jeremy2
New Member
what fish would work well with a redtail?
What Fish would work well with a RTBS?
- Thread starter jeremy2
- Start date
redtailshark34
Fish Fanatic
Hello and welcome to the forum! There are many people on here with great advice 
Red tailed black sharks are very aggressive fish and it is quite hard to find tank mates. That being said some of the following may work but the fish is quite violent:
Neon Tetras- a schooling fish that should be kept in large groups of about 9+. They are very colorful yet quite small. They also aren’t bottom feeders like the RTBS. Tank size for only neon tetra: 10+ gallons.
Honey Gourami- a very pretty fish that doesn’t stuffer from quite as many health problems as it’s relative the dwarf gourami. You can keep a pair of male and female together I believe (may have to fact check). Tank size for ONLY honey gourami: 20+ gallons.
Bala Shark: This is another type of shark aka the silver shark, HOWEVER, these fish are schooling and need to live in large groups like the neon tetra. They require a massive tank with the minimum proper sized tank being roughly 8 feet long. Balas also grow incredibly fast (about three inches per month in some cases), for a school I won’t recommend a tank less than 175 gallons.
Congo tetra: very beautiful schooling fish that should be kept in groups roughly of about 9. They are very active and enjoyable. Recommended tank size: 30+ gallons for ONLY congo tetra.
Angelfish: it is important to note that angels are related to south american cichlids and while south american cichlids are “nicer” than african cichlids, they can still be aggressive. For these two to live together I would have a pretty large tank. Angels need large tanks themselves because of how tall they grow (about 6-8 inches as they mature into adults). If you keep multiple angels together they will likely pair off, they cna be kept alone or in pairs. Groups are possible but not recommended. Recommended tank size for ONLY angels: 60+ gallons.
Dwarf gourami: as mentioned above these can be incredibly gorgeous fish. They have been genetically inbreed for years which has weakened them severely and dubbed them the disease “dwarf gourami disease”. This disease only infects dwarf gourami but can be very deadly for them. That being said these are still aggressive fish and should be kept to one male per tank or if it’s possible a male female duo. Not every dwarf gourami is that same, they aren’t guaranteed to suffer from disease.
RED TAILED BLACK SHARKS ARE SOFT WATER FISH!!!!! (This means NO hard water fish, such as livebearers (guppies, plagues, mollies, etc.), african cichlids, some rainbowfish, etc.
They are also very aggressive as they have been raised to believe that the tank they inhabit is their territory and they need to protect it. It is crucial to avoid other bottom feeding fish, especially other red tailed black sharks (unless you have an absolutely massive tank and even then problems occur). They should have caves and hiding spots as well. Every fish are different, some red tailed black sharks, in my experience, have been able to live with other fish happily and other times they have killed off every other fish in the tank.
The sharks can also grow to be quite large some even to about five inches
Please take note that these tank mates may not work depending on your shark, as it will become stressed out if the tank spacing is inadequate with tank mates as it sees them as threats. The fish will most likely stress each other out until some or all fish die.
Red tailed black sharks are very aggressive fish and it is quite hard to find tank mates. That being said some of the following may work but the fish is quite violent:
Neon Tetras- a schooling fish that should be kept in large groups of about 9+. They are very colorful yet quite small. They also aren’t bottom feeders like the RTBS. Tank size for only neon tetra: 10+ gallons.
Honey Gourami- a very pretty fish that doesn’t stuffer from quite as many health problems as it’s relative the dwarf gourami. You can keep a pair of male and female together I believe (may have to fact check). Tank size for ONLY honey gourami: 20+ gallons.
Bala Shark: This is another type of shark aka the silver shark, HOWEVER, these fish are schooling and need to live in large groups like the neon tetra. They require a massive tank with the minimum proper sized tank being roughly 8 feet long. Balas also grow incredibly fast (about three inches per month in some cases), for a school I won’t recommend a tank less than 175 gallons.
Congo tetra: very beautiful schooling fish that should be kept in groups roughly of about 9. They are very active and enjoyable. Recommended tank size: 30+ gallons for ONLY congo tetra.
Angelfish: it is important to note that angels are related to south american cichlids and while south american cichlids are “nicer” than african cichlids, they can still be aggressive. For these two to live together I would have a pretty large tank. Angels need large tanks themselves because of how tall they grow (about 6-8 inches as they mature into adults). If you keep multiple angels together they will likely pair off, they cna be kept alone or in pairs. Groups are possible but not recommended. Recommended tank size for ONLY angels: 60+ gallons.
Dwarf gourami: as mentioned above these can be incredibly gorgeous fish. They have been genetically inbreed for years which has weakened them severely and dubbed them the disease “dwarf gourami disease”. This disease only infects dwarf gourami but can be very deadly for them. That being said these are still aggressive fish and should be kept to one male per tank or if it’s possible a male female duo. Not every dwarf gourami is that same, they aren’t guaranteed to suffer from disease.
RED TAILED BLACK SHARKS ARE SOFT WATER FISH!!!!! (This means NO hard water fish, such as livebearers (guppies, plagues, mollies, etc.), african cichlids, some rainbowfish, etc.
They are also very aggressive as they have been raised to believe that the tank they inhabit is their territory and they need to protect it. It is crucial to avoid other bottom feeding fish, especially other red tailed black sharks (unless you have an absolutely massive tank and even then problems occur). They should have caves and hiding spots as well. Every fish are different, some red tailed black sharks, in my experience, have been able to live with other fish happily and other times they have killed off every other fish in the tank.
The sharks can also grow to be quite large some even to about five inches
Please take note that these tank mates may not work depending on your shark, as it will become stressed out if the tank spacing is inadequate with tank mates as it sees them as threats. The fish will most likely stress each other out until some or all fish die.
jeremy2
New Member
thanks!Hello and welcome to the forum! There are many people on here with great advice
Red tailed black sharks are very aggressive fish and it is quite hard to find tank mates. That being said some of the following may work but the fish is quite violent:
Neon Tetras- a schooling fish that should be kept in large groups of about 9+. They are very colorful yet quite small. They also aren’t bottom feeders like the RTBS. Tank size for only neon tetra: 10+ gallons.
Honey Gourami- a very pretty fish that doesn’t stuffer from quite as many health problems as it’s relative the dwarf gourami. You can keep a pair of male and female together I believe (may have to fact check). Tank size for ONLY honey gourami: 20+ gallons.
Bala Shark: This is another type of shark aka the silver shark, HOWEVER, these fish are schooling and need to live in large groups like the neon tetra. They require a massive tank with the minimum proper sized tank being roughly 8 feet long. Balas also grow incredibly fast (about three inches per month in some cases), for a school I won’t recommend a tank less than 175 gallons.
Congo tetra: very beautiful schooling fish that should be kept in groups roughly of about 9. They are very active and enjoyable. Recommended tank size: 30+ gallons for ONLY congo tetra.
Angelfish: it is important to note that angels are related to south american cichlids and while south american cichlids are “nicer” than african cichlids, they can still be aggressive. For these two to live together I would have a pretty large tank. Angels need large tanks themselves because of how tall they grow (about 6-8 inches as they mature into adults). If you keep multiple angels together they will likely pair off, they cna be kept alone or in pairs. Groups are possible but not recommended. Recommended tank size for ONLY angels: 60+ gallons.
Dwarf gourami: as mentioned above these can be incredibly gorgeous fish. They have been genetically inbreed for years which has weakened them severely and dubbed them the disease “dwarf gourami disease”. This disease only infects dwarf gourami but can be very deadly for them. That being said these are still aggressive fish and should be kept to one male per tank or if it’s possible a male female duo. Not every dwarf gourami is that same, they aren’t guaranteed to suffer from disease.
RED TAILED BLACK SHARKS ARE SOFT WATER FISH!!!!! (This means NO hard water fish, such as livebearers (guppies, plagues, mollies, etc.), african cichlids, some rainbowfish, etc.
They are also very aggressive as they have been raised to believe that the tank they inhabit is their territory and they need to protect it. It is crucial to avoid other bottom feeding fish, especially other red tailed black sharks (unless you have an absolutely massive tank and even then problems occur). They should have caves and hiding spots as well. Every fish are different, some red tailed black sharks, in my experience, have been able to live with other fish happily and other times they have killed off every other fish in the tank.
The sharks can also grow to be quite large some even to about five inches
Please take note that these tank mates may not work depending on your shark, as it will become stressed out if the tank spacing is inadequate with tank mates as it sees them as threats. The fish will most likely stress each other out until some or all fish die.
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