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Rainbow shark is afraid in new tank

6K views 6 replies 4 participants last post by  Lupin 
#1 ·
I'm new to fish, and this is my first tank. I have a 10 gallon tank with heater, filter, airpump, gravel, and some plastic plants. Today is the 3rd day I have had the tank. I have two guppies, an x-ray tetra, and a rainbow shark. Today, I've noticed that the rainbow shark hides perfectly still under a plastic plant any time the light is on. When I shut the light off, it immediately swims around freely. Is this typical behavior of a rainbow shark? And if not, what would you recommend to allow it to have more freedom in the tank?

Thanks.
 
#2 ·
first of all you should have let the tank cycle there should be something on this website about it and second a rainbow shark is gonna need a bigger tank a 29 would be suitable but bigger is better. But other than that if the ammonia and nitrates dont kill any of ur fish just give the rainbow some time but please try and get a bigger tank or give him back to the petstore
 
#3 ·
Ack

Hmmmm, perhaps I was misinformed by Petco.... or maybe I have the wrong name of the fish. The fish I have is silver with a red tail and red fins.

They told me that the tank I have now can easily accomodate the fish I purchased and one or two more small fish. They also sold me some water conditioner that they said would set up tap water for fish immediately without needing a cycle first. I'm guessing this was ill advice?
 
#4 ·
Re: Ack

izzy4505 said:
Hmmmm, perhaps I was misinformed by Petco.... or maybe I have the wrong name of the fish. The fish I have is silver with a red tail and red fins.
Rainbow Sharks and Red Finned Sharks look very close. The difference is that the Rainbows are grey-ish to black with a black bar just before the tail fin. If the fish is scared, the darkness in the grey-ish/black will be more silvery. The Rainbows will get to be 7" in length.

I have 2 Rainbow and 2 RTS in a 90g and they all find hiding spots during the day. They are slightly active during the day, but they prefer to hide.
 
#5 ·
Re: Ack

izzy4505 said:
They told me that the tank I have now can easily accomodate the fish I purchased and one or two more small fish. They also sold me some water conditioner that they said would set up tap water for fish immediately without needing a cycle first. I'm guessing this was ill advice?
Welcome to the forum.:wave:

Yes, they gave you wrong information not to cycle the tank.:) There's a sticky thread in Starting and Maintaining FW Aquariums which contains all the information you need to cycle the tank.

I agree with Frogman6. Any known sharks(labeos) should be kept best in a tank 30 gallons or more. They are rather aggressive and will oftentimes bully their tankmates. Turn on the room light first before you turn on the aquarium light. This gradual process will prevent the fish from getting shocked by sudden changes in their environment.

I'd recommend the API liquid test kit to check your ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH regularly. If you detect the presence of ammonia and nitrites, do a partial water change immediately.

Good luck.:)
 
#6 ·
Re: Ack

Lupin said:
I agree with Frogman6. Any known sharks(labeos) should be kept best in a tank 30 gallons or more. They are rather aggressive and will oftentimes bully their tankmates. Turn on the room light first before you turn on the aquarium light. This gradual process will prevent the fish from getting shocked by sudden changes in their environment.
A lot of shark-minnows really aren't even suited for a 30g. Bala sharks, though placid, get 12" easily for example and need a lot of swimming room. Irridescant sharks and a number of others get to 36", well outside of a 30g tank.

As a side note, Labeo is no longer used for the sharks. RTS, Rainbow, and Red Finned are all part of Epalzeorhynchos now. Makes you wish they were still Labeo. :p much easier to type.
 
#7 ·
I was referring to the labeos(or epalzeorhyncus then). I never put in reference those balas, pangasius, apollos, etc.:)

Oh, I still keep typing labeos because I'm lazy with long names.:oops:
 
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