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Rainbow shark.. tank mates

7K views 6 replies 6 participants last post by  keane 
#1 ·
I got a rainbow shark and the pet store said its a good community fish but its not and now I have them with my tetras and dwarf gourmai in a 29. there are 4 tetras, 2 sharks, one is four in and one is two inches. and then I have an affrican dwarf frog and two dwarf gourmai. any comments on what may happen or if i need to get the raindow sharks out.
 
#2 ·
Well even if the sharks leave the other fish alone, they most likely won't leave each other alone. They are very aggressive towards their own kind. I have had both rainbow and red tailed sharks live peacefully within a community tank...than again I have had them harrass their tankmates to the point where they have had to be removed. As they mature, then tend to become more aggressive. At the very least I would remove one of the sharks and hope for the best with the second one (keep in mind it will eventually outgrow the tank anyways). Hope this helps.
 
#5 ·
I agree. I would get rid of the two that I have if I could catch them. It's like getting plecos. The pet stores don't give you all the details. It also seems like a good idea when they are small. Both are aggressive to their own kind and they out grow the tanks. They also destroy plants.
 
#3 ·
I agree. Definitely only one in a tank (unless it is huge), but one will need a 4-foot tank very soon, so if this is not in the realm of possibility now, get rid of both of them before trouble occurs.

You can read more in the profile, click the shaded name Rainbow Shark.

You have learned an important lesson: you can't always/usually rely on what employees in the fish store tell you. Always research a fish species yourself before acquiring it, to ensure you can provide what it needs and avoid problems. We have many fish species in our profiles, under the second tab from the left in the blue bar across the top of the page. This can save a lot of grief, and harm to your other fish.

Byron.
 
#7 ·
I have the same problem, one of my rainbow sharks has flourished and grown so fast and the other hides all the3 time, barely eats, hasn't grown and whenever it dares to venture out from behind the filter it is chastised by the other one. Just a shame I only have room for one tank at present. I only wish fish stores were more focused on customers than sales.
 
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