Rainbow Shark + Denisoni Barbs + Tank advice?

[swozzie]

I have had a Rainbow Shark for around 3 years, most of that time he had a 4ft tank all to himself bar a few neon tetras.

I have just moved him to a slightly bigger tank where he seems to established a territory (the whole tank floor!). The tank is well planted (co2 etc)

2 days ago I added 4 Denisoni Barbs. The Shark just keeps chasing them all the time. They don't seem to bothered, they just duck out of the way and then carry on doing what they were doing before. They also seem to be able to avoid him all the time, although I am not sure if he just slows down when he gets near them - they haven't suffered any damage.

My question is, will the Shark stop chasing them so much. Is it detremental to the Denisoni's health or is it better to move the Shark to his own tank. If so, is a 2ft tank big enough for just him?

 

[CiRXSi]

First off, Welcome to AA.com swozzie!!

Rainbow sharks can be hard to tell. I've had fairly passive ones, as well as quite mean ones. It's hard to say if he'll back off or not, due to the fact that he was by himself for so long. I would say that if 10 days goes by and he hasn't backed off at all, then you should move him. Your barbs will be stressed, and of course that isn't good.

 

[Cichlidguy]

When i first added tiger barbs to my tank with a rainbow shark, he chased them around day and night. But now he seems to have calmed down.

 

[Fruitbat]

Puntius denisonii can take care of themselves and the 'shark' should calm down eventually. I wouldn't worry a whole lot about it.

 

[spongebob69]

you might try rearranging some of the landmarks in the tank...driftwood...ornaments..whatever...it may soften his territoriality a bit.