Adding a rainbow shark to cichlid tank....

[foshizzle11]

Just wondering if this could be done?

we have a 4" rainbow shark in our community tank and it has grown much faster than the rest of the community fish and seems to be picking on some of them.

Is it possible to transport it to our cichlid tank or would they just kill it? Most of our cichlids are juvies.

if this can't be done can he be added to a tank with black ghost knife fish which are only 3" long right now?

 

[aquandrew]

a lot of people have had success adding rainbow sharks to their african cichlid tank because they are fast and also semi aggressive. some people have had problems with their south americans and rainbow sharks though what kind if cichlids do you have? it also works better when the cichlids are juvies so i would give it a shot

 

[foshizzle11]

Ya, they are African. We have one adult cichlid but it doesn't seem very aggressive.

Anyway that is good to introduce him?

 

[aquandrew]

yeah i would put them in with the cichlids. the red tail shark would probably not go well with the black ghost knives.

 

[foshizzle11]

Alright cool, anyone else have any advice or experience with this?

 

[Dirt Diggler]

My wife thought the Bala Shark was "cute" and wondered if it would work. I haven't seen much on adding sharks to African cichlid tanks, but what I have seen says that as long as no one is small enough to be eaten, then you should be ok. I however would like to know what the more experienced guys say as I am a newbie who has the same question.

 

[ashleynicole]

A bala shark and a rainbow shark are nothing alike and neither are really "sharks" .

A rainbow shark is semi-aggressive and shoould not he kept with any other "shark" (rainbow or redtail). I've had a rainbow shark with mbuna before with no ill effects.

A bala shark is a schooling fish and they get huge and need a really big tank.

 

[dragonfisher33]

i had a rainbow shark that's about 6 inches or longer, nothing wrong with it been in a cichlid tank (excluding the most aggressive types, i.e. oscar)

 

[Aquamandan]

Definitely worth a shot. Go for it.

 

[Dirt Diggler]

A bala shark and a rainbow shark are nothing alike and neither are really "sharks" .

A rainbow shark is semi-aggressive and shoould not he kept with any other "shark" (rainbow or redtail). I've had a rainbow shark with mbuna before with no ill effects.

A bala shark is a schooling fish and they get huge and need a really big tank.

i had a rainbow shark that's about 6 inches or longer, nothing wrong with it been in a cichlid tank (excluding the most aggressive types, i.e. oscar)

No sharks in my tank yet. But I wonder aloud. I doubt I do it though. The sharks do get pretty big.

 

[Skittles]

Ive had a tank with a mix of african and american cichlids in it ( juvies ) an I added a Rainbow shark in it no problem at all. They all got a little teritorial but if I did frequent water changes and changed the positioning of rocks and things in the tank then they seemed pretty happy together

 

[foshizzle11]

This is all good info, thanks guys. And I know that the rainbow isn't really a shark but it does act like one sometimes!

I think it will be fine and definitely not to small to get eaten. We will do the transfer today and see how it goes.

Thanks!

 

[Skittles]

Good Luck

 

[foshizzle11]

So, it has been 24 hours and the rainbow shark is in with the cichlids in the 90 gallon tank. So far so good. He was been very wary of the others since he isn't the king of the tank anymore.

He has been chased a few times and has some discolouration from stress but no bites or anything so that is good. He seems more calm and less worried now when he swims around. Haven't seen him eat yet.

We will keep you all posted, so far it has been great.

 

[Skittles]

Thats good to hear, Im glad his fitting in ok

 

[foshizzle11]

Update!


It has been about 6 weeks since we added the rainbow shark and now he is fitting in just fine. He still isn't the boss but isn't getting picked in and looks healthy again, more black now. He is eating fine and seems happy.

Overall I would say this experiment was a success!

 

[FishieMomma]

Thanks for this thread. I was just looking at the rainbow sharks at my excellent chain store and wondering if I could house them with my angelfish pair. I may give it a try.

 

[foshizzle11]

Another update!


The rainbow shark is doing awesome, he doesn't get picked on at all anymore and seems to be eating everything that the cichlids are eating. Including the new NLS pellets we got. He goes crazy for those.

I would say success story on rehousing this fish with majority Juvenile cichlids in a 90 gal tank.

 

[Dirt Diggler]

Awesome!

 

[Cichlidfan]

I've had success with my african cichlid tank with my redtail shark. They never mess with each. They sometimes swim next to each other