Rainbow shark in community tank

[Salem06]

Today I got a rainbow shark without doing research and petsmart said that getting it should do ok in a community tank now doing research im realizing it may not be the best idea, I dont know if I should give it a go and see what happens or try to rehome my shark can anyone give me advice

[ColdKoi]

What other fish do you have in the tank?

I’ve got a red tail, a very similar fish in my community 75. The red tail is pretty well behaved for the most part and leaves the Cory, bristlenose and danios alone, but he will give a bit of a chase to the barbs from time to time when they crowd him

Seems like it’s more of an opportunistic thing, the barbs will swim away when he’s close so the rts starts to follow. Then it becomes a game of cat and mouse. The other fish in the tank just carry on with their day when the rts comes poking around and they leave each other alone.

[Salem06]

I have platies, guppies, rubber lip pleco, mollies, danios, two frogs, and two snails. they chase each other around but im more so worried about the behaviour of the shark and I have put him in a bucket for now but he also isnt eating what I gave him

[ColdKoi]

It’s more of an issue I think with the other fish around the rainbow rather than the rainbow itself. Everyone says the rts is super aggressive and maybe that’ll come out in a year or 2. But right now my rts is quite docile, it doesn’t go around picking fights, if a fish near it zooms off (just the barbs are doing this) he will chase for a short distance. I’m not too concerned yet as the barbs and danio chase themselves around a lot more violently lol

If the rainbow has the same behaviour as mine, the issue is skiddish and fast swimming tank mates. The rainbow will likely start chasing them around

What have you fed the rainbow? Mine didn’t seem to have an appetite till the second day he was home. Even now he doesn’t come out and feed with the rest, just kinda feeds on his own time. he usually just gobbles up whatever flakes has hit the substrate,, nibble away at algae off the plants and from time to time he will nibble on the plecos pellets.

[Salem06]

I usually feed them api tropical flakes so I put some in with him but he hasnt taken interest

[ColdKoi]

They are more of an algae eater type fish so flakes might not be high on the list of appealing foods if it’s not hungry.

What size tank do you have and do you have any hiding spots for the rainbow? They’re generally considered a lot more community friendly if they have lots of hiding spots and some territory to call their own. Though mine doesn’t seem to hide out in his root anymore, he will usually go hang out in the dense red ludwigia growing in the one corner now.

As long as you’ve got a 40+gal tank I’d put the rainbow in and see how it goes. Most stores will usually take a fish back within 2 weeks (around here anyways) if it’s not working out. But I imagine you’re going to quarantine him for a bit

[Salem06]

I have lots of plants but not any caves I moved drift wood into a tank for a red claw crab and hes been using that I dont have much space to add a cave or anything like that

[ColdKoi]

I don’t have a whole lot for my rts to hide in but he seems pretty content hanging out in his territory. I trimmed back the ludwigia a lot yesterday but he’s still got the root and a bunch of other dense plants to hide in

[Salem06]

I can add a photo of my tank I only have fake plants but I usually add algae wafers to the tank, thats if I can figure out how to add photos

[Salem06]

Originally Posted by ColdKoi

I don’t have a whole lot for my rts to hide in but he seems pretty content hanging out in his territory. I trimmed back the ludwigia a lot yesterday but he’s still got the root and a bunch of other dense plants to hide in

here is my tank

[Salem06]

Originally Posted by Salem06

I can add a photo of my tank I only have fake plants but I usually add algae wafers to the tank, thats if I can figure out how to add photos

im attempting to put him in so far there doesnt seem to be much bother to him

[ColdKoi]

Looks like a 36gal tank?

Without adding some hiding spots it may not be a good idea to have a rainbow in there. They do get fairly big (6”) and that could cause some territorial issues later on being cramped up in the tank

Of course, it’s never a good idea to buy fish on future plans, but if you planned on getting a larger tank in the future, you could probably make what you’ve got work for now

[Salem06]

Originally Posted by ColdKoi

Looks like a 36gal tank?

Without adding some hiding spots it may not be a good idea to have a rainbow in there. They do get fairly big (6”) and that could cause some territorial issues later on being cramped up in the tank

Of course, it’s never a good idea to buy fish on future plans, but if you planned on getting a larger tank in the future, you could probably make what you’ve got work for now

im trying it for tonight just so he has a place but im planning on taking him back tomorrow and trying to maybe exchange for a different fish if petsmart does that but for now that’s probably where he will be

[ColdKoi]

Yea I wouldn’t consider one in anything less than a 75g or some other 4’ long (or longer) tank. They get to be fair size and they are fast swimmers, they’ll need room to move around.

Petsmart here is pretty good that way. They’ll take a fish back within 2 weeks of purchase as long as it’s in good shape still

[ColdKoi]

Did you end up returning the rainbow?