Rainbow Sharks

[paddy2k7]

I recently bought a rainbow shark from a pet store, when he first went in the tank he seemed happy swimming round the tan, but now he seems subdued and is always hiding in his "castle", he also doesn’t seem to be eating. Please can someone let me know if this is normal, ive tried searching for a page on rainbow sharks but they all say different things so I don’t know who to believe.

Cheers Paddy Callaghan (uk)

 

[england]

hey paddy,when you say rainbow shark i take it you mean the black redtailed shark?
how long have you had him?
takes fish a while to ajust to new tanks/mates/food etc.....
black redtails are what id call a species who like it either very shady or no lights at all kind of fish,i have a 5inch one he never came out much in my brightly lit tank but now hes in one with lots of shady areas hes always out,they like to hide alot and eat alge from funny posistion like upside down....i have a albino one aswell which i got recently who took about 1-2weeks to eat prop and become comfy in tank

 

[*Fishkies*]

What size tank do you have him in? What other tank mates are in the tank with him? What have you tried feeding him??

Those questions can help determine why he may be acting the way he is.

 

[paddy2k7]

hey paddy,when you say rainbow shark i take it you mean the black redtailed shark?
how long have you had him?
takes fish a while to ajust to new tanks/mates/food etc.....
black redtails are what id call a species who like it either very shady or no lights at all kind of fish,i have a 5inch one he never came out much in my brightly lit tank but now hes in one with lots of shady areas hes always out,they like to hide alot and eat alge from funny posistion like upside down....i have a albino one aswell which i got recently who took about 1-2weeks to eat prop and become comfy in tank

thanks alot for the advice im sure its gonna help him. you seem knowledge able about fishy things so i was wandering if you help with another question, on some of my ornaments a dark brown alge seems to have apeared. Do you know if its anything i should worry about ???

 

[tropicaltone]

I shouldn't worry, If you're talking about a Rainbow Shark/Red Finned Shark they are quite well know to hide in shady areas and hang around or in "their territory"

All sounds fairly normal to me.

The Red tailed black shark (not the Rainbow Shark) however is similar but tends to hide less and be more boistrious, but still likes to hang out in "their territory"

 

[Chrispixx]

All sounds fairly normal to me.

Sorry but it does not sound normal to me... but i could be wrong.

I've only had one rainbow shark all this time fishkeeping, heres what happened with mine.

My rainbow was in my 20 gal. when i first got him. He was being picked on by my black shark and hid all the time. He hid 24-7, never even came out for food.

After seeing this i moved him to my 29 gal. and now he is out all the time.. and has been since the move.

i dont know if this applies or helps in your situation but if your rainbow is being bullied, that could be why he is hiding.

 

[tropicaltone]

All sounds fairly normal to me.

Sorry but it does not sound normal to me... but i could be wrong.

I've only had one rainbow shark all this time fishkeeping, heres what happened with mine.

My rainbow was in my 20 gal. when i first got him. He was being picked on by my black shark and hid all the time. He hid 24-7, never even came out for food.

After seeing this i moved him to my 29 gal. and now he is out all the time.. and has been since the move.

i dont know if this applies or helps in your situation but if your rainbow is being bullied, that could be why he is hiding.

I agree, that applies to any fish if its being bullied, hopefully Paddy2k7 would be able to see if the rainbow shark was being chased so much he wanted to hide. But if you read up on other peoples experience with rainbow sharks you will find a lot of them mention they like to hide in their territory for much of their time and can be slow to feed.

It depends, every shark is different, it could be other tank mates

 

[tropicaltone]

Heres a link for you to read up on other peoples experience so you have a fuller perspective.

http/www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_frenatus.php

Hopefully this will be useful to you. It could be a water quality issue if you shark has lost its colour and is clamping its fins.