with one about 2.5" in length - the tiger barbs eventually started their fin nipping and were merciless. I had to remove the shark. The current shark is about 4" long and holds it's own. It has secured it's own area underneath a piece of driftwood that I surrounded with wisteria plants and rocks. This shark was attacked by the tiger barbs but they do not bother it any more; it was large enough to hold it's own. The only worries I have is that the shark does not get enough food because the tiger barbs eat voraciously and will go into the shark's territory to get even the smallest morsel. Also, I'm fairly certain the shark killed the only pleco in the tank; it was about the same size as the shark. I guess the pleco fit the category of "other sharks or similar" and it was very territorial.

 

[nickfox45]

I have a rainbow shark in a 40 gallon long tank with 20 tiger barbs. I started with one about 2.5" in length - the tiger barbs eventually started their fin nipping and were merciless. I had to remove the shark. The current shark is about 4" long and holds it's own. It has secured it's own area underneath a piece of driftwood that I surrounded with wisteria plants and rocks. This shark was attacked by the tiger barbs but they do not bother it any more; it was large enough to hold it's own. The only worries I have is that the shark does not get enough food because the tiger barbs eat voraciously and will go into the shark's territory to get even the smallest morsel. Also, I'm fairly certain the shark killed the only pleco in the tank; it was about the same size as the shark. I guess the pleco fit the category of "other sharks or similar" and it was very territorial.

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interesting stuff, thanks for the info. i definitely want to get a larger group of tiger barbs after having 6 for only a few hours, id love to double that, but i guess i need to wait a couple weeks for that. when i do get a shark ill try to make sure its bigger than the barbs, but not huge, so it can hold its own. is there any way to make sure the shark gets food?

 

[WILDER]

Don' worry about the shark he will get food at any cost, lol.