Is there something wrong with my RTBS

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swordtailzrock6

Small Fish
#1
May 19, 2004
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Cedarburg, Wisconsin
#1
Is there something wrong with my Red-Tail Shark

Hey, i have a very small like 1 1/2 inch Red-tail shark and i was wondering, i have this cave like rock, all he does all day and night is sit under there and never really come out.
Also since my red-tail is so young when it gets older will its color get more black and will its tail turn more red?

SOMEBODY PLEASE RESPOND!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i've been waiting for 2 day's now :(
 

Last edited:
420Loach

420Loach

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#2
May 26, 2003
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#2
sounds like he may have picked the cave/rock as his little territory. how long have you had him? their colors usually come in a week or so of getting acclimated to the tank.

if the colors dont come in you could try feeding him some tetracolor flake, its made a really big difference in the red and orange on my clown loaches.
 

T

TaffyFish

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#3
Jan 30, 2003
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the RTBS is not a true shark, it behaves more like a loach really, and hiding in his cave is pretty normal. When he's settled and has coloured up he'll come out more and clean your plants of algae....and when he's bigger he'll probably terrorise everything else at the bottom of the tank! ;-)
 

fishkid64

fishkid64

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#4
Jul 8, 2004
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Milwaukee, Wisconsin
#4
sorry i had a problem and i can't get back on swordtailzrock6 because i made a new sn and swordtail was disabled but i couldn't get off until all of a sudden i got back to were i could logon, and got onto my new sn which is the one im on now, oh and the answer to your question, i've had him since May, 17 2004 so not that long!
 

ecotank

ecotank

Superstar Fish
#8
Aug 30, 2003
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Ok, this tank was NOT properly cycled. 15 days of water sitting with no ammonia from fish or direct ammonia application will not create the bacteria needed to start the cycle.

Please read up on fishless cycling and the whole ammonia to nitrite to nitrate to water change process.

The RTS probably died from an ammonia spike.

Tell mom and dad that you need a water test kit for the tank, it's the only way to know what your water conditions are.
 

fishkid64

fishkid64

Large Fish
#11
Jul 8, 2004
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Milwaukee, Wisconsin
#11
my dad said nitrites and nitrates are only importand for Saltwater which we used to have. so next time i will try to convince him that we should and usually we do bi weekly test but since we are in the process of moving we sometimes forget and that might have been it!
 

Jaws My Shark

Jaws My Shark

Large Fish
#12
Jul 6, 2004
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Massachusetts
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#12
Normal Behavior

Sorry to hear about the death of your Red-Tail...

But just so you know, your fish was behaving quite normally before its departure. My Red-Tail spends much of his time in his own private cave, and his colors didn't become beautiful until after he matured and grew in his new home. I also started to use TetraColor flakes.

Also, I personally cycled my tank while my Red-Tail was the sole resident. They are pretty hardy fish. However, it is definitely a good idea to use test strips to monitor the whole process.

Once again, sorry about the loss of your fish.
 

ecotank

ecotank

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#13
Aug 30, 2003
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#13
Originally posted by Redtailsharkkid
my dad said nitrites and nitrates are only importand for Saltwater
Click to expand...
Sorry but your dad is very wrong on this. The cycle is just as important with freshwater fish as it is with saltwater fish. Some people don't care as much because you can get a RTS for $2.99 but a Lionfish is $89.95.

Cycling with hardy fish can and is often done. But fish that are used for cycling almost never live a full and happy life, the exposure to ammonia and nitrites often cause considerable harm.

Again some people figure if the fish lived through the cycle then it's all good, unfortunately that fish will not live as long as one that was added to a fishless cycled tank.
 

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