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I just picked up a rainbow/ruby shark, and just wanted to comment on what a stunning fish it is! I'd alway liked the look of rainbow sharks and RTB shark, but never had a large enough tank to feel comfortable with having one. But, just having set up a 33 gallon tank, I went out and picked one up.

So, what's the max size anyone has had with a rainbow/ruby shark? I've read up to 6", but more commonly 4.75".

Eric

def larger, one source says around6-8. i haven't really seen any larger ones, well around here.

Yea, i've seen 5-6"ers in the shop. They're pretty neat fish when you have a lot of real estate for them to claim at the bottom of the tank.

my rainbow
old pic hes abit bigger now

atm mines about 6inches long and maybe 2 inches wide lol

its the largest on ive ever seen so i assume they dont get much bigger or wider

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''All the clown fish and yellow tangs in the world cant save you now!''

Wow - that's one big rainbow shark! What's his personality like? Much aggression towards tank mates?

Eric

Hes not aggressive until something comes into his territory which is the entire log (the link is below)

Tips for keeping a rainbow
1. plenty of driftwoood so he/she can create his/her own territory
2. dont put cories with them (lost 2 cories in 4 days)
3. make sure all your other catfish are of a decent size and arent territorial (hopolo catfish and bristle noses are good choices)
4. Feed alot of veggies
5. give it a log or something similar

my log
[link=my hopolo] http://s4.photobucket.com/albums/y136/Alex2114/?action=view&current=DSCN2419.jpg[/link]
labrakittys Bristle nose

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''All the clown fish and yellow tangs in the world cant save you now!''

My guy has settled into a cave made from lava rock which has multiple sub caves in it (it's like it's own little world). So far, after the first two days, he's decided to hide in the cave full time...I rarely see him which is a bummer because he looks so darn good.

I have a lot of bottom type fish, but so far he has ignored them. 6 kuhlis (everyone seems to ignore kuhlies IME), 2 otos, one clown pleco, and 3 amano shrimp. So far so good, and the kuhlis do go into the cave he has claimed. Maybe he'll get more territorial with age, but even so there are two other "cave" areas created with driftwood on opposite sides of the tank (his cave is dead in the middle).

Eric

The ottos and the shrimp wont be safe long term.

i dont know about the pleco or the kuhlis

how large is he/she atm?

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''All the clown fish and yellow tangs in the world cant save you now!''

my shark is about 5 or 6 inches and is really aggressive mine attacks all the fish in my tank even my jack dembsey which is even bigger than him. so anything i put in there gets chased for the first 2 3 days. lol it i cool to watch them go back and forth but not touch eachother then they will back down for a couple seconds then go at it but not touch. why is that?

My Rainbow shark is about 2.5 to 3" SL right now. He has finally figured out last night that my appearance and a swarm of kuhlis up front means food is to be found...took him long enough!

It's funny, but I've found very few fish who were aggressive towards otos and none who were aggressive towards kuhlis. BUT, a big but obviously, I don't keep fish know to eat 2-4 inch worms which a kuhli would be too similar to.

Right now, the shark is trying to come out more often, but he seems intimidated by this 3-4" paradise fish that while not being aggressive, is highly interested in this new fish (he swims right up to the shark, puts up a nice fin display, and stares...which causes the shark to go back to the cave).

Eric