# Red tail shark.



## Niece (Feb 27, 2012)

Atleast I think that's what they are called.
I've seen these guys at petco and them seemed to be pretty aggressive.
But can I just keep one by itself? If I did what size tank would be needed, and do they require anything special?


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Ideally you only want one but they grow to just about four-five inches I believe and yes they are semi-aggressive. Here's all you need to know! http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/epalzeorhynchos-bicolor/


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## rickey (Jul 7, 2013)

They are aggressive chasers, but will rarely harm other fish.
Red tail sharks reach an average length of 6 inches.
They are aggressive to their own kind so need to be kept as singles
I haven't kept any in the last 40 years but when I was a young teen ager it was one of my favorite fish.

R


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## Taboo (Jun 28, 2013)

Any idea how they'd go with a few female fighters? I have inherited one, in with a couple of mollys and angelfish. If I moved the mollies and angels, would he tolerate a few girls?


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

The shark should be fine but I'd worry about the girl's being too stressed out by being chased. If there were any tankmates with it, I'd suggest something top dwelling like Pencil fish or Rainbow's or Hatchet's. I don't know about cories or anything, I'd assume they'd be fine with just a little chasing here and there but Cory's are generally quite hardy when it comes to not being stressed out  at least IME


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## Taboo (Jun 28, 2013)

I'd be so paranoid about cories! Sharky (we call him Sharkbait  ) is a bottom-dweller too, and I have always thought bettas were tougher than cories...interesting  But that gives me something to ponder, anyway...Thanks!


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Well it depends on the cory type and then of course the Betta. If it's just one Betta girl or boy then yes, I'd say you can most likely pull that off. But if you want a Betta sorority then I would be much more tentative, the girls would already be in stressed out mode since they aren't meant to be with each other naturally, they tolerate each other and that's it. So that's already lots of stress right there, plus a Shark chasing them on top of it....that makes me nervous lol. 

For cory's, I would go with some of the bigger ones, I don't think Corydoras Habrosus or Hastasus would be a good choice, but sterbai might be good, Emeralds and Panda's/Skunk's, those type would probably fare better than the smaller ones.


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## Taboo (Jun 28, 2013)

hmmm, very interesting. I've found (especially with a select few of my females) that they really enjoy each other's company, to the point they almost school together. Although I agree, it's probably not natural and none of my more "recent types" (CT, HMs) particularly enjoy each other's company. I guess my 'safety in numbers against sharky' plan is inherently flawed when I'm dealing with solitary fish haha :-D

And on top of that, I'm only familiar with owning the various pygmy cory species and that would definitely influence my thinking! As a cory-lover, however, I'm definitely going to look into the compatibility of the two. Cheers  And sorry Niece, for hijacking your thread! I'll get back to the RTBS care topic now haha.


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Although, only take my words with a grain of salt, I have not owned a red tailed shark...well not in recent year's at least and I'm only going off of what I have read and watched in video's on the internet. So it could be that the shark won't chase the girls if there are enough of them. That part I'm not sure about, but I would only worry is all. It is something you can try though if you feel confident about it, if it does fail then you would just have to rehome a few fish, although that can be daunting and tedious as it is. So that part is up to you.


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## Taboo (Jun 28, 2013)

haha thanks  As much as I've seen how reliable your posts are and your experience is, I always find solid (preferably non-internet, scientific) info to support my ideas! Rehoming won't be an issue, I can just pop them back in my 50g. 

Still, it is very nice to have your valuable opinion, because although I own a shark, he was thrust upon me and I know donkey's poo about them haha


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## cowboy (Apr 14, 2013)

I had one years and years ago. He was in with other fish but I don't recall which. The one thing I do remember is he kept jumping out of the tank. I can't remember how many times I picked him up before the one time I wasn't there to put him back.


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## ILLBETHEJUDGE (Feb 27, 2012)

Best tank mates for a red tail shark are barbs. 
I have 1 in a 55 gallon with 5 tiger barbs, 5 albino barbs, 5 green barbs.
Barbs are tough and can stand their ground against a red tail shark.
also is best to keep only 1 shark per tank since they are more aggressive against their own species.


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## Niece (Feb 27, 2012)

Thanks for the info everyone and lilnaugrim.


I was planning on only one but wondering if I could just keep it in a tank by itself. 

But I stil don't understand what size of tank I will need lol.


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## ILLBETHEJUDGE (Feb 27, 2012)

You will need at least a 20 gallon tank for the shark itself, even do a 30 would be better and yes you could keep it by itself.


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## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

If you take it's full grown size into consideration....I think you would need at least a 30 gallon to give it the minimal swimming space it needs >.<


Sent from Petguide.com App


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## Niece (Feb 27, 2012)

Thank you! =]


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## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Yeah, 30 at minimum but I would even consider larger just because I know they are fairly active!


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