Help me ID a fish

[rdd1952]

I visited the SC Aquarium in Charleston this past weekend and saw a fish in their Amazon section that I can't ID. I didn't have a camera so I don't have pics. I pretty they were some type shark. They were 4 to 6 inces long, silver with a red and black tail. They were also very aggressive and two of them were really harassing each other. They were in the same tank with some serpae, red-eye and lemon tetras, some corys and some angel fish. The angels looked terrible with their tails and fins torn up. One basically had no tail or fins. I strongly suspect these sharks or what ever they are were the problem. The tank also wasn't heavily planted so the angels (or any other fish for that matter) had no hiding places. The angels ware in the bottom back corner of the tank in a small group. I would have said something to an employee but couldn't find anyone in that section. Any idea of what these may have been?

 

[yvez9]

could it be the red tail black shark? or maybe a rainbow shark?

 

[rdd1952]

Definitely wasn't those as these were silver with a dual color tail.

Edit: These could possibly be a type of loach too. They did have a somewhat high back and a bottom feeder mouth.

 

[sylvia]

Based entirely off the red/black tail color and shark-like appearance:

Maroon shark (which it probably isn't - or at least I hope not as they grow to 20" and are realy quite unsuitable for your average tank ) : http/kd.mysearch.myway.com/jsp/GGimg.jsp...obarbus+hoeveni

Or a ruby shark (which seems a lot more likely): http/www.zooclub.com.ua/3/352

Sorry I couldn't get any better pics...

Do you remember if they had barbels? And did they actualy look like they were one of the 'shark' species or are you just describing their body shape? Did they look more like a catfish or like a barb body shape-wise?

 

[rdd1952]

Based entirely off the red/black tail color and shark-like appearance:

Maroon shark (which it probably isn't - or at least I hope not as they grow to 20" and are realy quite unsuitable for your average tank ) : http/kd.mysearch.myway.com/jsp/GGimg.jsp...obarbus+hoeveni

Or a ruby shark (which seems a lot more likely): http/www.zooclub.com.ua/3/352

Sorry I couldn't get any better pics...

Do you remember if they had barbels? And did they actualy look like they were one of the 'shark' species or are you just describing their body shape? Did they look more like a catfish or like a barb body shape-wise?

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Not the Ruby shark. The other link didn't work. From looking at body types and trying to find a picture of it myself, I'd say the body type was more like a loach with the higher back. It definitely wasn't a catfish as it had scales and no barbels. It also had a slightly down-turned mouth like a bottom feeder.

 

[sylvia]

Here's the maroon shark again: http/habitatnews.nus.edu.sg/guidebooks/f...sh/text/207.htm
and: http/badmanstropicalfish.com/stats/cypri...yprinids2g.html
and a BIG one

Most loaches also have barbels so if you say they had none it probably wasn't a loach. They also don't have obvious scales in most instances.

It wasn't a torpedo barb by any chance right?
I doubt it as I would have expected a much more colorful description for this fish: http/badmanstropicalfish.com/gallery/cyp..._dennisoni.html

I just noticed you said it was in the Amazon section... that means it can't have been a shark, barb or loach .

Do you remember what colors the rest of their fins were? Was the silver body just plain, uniform silver or was there some kind of pattern/markings? Which part of the tank did they seem to preffer and spend most time in - top, middle or bottom? Also, what sort of shape was the tail and can you remember whether or not they had an adipose fin?

 

[CFC]

Possibly silver prochilodus http/www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/semaproc.htm . Like other plant eating Characins if they dont get enough green in their diet they will resort to fins and slime coats to get their nutrients.

If not then prehaps one of the Brycon species, sorry i cant seem to find a picture online.

 

[rdd1952]

I just noticed you said it was in the Amazon section... that means it can't have been a shark, barb or loach .

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Not any of those either. It was in the amazon section. I don't keep any sharks, loaches of barbs so I didn't think about the fact that they weren't South American fish.

Do you remember what colors the rest of their fins were? Was the silver body just plain, uniform silver or was there some kind of pattern/markings? Which part of the tank did they seem to preffer and spend most time in - top, middle or bottom? Also, what sort of shape was the tail and can you remember whether or not they had an adipose fin?

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The color was pretty much silver. That's why I was thinking a shark. As best I can remember now, the tail was the only thing that had any color to it. They were pretty much in the middle of the tank and one was constantly attacking another one. It's not really a big deal what type they are. I was going to send an email to the SC Aquarium and express concerns I had about those fish and the condition of the angels. I sent it anyway. They will know which fish I am referring to since those were the only bigger fish in the tank. Thanks for all your help.

 

[rdd1952]

Possibly silver prochilodus http/www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/semaproc.htm . Like other plant eating Characins if they dont get enough green in their diet they will resort to fins and slime coats to get their nutrients.

If not then prehaps one of the Brycon species, sorry i cant seem to find a picture online.

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I believe that's the one. Tail may not be red/black but definitely two tone. They must have not been fed very well as they were rather nasty to each other but not really bothering the other fish. I strongly suspect they had harrassed the angels though as they looked terrible.

Thanks to both CFC and Sylvia for your help.