zizziz

What are some good fish for tank mate with a rainbow? I have one in a 29 gal, then I added 3 balas (for now). At first mr rainbow was chicken, hiding all day and night not eating nothing. I was actually worried about it. Now he comes out and does nothing but go after my balas, even though they are bigger and there are 3 of them. suggestions?

Taku

I have found that only other rainbows are truly happy.

tony

I have had many fish with rainbow sharks (cherry barbs, tiger barbs, otos, cory cats, neon tetras, glowlight tetras, zebra danios...) They all did fine. The only bit of aggresion I have ever seen is with the tiger barbs, my rainbow shark just chases them around to show them who's boss, nothing serious. I don't think rainbows get along well with other sharks, that may be the problem. They are territorial.

P.s. you are overstocked. You should only have about 1 inch of fish per gallon. You have a 29 gallon tank and 51 inches of fish. Rainbow sharks will grow to 6 inches and the bala sharks will grow to well over a foot, about 15 inches. The balas will eventually get too big for most home aquariums.

fishchick

I have been wondering the same question , have a 75 gallon and not sure what to go with , i will get two angels , have a pleco , but not sure if i want the sailfins or the pictus catfish , can't remember but one is a fin nipper , not good ! any ideas !

Shawnie

my rainbow is super territorial...he controls one whole side of a 55 gal to himself LOL ...greedy thing..


pictus arent nippers.. I have two with my angels...

kamakasi

hi Shawnie i have just got my new tank cycled and have got 4 black widows/ black tetras, 2 bristle nose catfish, 1 rainbow shark (Willy), 1 red tailed black shark, 1 chekered barb (soon to be moved). my red tailed shark and my rainbow were always chasing each other at first but now Willy keeps to the right and my red tailed shark to the left (29 gallon).
do you think as they grow bigger (about 4cm at the moment) they will start to fight again. i will be gitting a 125 gallon thank for my birthday so if i need to move any i will ( in a few months)
thanks

Jo3olous

People have staked cases where multiple red tail sharks did great together, however: 95% of the time it just won't work out no matter how big a tank you get. As the redtail shark gets older it will become very cranky and nasty towards anything that resembles itself (rainbow shark). Since the rainbow shark is also territorial, rather than fleeing they may just have confrontations. I mean if your 29G is a long tank, they should have a decent amount of surface area right now, but just be weary in the future. I think they will be okay in your 125G in the future, but if not, keep the 29G and keep them seperated. I don't really see either sharing the bottom of the tank, even if you have tons of hiding places, but there are exceptions. Right now my loach and redtail shark are 3 inches, sharks halfway to maturity and the loach isnt even close. They rarely fight right now, but it might be different when the shark gets older~

Jo3olous

Assuming you're moving the balas to the bigger tank in your list, should be fine. You can just leave your rainbow behind if it still doesn't get along with the balas. Balas also like to be in schools though (5+ is what's considered a school for most tanks, ideally 10+ but usually doesn't happen with bigger fish). You might want to try more hiding places, foilage, and other things that will break up their line of sight between each other. Although leave open room in the front of the tank for the balas to swim.

kamakasi

thanks Shawnie when i get my new tank i will put my rainbow shark in it.
never again will i mix sharks. thanks

Jo3olous

yep, don't be afraid to experiment though, just as long as you can save lives or make changes when things go sour