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Hello,

I have just purchased a RTB shark. Its about 4 inches in length. I have had it for a few days and not seen it eat yet. What should I be feeding it? The aquairum has lots of plants, and the other fish are feed on tropical sticks, frozen bloodworm and sinking pellets.

Anything else I could be feeding it?

Cheers

It should be fine with those food items. A RTBS being picky is new to me. He probably just needs to settle in, and once he does, he'll be the terror of the tank!

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That is a good sized RTBS I do not have one now but once they get established in a tank they can/will be the boss of the tank. I hope you have at least one good sized cave for him.
As far as feeding they are not fussy eaters just let it settle in. How big is the tank also what else is in the tank?

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Keith



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Did you get this from BAS in bolton?

Red Tailed Black Sharks are primarily herbivorous, but like the odd meaty treat to go with the vegetable matter. Usually, these fishes, once established, are gluttonous feeders, and the usual problem they present is curbing their appetite, not being picky. If yours is picky, observe it carefully and watch for signs of disease.

Of course, if your tank is heavily planted, or has lots of bogwood or rock decorations it can hide within, you might not see it feed because it's feeding out of sight. Basically, if the fish has a nice, well rounded, full appearance, and doesn't have a hollow or concave stomach, chances are it's eating, and you're simply not seeing it.

Oh, and with respect to the other posters above, they're bang on the money as regards this fish's capacity to become the boss of the tank, unless you're keeping it with other sizeable and tough fishes. Fully grown, it's be around 7 inches, possibly a little more, and it'll quickly establish itself as king of the hill long before it reaches that size.

What size aquarium is this fish in, and what other companions does it have? Only this will have serious implications for future peaceful coexistence. Too small a tank, or too crowded a tank, and the Red Tailed Black Shark might start thinning out your population before you do, in a fashion you won't like. Bear in mind that this fish is tough enough to rough it with Convict Cichlids, so small, peaceful fishes will be easy targets for it if it decides not to take prisoners.

Oh, something else you should be aware of is this. Red Tailed Black Sharks have a habit of adopting strange sleeping positions, so that when you turn the aquarium lights on first thing in the morning, and you look for it, you could find it adopting weird postures that at first sight make you wonder if it's died! Don't worry about this, this is just normal behaviour for a fish with a strong personality such as a RTBS, but be prepared to take a second look when you see this, and if you have a camera handy, take photos so you can show newcomers to the species what to expect. They've been known to sleep face buried in Java Moss, upside down under bogwood, in fact, you'll be hard pressed to find an odd sleeping position that hasn't been adopted by a RTBS at some time in its life. If it finds a position that's comfortable, just let it be, no matter how weird it looks!

During the daytime, this fish will be bold, outgoing, and as it grows older, permanently ready to see off any interlopers trespassing on its adopted patch. Integrating other bottom feeders with it in anything under a 55 gallon is a work of art, and even in really big aquaria, it can be fractious toward other bottom feeders. Your best bet, if you want something that will coexist with minimal trouble, is one of the armoured Doradid catfishes, because these catfishes carry their own personal razor wire body armour around with them, which should deter the RTBS from being too aggressive with it. However, the ultimate answer with the RTBS is space - lots of it - so that it can call part of the aquarium its own, without getting into too many territorial scraps.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

listen to them mate,its all corect info!
i have a full grown rtb,he just under 8 inches,atm hes only in with other larger less aggresive fish.
but this fella has shared a tank with my green terror.just to give you more of a idea of how nasty they can be.
ive been pretty lucky,ive got a vibrant looking shark without all the aggression that comes with em.
hes happy where is his,thus no aggresiion issues.
actully he best freind is a large clownloach.
however,normally a clown would get hammered by a shark,but these 2 fish have grown up together from like 2 inches,they are both large now,and the clown is still going strong,the shark just gets fatter now not longer.