Red1313

All right now I love Red but this is getting rediculas.
I currently have a we'll say approx 3 inch red tail shark in a ten gal all by himself. The tank is cucled, planted, with driftwood and rocks. Now I love my baby but I'm starting to be concerned about his behaviour. He is probably the shyest fish I've ever seen. I'm tempted to take out his bell so he actually has to swim around. The only times that I ever see him out and about is early in the morning before I start to move around, or I sometimes see him out but he dives for cover at the first movement I make in the room. Can someone please explain why my boy is so spooky and what I can do to try and make him more social?

clinton1621

A lot of catfish are not very social by nature, they are also nocturnal and dont like bright lights... meaning they dont come out a lot during the day when the lights are on... taking out his hiding spot would probably stress him out.

Jeff M

You might want to add some small fish that will swim out in the open more like a few zebra danios. It might make your fish feel more comfortable being out in the open with more activity in the tank.

Jeff

Jo3olous

you have a 10G tank, is it high or long I don't even know if they make the latter for 10G... RT sharks are territorial so it looks like you have the hiding places down because it hides a lot, but then again it has no one to stake its territory against, and maybe the surface just isn't long/big enough for him to patrol. RT sharks generally need larger tanks. You did right by following the 1inch per gallon rule, but I would rule it out in this case because RT Sharks need tanks with surface area to patrol and dwell in, and some other semi-aggressive/fast fish so it has someone to protect its territory against, otherwise I would say it's a pretty mellow fish by itself.

I also agree with what clinton says. Although my RedTail is very interested in my tigerbarbs and the loach so he tries to hang out with them in the day

Red1313

Awsome thanks everyone!
Clinton:
I didn't realise that they were nocturnal, I got my proof last night when I came home late after all the lights were off. I switched on the lights in my room and there he was all over the tank checking things out. However his tail was white and his color didn't look so good but the sudden change in light may have stressed him to cause that b/c he was back to normal this morning.

Jeff & Jo:
I wouldn't mind adding a few more fish (everyone who goes by his tank asks were the fish in it are.) But I'm not sure which would be good species?

Jo:
The dimensions are as follows 20" long by 10 1/4" wide by 12.5" high. However the gravel is about 2 inches deep so I guess you take 1.5" of the height. There's photo's of the tank on my profile. He will eventually be upgraded to a larger tank, (either 30 gal of 36 b/c I don't think I've got the cash or space for a 55 at the moment). When I do that I was thinking of getting either spledid rainbows or a pair of convits as tank mates.

So now since the concencus (sp sorry) seems to be that I could try a few other fish in the tank what would be best? I don't want to push that tank too close to stocked b/c the shark is going to grow. Any advice guys?

Jo3olous

the only other shark you can mix it with are bala sharks, no to rainbows, no to its own kind, and no no to ID sharks.... you can go with other semi aggros such as barbs. I have no idea about angels but barbs will wreck angels. RT sharks actually can coexist with cichlids and oscars too, just make sure they are around the same size, even when the oscar outgrows the RT shark they will be fine

Allie

Try putting him the right tank size. Then it'll be happy.

Red1313

Allie:
He's only 3 inches long. Technically the ratio of water to him is the same as if he was full grown in a 55 gal tank. As he grows I'm upgrading his tank. At the moment he's perfectly happy. I was just asking if there was a way to make him less spooky. But yes I am aware that he'll need a least a 3-4 foot long tank when he's full grown thanks.


Also I just had a thought but would more plants maybe help instead of more fish? That way he could still feel sheltered and secure in more of the tank. I'm not sure that I want to add more company for him since I know that he's going to be growing yet. If later I decide that I do want to add another fish I think it will probably be an oto just to give the snails some compotiton for the algae.

Jo3olous

WRONG. This is where the 1 inch per gallon rule is wrong, quite wrong. an RT shark needs space for territory and room to patrol the surface. If you have no surface area to patrol, it is cramped. It will A. never come out of hiding B. show much aggression to your fish C. Die ... the inch per gallon rule is only proper when considering ADULT sizes of fish anyway. Basically my 20G tank is over stocked, but thats why I have a 60G now.

***Note*** Oh wait I said this already. If you want to confine your shark in a 10G by itself, don't be surprised if it just hides. It's a bottom dweller, the other 5 gallons of water at the top of your tank are worthless. I would be as daring to say that a 3 foot long tupperware thats only 1 ft high is better for your shark than your 10G

clinton1621

At only 3 inches long he is not cramped yet... but he soon will be, its nothing to run out and buy a tank immediately over though. Save up the money for a 30g for a few months and by that time he will be ready for a new tank, and you most likely will be too =)

If you dont have live plants, there is one other way to make him less spooky during the day... turn your light fixture at an angle, or block off half of the light to the tank. This will give him a darkened area to kind of ease him out of hiding and make him more comfortable, trust me catfish do not like bright lights lol.

Red1313

I know that he'll out grow his tank soon but at the moment the ten is the best I can do. Thanks for the adivce everyone. I'll fool around with the lighting and buy a few more plants (I'm a plant addict.)

bigfoot-daniel

My previous RTS was about 4" and wasnt anti-social at all. When I bought him he was scooped up into the bag with a sucking loach which the pet store let me have free of charge rather than stress my RTS trying to retrieve the loach. The two lived together like a couple, earning them the nicknames Sharky and George (from the kids tv program of yesteryear - lol). The RTS shared his submarine home with the loach, only occasionally chasing the loach out of the sub and across the tank before doing a 180 and almost racing the loach back to their hideout. Few minutes later you would look and find the two of them getting on fine again. Never any proper agression, just a playful game of kiss chase across the tank. lol. My RTS never bothered with any of my other fishes either and was frequently out and about patrolling in the tank during the day (even with the lights on full and people moving around the room). Hopefully my juvenile RTS will grow up to be as sociable.

Jo3olous

*** Don't be too dissapointed if your RT shark hides a lot. It can be pretty shy and inconsistent with it's patrolling hours, although I'd say your chances of seeing him active are better at night~