Rainbow Shark Tankmates

[trailite]

Hi All
I am in the process of cycling my second tank.
It is 36x15x18 which I think makes it a 35 gallon tank.
It will have plenty of bogwood, caves, plants etc and I would like a little advice from anyone who has kept one or more Rainbow sharks in a community tank.
The guy at my local specialist aquatics shop says that I can keep one or more of these with just about anything, without any real problems.
I was under the impression that they are ok with others as long as they are kept by themselves.
I would be pleased to hear from anyone who has kept one or more of these with others.
Perhaps you could give me the benefit of your experience as to what is likely to be a good mix, numbers which work well together and what to be wary of.
Any info would be gratefuly appreciated.

 

[Sum22]

Rainbow sharks are compatible with barbs and rainbow fish, which are upper-tank and middle-tank dwellers. They can also live with danios, loaches, plecos and gouramis. Also they can live with bala sharks

Rainbow shark - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

They need to be kept with similar sized fish so no one gets eaten.
I don't have any experience with them personally, but I thought I'd do some reading and that is what I found. Other sites seem to say the same thing.

 

[wims590]

HI there!
i have a 260ltr tank with....
1 rainbow shark
2 boesmans rainbow fish
2 bolivian rams
1 krib
and 9 guppies
oh and 3 khuli loaches, always forget about them , never see them lol
Anyway everything in there lives in perfect harmony
the shark chases the rams around just playing but ignores everything else
i personally have been told by every LFS i go to to only keep one type of shark in a tank .
have plenty of caves and plants etc theyll be fine.
ive also had them with glass cats, common plec and platinum gouramis and all has been well
hes a really fun fish and extremly friendly and interesting...comes to see me at the glass when im watching them.
would defo reccomend them and had no problem with him at all

 

[meegosh]

I've seen first hand a yellow lab cichlid chase a rainbow shark right out of the tank. Literally... it ended up on the floor. It doesn't sound like you are keeping any cichlids but I thought I would share my experience.

 

[justsomedude89]

i have a 29 gallon tank with 2 rainbow sharks, 7 tiger barbs, and 2 albino cory cats...from what ive seen the rainbows like to have there own territory...oe stays under a piece of drift wood on the left the other stays mostly to a piece on the right... they have never attacked any of the other fish but they do give chase every once in a while

 

[MichaelsLilGray]

Im suprised your barbs havnt ate your sharks personally lol..

I have 2 balas with 2 clown loaches, 3 tetra, 5 ghost shrimp..(bought for them to eat.. failed.. roflmao.. they are now residing here.) and just added a pleco.. nobody messes with anyone in my tank =D

 

[justsomedude89]

in all actuallity i might have to remove one of the rainbow sharks from the tank...he chases the barbs and the other rainbow pretty intensefully...and this mornin i found that the less dominant shark has a nip taken from his fin...

 

[AndrewH]

You should only keep one rainbow shark they get very aggresive towards their own kind.

 

[Taelen]

You should only keep one rainbow shark they get very aggresive towards their own kind.

Correct, and the one I used to have tormented my striped raphael catfish. At least until it got bigger than he was.

 

[Fathomed]

What if you kept a Rainbow Shark with an Albino Rainbow Shark, would they be able to tell they're actually the same species? Then maybe less fight? Perhaps?

 

[MichaelsLilGray]

Rainbow shark is a bala correct? If so.. they are supose to be kept in groups of 3+ 1 will show dominance but its not a nip at the fin kind either.. that would most defenantly be the barbs lol

 

[AndrewH]

Rainbow shark is a bala correct? If so.. they are supose to be kept in groups of 3+ 1 will show dominance but its not a nip at the fin kind either.. that would most defenantly be the barbs lol

Nope, Rainbow sharks are a completely different species then a Bala. Rainbow sharks are actually the same species as a Red Tailed Shark and obviously and Albino Rainbow Shark.


If you keep a Rainbow Shark with a Red Tailed Shark or even an Albino it will still cause conflict because they are very territorial and will fight with anything smaller or similair size. A friend of mine with a 100 gallon had a Red Tail Shark and a Rainbow Shark (Same Species Basicly) and even with all the room in the tank they still fought. Eventually he upgraded the tank to a 250 and they no longer come in any contact with eachother.

Sorry if this is horrible in grammer I've had quite a bit to drink this night lol. Will fix tommorow if I have to

 

[MichaelsLilGray]

It worked. lol I swear ive heard the bala's refered to as rainbow sharks.

The Bala shark, Balantiocheilos melanopterus, also known as the tricolor shark, silver shark, or shark minnow, is a fish species of the family Cyprinidae, and has long been considered the sole member of the genus Balantiocheilos. This species is not a true shark, but is commonly called a "shark" because of its torpedo-shaped body and large fins.

But i was wrong lol

Ive owned both.. i was confused lol

 

[Fathomed]

lol yeah they're similar, I plan on getting both Balas and Rainbow Sharks too. But I'm going to have to stick to one Rainbow whereas maybe two Balas.

I once heard a story of a group of 6 Rainbow Sharks in one tank, either 100g or 200g. There was no dominant shark as no one was singled out and they all eventually got up to 7" long and lived happily ever after. Something similar to that.

 

[Fathomed]

Oh btw, MichaelsLilGray, that is a Bala in your avatar right? I think the scales reflecting pink-red gravel or something right? Its colour looks amazing.

 

[MichaelsLilGray]

Ty fathomed! As far as the rainbows and bala's.. dont mix them. the redfin will pick on the balas.. seen it done.. and one of my bala's would so happen to be 2x the lenght of the redfin at the time.

To answer your question.. if you have 6-7 of them. they wont be able to get there own corner. hence why they will school and not choose territory. Its inpossible lol. 4 corners 7 fish.

 

[Fathomed]

Oh man, that's not looking good for the Balas. Sum22 quoted on page 1 that Rainbow Sharks are compatible with other Barbs which are relatives to Cyprinidae family which the Balas belong. I'm surprised they attacked a fish twice in length as well. Though I haven't had any experience first hand; I've been doing a lot of research while I wait for my tank to cycle.

Everyone says that some fish, regardless of species, are more agressive than others. I hope I can mix them. I'll likely give it a try and if too agressive, I'll either take the Rainbow out or exchange him for a more passive one. XD

 

[MichaelsLilGray]

ROFLMAO. Well good luck with them. I dont know why they are so territorial. But my experience with 2 redfins and 2 balas (redfins about 2 inchs long the bala pushing 4) just had to get rid of the redfins.. i hated doing it to. i wanted the bala's to get there 15+ inch selfs and lay a smackdown on the 4 inch redfin LOL but it didnt happen.

they also say not to pair bala's with smaller fish.. i have ghost shrimp, and tetra and had zebra danio's in my tank without the bala's even looking twice at them.

So yeah, some fish are just "special". Hope you get those kind xD

 

[Fathomed]

lol, thanks. You should try throwing a Rainbow with already full grown Balas. Then he'd think twice before attacking. Hope that doesn't stress them out though.

 

[MichaelsLilGray]

My balas are like kittens.. scarred at the smallest things.. I mean.. they were circling a ghost shrimp.. one of the bigger ones.. it rose up at them and they bolted to the other side of the tank... i dont think they have it in them to put up a fight ROFLMAO