aggressive red tail!

[Silent Night]

so, my partner texts me as i am on my way home from work to tell me that my red tailed black shark has killed my rather beautiful female Siamese fighting fish...

i return home and sure enough, one dead fighter.
having not witnessed it i cant describe the manner in which she died (stress, or otherwise).

i mean, i know that they are aggressive towards their own, but i wasn't aware that red tailed sharks attack other species with such ferocity...

the tank is an uncrowded 85 litre. i have examined the water quality and found it to be normal. i cant think of anything else that would have sparked this aggression. they have lived in harmony for months! lol

watching the shark more closely since i have witnessed him pursue my other female and also my male fighter. has anyone experienced a similar problem?

please, any advice? thanks, all!

 

[dkpate]

I think most fish, as they age, become more agressive.

 

[Silent Night]

for the sake of my remaining fighters, i hope you're wrong!

i've not noticed to be honest. my stock is fairly young.

 

[HN1]

Do I understand correctly that you have multiple bettas "fighters" (despise that term for them) in a tank with an RTS?

If so, more fish will be killed.

 

[Silent Night]

The female fighters are passive, and my LFS advised me that this would not be an issue.

They have coexisted for 6 months without issue.

Are you suggesting that RTS and SFF are not the best tank mates?

Thanks for getting back to me HN1

 

[mgamer20o0]

RTS do best with larger more aggressive fish. they are known to attack other fish more so as they age.

 

[HN1]

I would worry about male killing the females more than the RTS personally. Though they do get a bit fiesty as they age, they direct most of their chaos towards like shaped fish IME.

Surely your LFS didn't recommend keeping a male with females in a community tank?

 

[Silent Night]

thanks for passing on your experiences guys.

my male has never aggressed against my females. I've kept Siamese for years. a ratio of 2:1 or more females prevents such attacks, especially in a larger well planted aquarium i have found.

i guess i may have to consider returning him to the LFS. its a shame, after so long.

again, thank you for your input guys

 

[logansmomma1228]

The female fighters are passive, and my LFS advised me that this would not be an issue.

They have coexisted for 6 months without issue.

Are you suggesting that RTS and SFF are not the best tank mates?

Thanks for getting back to me HN1

thanks for passing on your experiences guys.

my male has never aggressed against my females. I've kept Siamese for years. a ratio of 2:1 or more females prevents such attacks, especially in a larger well planted aquarium i have found.

i guess i may have to consider returning him to the LFS. its a shame, after so long.

again, thank you for your input guys

1) Don't listen to the LFS until you have researched enough yourself.

2) If you have been keeping the bettas for years, you would already know that it isn't the best combo.

3) Fish can be profiled however, but in the end it all comes down to the particular fish and their personality. Many people claim they keep dwarf puffers in community tanks as well... they might get along for a while but especially as they mature they are more likely (than not) to get aggressive. Like I said, it all depends on the fish and honestly I think the only way to know for sure is to try it.

4) When I hear the word shark, that usually makes me think that they will be aggressive. I wouldn't keep that combination of fish. In fact I recall reading that RTS can get very aggressive and should be in species tanks.. or with similar sized aggressive fish.

 

[i3k]

My red tail shark shows some aggression towards the smallest fish in the tank, which is a smaller rainbow. But it only gets aggressive when I feed. And only for few minutes. My rainbow can deal with my RTS though. Other than feeding time, the shark just minds it's own business.