Rainbow Shark Not Shy?

[Jak]

So my raimbow shark is rarely hidden away in my tank. Hes newish to my aquarium and still pretty small. He came from petco, is about 2 and a quarter inches long and has been in my community for about 4 weeks. For a few days he hid in lots of different places but now he's out and about and even eating with the other fish in open water.

He eats with my dwarf gouramis and my Australian Rainbows near the top of the tank. He doesnt usually get to the surface but he definately swims with the big fish even though there are plenty of places to hide (and theres plenty to eat on the bottom)

I've always known rainbow sharks to be very shy and only come out at night. My dad and I had one in his tank for years and I only saw him at night for a split second before he darted into his conch shell. (It was funny to see such a big fish, almost 7 inches, be the biggest scardycat in the tank lol)

Thoughts?

 

[Cynic]

I've had a few rainbow sharks and they've never been shy.

They tend to get territorial when they get older and swim around less however which si why they generally spell disaster for small tanks.

 

[twiddlemuffin]

I have one about 3-4 inches. He's not very shy, he likes to follow others around non aggressively and eat up against the DW and hides.

 

[Jak]

DW?

Ok I suppose I had a misconception about their boldness. I did know they get agressive especially when theyre older. I have a 50 gallon and a hollow log I figured he'd take over. I guess for now he's playing nice with everyone but he'll get territorial as time comes.

 

[Bichir Bro]

IMO When rainbow sharks are young they are fairly active and out going yet when they become older they can still be active yet you will likely see a large decline in normal activities. Of course mine still patrols the bottom of "his" tank and chases off any intruders in his territory but other than that he just loafs around in his cave all day. Their aggression comes with age but it's generally just them chasing stuff away from his territory.

 

[Dallascowboys16]

I recently had my rainbow shark go on a killing spree so I had to rehome him. They are really cool fish but only keep them with fish that are about their size or else you will have a lot of dead fish as the mature.

 

[Bichir Bro]

I recently had my rainbow shark go on a killing spree so I had to rehome him. They are really cool fish but only keep them with fish that are about their size or else you will have a lot of dead fish as the mature.

yeah unfortunately unless kept with similarly sized/tempered fish they can be just out right killers. Very sorry about your loss too.

 

[Jak]

yeah unfortunately unless kept with similarly sized/tempered fish they can be just out right killers. Very sorry about your loss too.

You think my rainbow will be ok with my corries down the road? They're about 1.75 or 2 inches full grown. Ive had em for 2 or 3 years now. The rainbow is still young at the moment.

 

[Bichir Bro]

Believe it or not the bigger Cory cats are actually excellent tank mates for rainbow sharks. They are excellent at shaking off the sharks territorial related chases. However while the big ones are like this I unfortunately have no clue how the small ones will handle it.

 

[Jak]

Believe it or not the bigger Cory cats are actually excellent tank mates for rainbow sharks. They are excellent at shaking off the sharks territorial related chases. However while the big ones are like this I unfortunately have no clue how the small ones will handle it.

We shall see.
I have lots of hiding places so hopefully they can share.

 

[Bichir Bro]

IMO If the tank is large enough with enough plants and caves it should be fine.

 

[bshenanagins]

Rainbows are definitely not shy and will give chase to anything that invades its territory. For the most part they will hide in their caves but you will find them swimming about grazing on algae etc. Awesome fish but they don't appreciate having tank mates that are more colorful than them. Mine hated my platties