Red Tailed Black Sharks?

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

Pugwinkle

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Mar 19, 2004
Messages
60
Location
Ontario, Canada
I have a 29 gallon with 6 head and taillight tetras. I would like to add a bristlenose pleco and a red tailed black shark. Would they all get along?
 
I have a red tailed shark and it doesn't bother anyone. Once in awhile, one of the Tiger Barbs starts nosing around his "house" and he chases it away. I don't have tetras so cannot comment on your exact situation but my experience has been positive with mine. I love my shark. His name is Bruce and the tips of his fins are white. He's beautiful!
 
ditto to the above. i've had my RTS for about five or six years and i have never observed any kind of aggressive behavior. in fact, the RTS and loaches actually school together. it should be find with tetras...mine and been through many neons during the early years and is currently cohabitating with 6 danios and 5 rasboras
 
Another thing to add...I think that as long as you only have 1 shark you're fine. I do believe that they are only aggressive to their own kind. I think I read somewhere that you either keep 1 or keep a large number (like 6 of them) together.
I say get one. They're great fish! Mine loves to swim in the water current and is fun to watch.
 
i have a red tail in with some tetras and some other stuff and have never had a problem
 
I also agree that having just one red tailed shark would be the best. I have 3 of them in a 55 Gal. and even if it seems to be more than enough room for all of them they still peck and chase each other around the whole tank...pretty punchy bunch. I like to call them the 'terror squad'. There haven't been any casualties or major disturbances though. I've found them displaying this behaviour only towards their own kind (as newlywed had mentioned) and they barely take notice of other fish in the tank. In fact, they just go about doing their own thing (looks like a game of tag or something.) I have had a bunch of tetra in the tank they're in previously, and there weren't any problems...currently they're also with several plecos and there is never any interaction between the two species. Hope this helps and it works out. :D
 
Red Fin Sharks should be kept alone as they are very territorial when they mature. If not alone, they should be in groups of 5 or more. If you get more than one but less than 5, there is a good chance that they will fight each other for their tank space. It is best to keep red fin sharks as the only shark in the tank as well due to thier territorial-ness. HTH
 
Mr Burns said:
ditto to the above. i've had my RTS for about five or six years and i have never observed any kind of aggressive behavior. in fact, the RTS and loaches actually school together. it should be find with tetras...mine and been through many neons during the early years and is currently cohabitating with 6 danios and 5 rasboras

I'm just curious what size of tank you have your RTBS in? Do you think my 29 gallon will be big enough?
 
It is best to keep red fin sharks as the only shark in the tank as well due to thier territorial-ness

Yup, I had one and it was fine at first. The moment I added an SAE to my tank it became aggressive. Sometimes when the SAE would safely move out of the way it would channel a little aggression on whatever was close by. It used to gladly share space with a few corydoras and that changed with the SAE introduction.
 
hey pugwinkle,

i have my redtail in a 20gal at the moment but he is going to be moved into my 40 here soon
 
Back
Top Bottom