Red-Tailed Shark Coloring

I just added a RT black shark to my tank this week and I wanted to post a
question about his coloring....The fish appears grey with black fins, save
the red tail fin. The body lenght is close to 1.5 inches...I was curious to
find out if it will develope into the 'jet' black body I've read about; or
will this grey-color remain, or is it an indication of his/her mood...

Thanks for the help...-ED

-ED wrote:
I just added a RT black shark to my tank this week and I wanted to post a
question about his coloring....The fish appears grey with black fins, save
the red tail fin. The body lenght is close to 1.5 inches...I was curious to
find out if it will develope into the 'jet' black body I've read about; or
will this grey-color remain, or is it an indication of his/her mood...

Thanks for the help...-ED



I don't know about the colour, but it will probably become a big, mean
son-of-a-b. My brother had one for 7 years plus and it was the boss of
the tank - not a nice fish, actually.

In article ,
netDenizen wrote:

-ED wrote:
I just added a RT black shark to my tank this week and I wanted to post a
question about his coloring....The fish appears grey with black fins, save
the red tail fin. The body lenght is close to 1.5 inches...I was curious to
find out if it will develope into the 'jet' black body I've read about; or
will this grey-color remain, or is it an indication of his/her mood...

Thanks for the help...-ED



I don't know about the colour, but it will probably become a big, mean
son-of-a-b. My brother had one for 7 years plus and it was the boss of
the tank - not a nice fish, actually.

My Rainbow shark turns a lighter shade of pale black when stressed.
(ie, major water change, "tankscaping", etc.). But even when it is
healthy and happy I wouldn't call it jet black. For them a touch of
grey-kind of suits them anyway, and it's alright.

I had, as a youth a Red-Tailed Black Shark, and at one time a Rainbow
Shark. The RTBS had a black body.

For whatever reason, my RTBS was not aggressive at all - and this was in
a 10 gallon community tank mind you. He lived for years and was not a
problem fish. The two rainbows I've had seemed more aggressive.

I currently have a Rainbow Shark in a 20+ gallon tank.

I think the trick with both sharks is to give them a nice cave they can
call their own, don't over-crowd with lots of middle to or top-to-bottom
dwellers (although mine have seemed to like a the company of at least
one other bottom dweller), have lots of plant cover for the other fish
and most of all find the right balance of tank-mates that won't p@ss it
off.

For instance, my Rainbow shark is not threatened by my Pleco or my
Swordtails.

[yes I know (thanks to the group) that the Pleco will have to be moved
at some point when out grows the tank]

The RS pays those other fish little attention. As for my Betta, well he
is a top dweller, and I have plenty of plant coverage including floating
Hornwort so he stays out the sharks way. They did spar off a lot when
they were about the same size as were determining who would be the alpha
fish.

Now that the shark is much bigger he's the heavy weight champ. He
wasn't compatible at all with neon tetras. I found that out the hard
way.

Cheers,

TS

--
Trevor Stenson

http://members.shaw.ca/kitschy/Digs.html
http://members.shaw.ca/kitschy/Blog/Blog.html

On Sun, 07 May 2006 05:38:25 GMT, Trevor Stenson wrote:
I had, as a youth a Red-Tailed Black Shark, and at one time a Rainbow
Shark. The RTBS had a black body.

Mine had a black body too - very dark.

For whatever reason, my RTBS was not aggressive at all - and this was in
a 10 gallon community tank mind you. He lived for years and was not a
problem fish. The two rainbows I've had seemed more aggressive.

Mine was a "rescue" from someone who kept it in a small tank with
a large pleco, two angels, and various tetras. It was tiny when I
got it even though he'd had it for years. Because of its small size
I initially put it in my tetra tank but it was rather nippy, so I
moved it to the larger cichlid tank where it held its own and finally
began to grow. It's dead now (no idea what caused it) - don't think
it had much of a life in that tiny tank I adopted it from.

But it definitely had character and spirit. Aggressiveness, probably
not, but it's a lot tougher than it looks!

--
Flash Wilson - Web Design & Mastery - 0870 401 4061 / 07939 579090
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Work: www.wdam.co.uk Personal: www.gorge.org

Trevor Stenson wrote:
In article ,
netDenizen wrote:

-ED wrote:
I just added a RT black shark to my tank this week and I wanted to post a
question about his coloring....The fish appears grey with black fins, save
the red tail fin. The body lenght is close to 1.5 inches...I was curious to
find out if it will develope into the 'jet' black body I've read about; or
will this grey-color remain, or is it an indication of his/her mood...

Thanks for the help...-ED


I don't know about the colour, but it will probably become a big, mean
son-of-a-b. My brother had one for 7 years plus and it was the boss of
the tank - not a nice fish, actually.

My Rainbow shark turns a lighter shade of pale black when stressed.
(ie, major water change, "tankscaping", etc.). But even when it is
healthy and happy I wouldn't call it jet black. For them a touch of
grey-kind of suits them anyway, and it's alright.

I had, as a youth a Red-Tailed Black Shark, and at one time a Rainbow
Shark. The RTBS had a black body.

For whatever reason, my RTBS was not aggressive at all - and this was in
a 10 gallon community tank mind you. He lived for years and was not a
problem fish. The two rainbows I've had seemed more aggressive.

I currently have a Rainbow Shark in a 20+ gallon tank.

I think the trick with both sharks is to give them a nice cave they can
call their own, don't over-crowd with lots of middle to or top-to-bottom
dwellers (although mine have seemed to like a the company of at least
one other bottom dweller), have lots of plant cover for the other fish
and most of all find the right balance of tank-mates that won't p@ss it
off.

For instance, my Rainbow shark is not threatened by my Pleco or my
Swordtails.

[yes I know (thanks to the group) that the Pleco will have to be moved
at some point when out grows the tank]

The RS pays those other fish little attention. As for my Betta, well he
is a top dweller, and I have plenty of plant coverage including floating
Hornwort so he stays out the sharks way. They did spar off a lot when
they were about the same size as were determining who would be the alpha
fish.

Now that the shark is much bigger he's the heavy weight champ. He
wasn't compatible at all with neon tetras. I found that out the hard
way.

Cheers,

TS

Well, should I concern myself with the Danios I've put in there. At
present, 10 Zebras are in there.
Thanks.........-ED

On Sun, 07 May 2006 14:36:17 GMT, -ED wrote:

Trevor Stenson wrote:
In article ,
netDenizen wrote:

-ED wrote:
I just added a RT black shark to my tank this week and I wanted to post a
question about his coloring....The fish appears grey with black fins, save
the red tail fin. The body lenght is close to 1.5 inches...I was curious to
find out if it will develope into the 'jet' black body I've read about; or
will this grey-color remain, or is it an indication of his/her mood...

Thanks for the help...-ED


I don't know about the colour, but it will probably become a big, mean
son-of-a-b. My brother had one for 7 years plus and it was the boss of
the tank - not a nice fish, actually.

My Rainbow shark turns a lighter shade of pale black when stressed.
(ie, major water change, "tankscaping", etc.). But even when it is
healthy and happy I wouldn't call it jet black. For them a touch of
grey-kind of suits them anyway, and it's alright.

I had, as a youth a Red-Tailed Black Shark, and at one time a Rainbow
Shark. The RTBS had a black body.

For whatever reason, my RTBS was not aggressive at all - and this was in
a 10 gallon community tank mind you. He lived for years and was not a
problem fish. The two rainbows I've had seemed more aggressive.

I currently have a Rainbow Shark in a 20+ gallon tank.

I think the trick with both sharks is to give them a nice cave they can
call their own, don't over-crowd with lots of middle to or top-to-bottom
dwellers (although mine have seemed to like a the company of at least
one other bottom dweller), have lots of plant cover for the other fish
and most of all find the right balance of tank-mates that won't p@ss it
off.

For instance, my Rainbow shark is not threatened by my Pleco or my
Swordtails.

[yes I know (thanks to the group) that the Pleco will have to be moved
at some point when out grows the tank]

The RS pays those other fish little attention. As for my Betta, well he
is a top dweller, and I have plenty of plant coverage including floating
Hornwort so he stays out the sharks way. They did spar off a lot when
they were about the same size as were determining who would be the alpha
fish.

Now that the shark is much bigger he's the heavy weight champ. He
wasn't compatible at all with neon tetras. I found that out the hard
way.

Cheers,

TS

Well, should I concern myself with the Danios I've put in there. At
present, 10 Zebras are in there.
Thanks.........-ED

I once read a description of zebra danios as "constantly moving about
the tank yet never appearing restless or nervous." And yes, that's
what they do. Plenty of action, never disruptive. They must love your
big tank. Zebras were one of the first egglayers that I spawned, I
have a special place in my heart for them.

-- Mister Gardener
-- Pull the WEED to email me

-ED - wrote,
should I concern myself with the Danios I've put in there...

They will be fine untill the RTBS is large enough to take them in one
bite. I had an 8" RTBS in a 180 gal. (2' x 2' x 6'). Since I was
breeding them, I fed White Clouds to this tank. The RTBS could easy
take a 1.5" White Cloud in a split second from across the tank. They
are a lot faster than you could ever think a Danio or White Cloud could
be. Funny thing though, it was around 5" before it took it's first
Cardenal Tetra. Had to move him to the 180 gal. tank the following day
as he went through a half dozen before I figured out it was him - the
Cardenals were his tankmates from day one................. Frank

On Mon, 08 May 2006 00:57:04 -0500, Frank wrote:

-ED - wrote,
should I concern myself with the Danios I've put in there...

They will be fine untill the RTBS is large enough to take them in one
bite. I had an 8" RTBS in a 180 gal. (2' x 2' x 6'). Since I was
breeding them, I fed White Clouds to this tank. The RTBS could easy
take a 1.5" White Cloud in a split second from across the tank. They
are a lot faster than you could ever think a Danio or White Cloud could
be. Funny thing though, it was around 5" before it took it's first
Cardenal Tetra. Had to move him to the 180 gal. tank the following day
as he went through a half dozen before I figured out it was him - the
Cardenals were his tankmates from day one................. Frank


Holy Shark-Bites Batman....=0 This sounds like the theory I heard years
ago that alot of tropical fish will 'grow in scale' to their environment..
I'm glad you told me about the reflex this fish is capable of. That's
enlightening to say the least. I'm looking forward to his maturity. He's
a pale grey at the moment..at times I notice his red tail almost fading to
a translucent/transparent coloring. I've got my eye on him. I wish I had
set this tank up as a headboard for my bedroom. 8" is quite a sizable
fish I must say. He must have been a trophy, indeed. I'm not looking
forward to him getting that big..for it will force me to build the bigger
tanks I mentioned before. I'm rough-drafting some plans now, but I need
to concern myself with the load it will present in my upstairs apartment..
As such, I feel that a long, thin tank would put the load more on the
support wall..ie- about 7'x 21"x 14" from the wall. I'm gonna have to
visit more sites that illustrate today's construction techniques to havea
better handle on its overall dimensions.
Thanks for the holler....-ED

--
Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client: http://www.opera.com/mail/

"Trevor Stenson" wrote in message
news:kitschy-234F4E.23382506052006@shawnews...
In article ,
netDenizen wrote:

-ED wrote:
I just added a RT black shark to my tank this week and I wanted to
post a
question about his coloring....The fish appears grey with black
fins, save
the red tail fin. The body lenght is close to 1.5 inches...I was
curious to
find out if it will develope into the 'jet' black body I've read
about; or
will this grey-color remain, or is it an indication of his/her
mood...

Thanks for the help...-ED



I don't know about the colour, but it will probably become a big, mean
son-of-a-b. My brother had one for 7 years plus and it was the boss of
the tank - not a nice fish, actually.

My Rainbow shark turns a lighter shade of pale black when stressed.
(ie, major water change, "tankscaping", etc.). But even when it is
healthy and happy I wouldn't call it jet black. For them a touch of
grey-kind of suits them anyway, and it's alright.

I had, as a youth a Red-Tailed Black Shark, and at one time a Rainbow
Shark. The RTBS had a black body.

For whatever reason, my RTBS was not aggressive at all - and this was
in
a 10 gallon community tank mind you. He lived for years and was not a
problem fish. The two rainbows I've had seemed more aggressive.

I currently have a Rainbow Shark in a 20+ gallon tank.

I think the trick with both sharks is to give them a nice cave they can
call their own, don't over-crowd with lots of middle to or
top-to-bottom
dwellers (although mine have seemed to like a the company of at least
one other bottom dweller), have lots of plant cover for the other fish
and most of all find the right balance of tank-mates that won't p@ss it
off.

For instance, my Rainbow shark is not threatened by my Pleco or my
Swordtails.

[yes I know (thanks to the group) that the Pleco will have to be moved
at some point when out grows the tank]

The RS pays those other fish little attention. As for my Betta, well
he
is a top dweller, and I have plenty of plant coverage including
floating
Hornwort so he stays out the sharks way. They did spar off a lot when
they were about the same size as were determining who would be the
alpha
fish.

Now that the shark is much bigger he's the heavy weight champ. He
wasn't compatible at all with neon tetras. I found that out the hard
way.

Cheers,

TS

--
Trevor Stenson


My observations have been very similar. In temperament, I find the RS
(Rainbow Shark, red dorsal and red caudal fin) more of a community fish
than the RTBS, but once acclimated, RTBS body is more jet black than the
RS (though both darken with age and comfort level). Very beautiful fish
as adults if they can be kept with the right tank mates.
--
www.NetMax.tk

NetMax wrote:
"Trevor Stenson" wrote in message
news:kitschy-234F4E.23382506052006@shawnews...

In article ,
netDenizen wrote:


-ED wrote:

I just added a RT black shark to my tank this week and I wanted to
post a
question about his coloring....The fish appears grey with black
fins, save
the red tail fin. The body lenght is close to 1.5 inches...I was
curious to
find out if it will develope into the 'jet' black body I've read
about; or
will this grey-color remain, or is it an indication of his/her
mood...

Thanks for the help...-ED



I don't know about the colour, but it will probably become a big, mean
son-of-a-b. My brother had one for 7 years plus and it was the boss of
the tank - not a nice fish, actually.

My Rainbow shark turns a lighter shade of pale black when stressed.
(ie, major water change, "tankscaping", etc.). But even when it is
healthy and happy I wouldn't call it jet black. For them a touch of
grey-kind of suits them anyway, and it's alright.

I had, as a youth a Red-Tailed Black Shark, and at one time a Rainbow
Shark. The RTBS had a black body.

For whatever reason, my RTBS was not aggressive at all - and this was
in
a 10 gallon community tank mind you. He lived for years and was not a
problem fish. The two rainbows I've had seemed more aggressive.

I currently have a Rainbow Shark in a 20+ gallon tank.

I think the trick with both sharks is to give them a nice cave they can
call their own, don't over-crowd with lots of middle to or
top-to-bottom
dwellers (although mine have seemed to like a the company of at least
one other bottom dweller), have lots of plant cover for the other fish
and most of all find the right balance of tank-mates that won't p@ss it
off.

For instance, my Rainbow shark is not threatened by my Pleco or my
Swordtails.

[yes I know (thanks to the group) that the Pleco will have to be moved
at some point when out grows the tank]

The RS pays those other fish little attention. As for my Betta, well
he
is a top dweller, and I have plenty of plant coverage including
floating
Hornwort so he stays out the sharks way. They did spar off a lot when
they were about the same size as were determining who would be the
alpha
fish.

Now that the shark is much bigger he's the heavy weight champ. He
wasn't compatible at all with neon tetras. I found that out the hard
way.

Cheers,

TS

--
Trevor Stenson



My observations have been very similar. In temperament, I find the RS
(Rainbow Shark, red dorsal and red caudal fin) more of a community fish
than the RTBS, but once acclimated, RTBS body is more jet black than the
RS (though both darken with age and comfort level). Very beautiful fish
as adults if they can be kept with the right tank mates.

Thanks again...The tank, as of now, has alot of swimming room given the
plant styles and placements (its not crammed with foliage)..the
philadendrum droops in areas to provide cover as well as serving as a
dinner plate to prevent most of the food from getting lost on the
bottom. The RTBS took to the tank immediately, combing over the various
surfaces..it didn't bother hiding out when first introduced. It took
off straight for the long driftwood and began combing it up and down.
As far as I can tell, its quite comfortable..it had a small stand-off
with the male betta...no big deal..he went one way..betta the other.
Thanks again....-ED