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advise black sharks

Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2010 10:42 am
by arny
i saw what i think is a black shark today in the local fish shop. was jsut wondering what peoples experiences of them are (do they get along with other fish ok such as silver dollars, assorted tetras and loach). the shop didn't have a label on the fish i the person who does the ordering wasnt in so they couldn't sell it to me without knowing what it is.
im going back on tuesday to see about buying it but thought i would do some research first as im pretty sure its a black shark.
how big are your black sharks and what fish do they live with?

Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2010 11:16 am
by clint
I have a rainbow shark, just over 6" in a 90g. Along with rainbows and 5 zebras, 7 yo yos, numerous kuhlis and 4 clowns i never see any feuding. The rainbow has a small patch he protects as his own, other then that its smooth sailing. I never see anything but mild chases, i understand your speaking about the the all black shark (Labeo c- something). Its my understanding they have similar needs to my (Labeo frenatus) or rainbow shark.

They are both more of a bottom dwelling fish which will setup a small territory for themselves and defend it. My rainbow is pretty layed back about his area.

The only downfall about the all black shark is its potential to get to big, as in 24". Where as the rainbow shark and redtail black sharks both stay much smaller. Thats something to consider in the longrun.

Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2010 12:45 pm
by Diana
Morulius (Labeo) chrysophekadion

Bad Man's Tropical Fish has some nice pictures under different lighting that may help you ID the fish. Some pics look velvety black, others are more bronze-tone to the fish.

http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/species ... ng=English
90 cm is 3' long. This is not a fish for the average tank! Got a swimming pool?

My understanding is they get REALLY big, and are therefore not a good tank mate to any small fish. Perhaps 6" long is the smallest that might not get eaten. Fishbase says they are more of a plant and detritus eater. To me this says they will eat anything that they can find and fit in their mouth. They may not actively hunt down the other fish, but if it happens that they can snag one they might.

Posted: Sun Aug 29, 2010 10:34 pm
by Dave
I have a black shark which is a year and a half old. I have it in a 65 gallon tank. It is about 12 inches long. It lives with about 10 ember barbs, a couple T Barbs, a couple clown loaches, and a big Tin Foil barb. It tends to be somewhat reclusive except when it is feeding time. It is a great fish for a community tank. It has never bothered any of the other fish.

Posted: Mon Aug 30, 2010 10:59 pm
by Diana
A foot long at a year and a half! This is NOT a fish for a small tank!

Posted: Sat Sep 04, 2010 5:53 pm
by andyroo
What's max-size for a red-tail?