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Red Tailed Shark Minimum Tank Size

19K views 31 replies 7 participants last post by  Canadian Fish 
#1 ·
I see on the profile that the minimum tank size for a RTS is 48". I was wondering if one could like comfortably in a 36" 35 gallon tank if he was the only fish in the tank? Or is it just too cramped?
 
#2 ·
At the risk of being bombarded with disagreement, that tank is fine and you don't have to limit it to the shark. RTS are grazers and inspectors. They don't swim the tank from end to end incessantly. You can add appropriate tank mates to a rate that is healthy for the capacity of the tank. I purchased a tiny RTS and put him in a 30 gallon community tank. Less than a year later, he has reached full size and is flourishing.
 
#3 ·
I don't mind keeping him alone, I have other tanks for other fish. I have read that some RTS get ornery as they age, and I wouldn't want him harassing the other fish to death. I hear it is hit and miss and some are more friendly.

The tank used to house a single ryukin goldfish so I'm used to it being understocked. I just need to redecorate it, add some driftwood and get a heater.
 
#4 ·
Can we just clarify.... Is it a red tailed shark? .... Or is it a red finned shark? The two are quite different.
If as you say it's the red tailed shark I would really suggest the 48 inch tank is the better option as this shark can be quite nippy and territorial!
 
#5 ·
Red Tailed Shark.

I realize they get nippy and territorial, and that is why a 48" tank is recommended.
What I'm asking is, if he is the only fish in the tank, and all the territory is his, and there is noone to get nippy with, then is 36" adequate?

Badman's says 36" is the minimum tank size, and I read on another site they need a yard (36") of their own territory.

When I read conflicting profiles I typically ask around for advice from people who have kept that species in similar circumstances.
 
#6 ·
I once had a conversation with an older chap who was one of the best aquarists I personally have even come across.... I asked him what the minimum tanks size was for a fish.... he reply: "Half a mile by half a mile by half a mile." What he was getting at was that the more space you can give any fish the better. But in this instance i would say that, given that the minimum size the fish is going to get to is between 6 and 8 inches, the 48 inches would... in my opinion be better.
 
#7 · (Edited)
The Profile i think makes it fairly clear why space is needed for this fish. A five-inch territorial fish in a 36-inch space can obviously work, but our aim should be not to just have fish "manage" but provide the best.

I have a 3-foot tank, and a couple 4-foot tanks. I cannot visualize this fish in my 3-foot, there would be so many risks. The tankmates will need more space too, another consideration with this cyprinid.
 
#8 ·
Again, I don't want any tankmates. There won't be any territorial issues (I assume) because he will be the only fish in the tank, and all the territory will be his. I wouldn't cram another fish in there with him, I wouldn't even put an RTS in my 4 foot tanks because of the other fish.
 
#9 ·
That is a very different issue. My apology if this was said earlier and I somehow missed it. A 3-foot tank with a sand or fine gravel substrate, and several chunks of wood, and plants, would make a nice habitat for a single Red Tailed Shark.

Byron.
 
#13 ·
36" is too small and given that the red tail shark has small closely packed scales and relatively thin skin you don't want to put bog wood in in real terms as its likely to lead to injury of at the very least the mucus membrane, leaving the fish open to infection. This fish is an obligatory carnivore that will accept proprietors food so it is ideally suited to a planted tank but given its potential size of 7" in the aquarium 36" is too small... Do it right and set up a properly suited aquarium for a species that is actually on the endangered list now!
 
#11 ·
Agree with Byron on this, it will work only if there is nothing else going in the tank with it and it is decorated as suggested.
 
#17 ·
Red tipped(finned),Red tail, Rainbow, are all quite active, and often tempermental.
These fish, get along with other shark's,small fishes,about as often as single specimen tank's remain single specimen.:lol:
They,,like the loaches,,appreciate water with some movement,wood and smooth river stones are O.K. ,and plant's will most likely need to be anchored to said wood or rock,or floating, to prevent them from being uprooted while these fish forage for food.
Rainbow variant is the least territorial,aggressive,with other tankmates.
just my two cent's.
 
#19 ·
about as often as single specimen tank's remain single specimen.:lol:.
Snide remarks aside, here is an updated video of my RTS. Yes, he's still a single specimen, wise guy.

I need to get a lighter background, he's hard to see against the dark backdrop.

He's usually camera shy, but I got a decent shot of him today.

 
#20 ·
I hate admitting I'm wrong two weeks after making snide remarks of my own. But here it is.

My LFS got in some dwarf puffers so I bought a 10 gallon kit, planted it and bought 3. They're awesome. Turns out they're not dwarf puffers, they are Amazons. They need a bigger tank.

This is a description of the Amazons:

Very active but quite placid for a puffer, C. asellus can be kept in a community tank with robust species. It will sometimes nip the fins of long-finned or slow-moving tankmates, though, so these are best avoided. Keep it with medium-sized characins, barbs, larger rasboras and robust, peaceful cichlids.
So I have to move the puffers to a bigger tank. My first option is in the 35 gallon (36" tank) with the Red Tailed Shark. I think they may get along. They can all stand up for themselves and I would add some more plants to break up line of site and a couple more hiding spots.

OR, I could put the puffers in my Rainbowfish tank. I have a moonlight gourami I would have to move to my Silver Dollar tank (Can a single Moonlight Gourami co exist with a single Pearl Gourami)? The puffers would be in a 55 with Rainbowfish and Zebra Loaches. The RTS would keep the 35 all to himself.

OR I could put the RTS in the 55 with the Rainbowfish. He would be in a bigger tank, but would have to share. I don't see a problem with the Rainbows, they keep to the upper part of the tank and are fast. The zebra loaches spend a lot of time on the bottom, of course, so don't know if that will be an issue with the RTS. He is currently young and small. He never swims above the halfway point of the 35, and usually hangs out in the driftwood.

Luckily a week later the LFS got in some actual dwarf puffers, so the 10 gallon with the plants and hiding spaces isn't a waste. I'm going to remove the Amazons and replace them with the Dwarves.

And neither of these puffers require brackish water.
 
#21 ·
Given the comment in the profile of the Red Tailed Shark about being the only substrate fish and its annoyance with fish with vertical stripes, I would not combine it with Botia striata. And it could go both ways, as this loach can be domineering itself.
 
#23 ·
Assuming the puffer is Colomesus asellus [another species is very similar, C. psittacus], it is said to be OK in a community but not with sedate long-finned fish as it may nip. So I would try it with the Shark.
 
#24 ·
Thanks Byron, that's how I was leaning. I'll keep a sharp eye on them. In the 10 gallon they haven't shown aggression to each other at all (they are aggressive eaters) and they have never used any of the three hiding spots I provided (I set it up expecting dwarf puffers, which have a different personality)

I'm going to have to change the substrate in that tank. The 10 gallon looked natural but the RTS tank has circus substrate. I'm going to go with that natural beige mix. We don't have that in any tanks. Our last two we went black.

I'll put some more plants in the RTS tank to break up line of site some more. The puffers seem to like swimming around the plants.
 
#25 ·
I have a rainbow shake which I hear to have the same mentality as a rts in a 29 gal tank, the only thing I recommend is that he has a cave of some sort, I had mine for a while be for I got him a hiding place and now he seems to be much better, he chases some fish around some time and then will return to his cave.
 
#26 ·
He hides in a cave created from one piece of driftwood leaning on another. There is an actual cave in the tank, but he chose the driftwood cave early on and that is definitely his territory. If the puffers try to move in on that area they will get chased for sure.

What fish do you keep with your Rainbow shark?
 
#30 ·
They only get to 1" so they may be too small to be with some cichlids. Also, I don't know if the water requirements are the same. But I don't know enough about cichlids to say one way or the other. I do think dwarf puffers are ideally kept in a species tank, with just dwarf puffers. Which is why I set up the 10 gallon just for them.

Here is a good puffer thread

http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/aquarium-photography/puffer-tank-118860/

The guy who started the thread, Boredomb, keeps dwarf puffers.
 
#31 ·
The dwarf puffer should not be maintained with other fish. First, many other fish will bully them to death, literally; and second, some puffers can be more aggressive to any other fish.

It is best in a small group, say 3 or more if space permits. Three in a well planted 10g is a good setup. Lots of plants essential.

Byron.
 
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