Red Tailed Black Shark

sted · Jan 27, 2011

Hi advice on these I have a Roma 200 with a breeding group on bn plec some large neons two angels and mollies in!
What effect would RBS have ?
Eat my baby plec? Etc

sted · Jan 27, 2011

Anyone?

sted · Jan 27, 2011

Rynofasho · Jan 27, 2011

I'm no expert, but so long as there are sufficient caves / nooks / crannys for all the bottom dwellers, I think it should be fine. Some are more aggressive than others, but I think it would be ok.

markandhisfish · Jan 27, 2011

they are known for being rather feisty . it seems to come out in them when they grow . every rtbs ive ever had has been totally mellow , until they hit about 3 inches , then they got nasty. ime tankmates for a rtbs should be tough enough to take a bit of stick

Alasse · Feb 1, 2011

I have an adult RTS in with Angels, BN, Platys, and Clown loaches. It's a wuss and doesnt harass anyone

Now while the RTS doesnt have a go at BN fry, the Angels certainly do, just a warning

Tokis-Phoenix · Feb 1, 2011

sted said:
Hi advice on these I have a Roma 200 with a breeding group on bn plec some large neons two angels and mollies in!
What effect would RBS have ?
Eat my baby plec? Etc

RTBS are semi-territorial/aggressive fish. As juveniles they are quite good in communites, but as they mature they tend to become more aggressive/territorial. They tend to go for fish which;
a. Are shark-shaped (like bala sharks)
b. Have colouring or patterning similar to RTBS (red & black, so definitely no red wag platys)
c. Are vulvernable (i.e. delicate slow swimming fish with fancy finnage like Bettas or Gourami's).

The RTBS would be totally fine with the plecos but its debatable whether it would get on with the angelfish & mollies in the long term (the largest risk being with the angelfish as they are slow swimming fish which are not particularly agile etc).

RTBS Habitat: Should be semi-planted with lots of decor to break up view points in the tank as well as providing caves for hiding (though they can be very active fish they do go for naps throughout the day). Tank should ideally be 30gallons/3ft long.

Ideal RTBS stocking: Due to their aggressive/territorial tendancies the best sorts of fish to put with RTBS are shoaling fish like danios, harlequin tetras, cherry barbs, neon tetras etc which the shark won't pick on, and robust bottom dwelling fish like yoyo loaches, clown loaches, pleco's etc which the shark won't harm (my RTBS does attempt to pick on my yoyo loaches during feeding times sometimes but they are just far too hyper & agile for it to do anything to them, while the plecos just ignore it completely).

I also knew an experienced member on the forum who kept an RTBS in a tank full of fish which were all larger than it and he said that being kept with larger fish reduced its aggressive tendancies massively, becomming one of the most peaceful fish in the tank (although RTBS are a bit stupid it does seem even they have the sense to know who not to pick on lol!).