26 bowfront big enough for a Red Tail Shark?

[Fishman Jason]

Hello Fishy Friends!

I'm working on a scheme for a tank in my home office.  I decided to fill it with fish I've always liked but somehow never actually kept. 

First to mind was a Red Tailed Shark!  When I was a kid I was fascinated by one in a tank in a pirate ship at the Stride Rite shoe store at the Willow Grove Mall (this mall is now semi-famous from The Goldbergs and Jill Biden).  I would give anything to have that pirate ship cabinet!

My concept is a low maintenance, low light setup, an oversized filter for high flow, and lots of rocks, wood, and low light plants.  As for tank mates, not many.  Maybe a bunch of danios or a small school of barbs (only species I've never kept!).

I'm concerned the tank just won't be big enough once it reaches full size.  Those of you with more experience with this fish, what do you think?  Thoughts on the concept overall?

Why a 26 bowfront?  Because I have one in the garage and it'll fit in the space I have!

 

[Levi_Aquatics]

I personally think a 26 would be pushing it however you could probably comfortably house a young one for a few yers before needing an upgrade. I think that the other tank mates you have thought of would be good choices as they are quick and can get away when the red tailed shark gets in a bad mood.

[lefty o]

that would be about as small as id consider for one.

[Odd Duck]

A 24” long tank is pretty small for a fish that fairly reliably hits 6” as an adult.  That means he would only have 3 body lengths to swim from one end to the other.  The typical “smallest tank” recommendation for a red tail that I find on google is a 55 gallon and I would tend to agree with that. We all know that you certainly can keep fish in smaller tanks than are recommended, but is he going to show you the behavior you found fascinating in such a small tank?

What are the dimensions at the ends?  I just sold my 46 gallon bowfront because it’s awkward plus I lucked into a free 100 gallon.  One of the reasons I didn’t like the 46 was because the opening in the top glass of the cover was so narrow at the ends it was very awkward to work on certain areas inside it.  The end panels were only about 10” on my 46.  I would imagine the ends of a 26 are fairly short?  I’ve never owned a 26 and haven’t been able to find that info on line.

I’m sure it would be a fine tank for a while, but I think you’d definitely need to plan for an upgrade before the year is up.

[Fishman Jason]

Thanks all for your comments.  Especially, @Odd Duck for suggesting to measure the tank!  I got the tank free from a friend whose kids lost interest and it's been in my garage ever since.  I just assumed it was a 26 bowfront because that's about the smallest I've seen in stores.  Turns out it's only a 16G tank! 20" x 17.5" x 12.5"

No shark for me! 😆

Time to rethink the plan...

Edited February 5, 2022 by Fishman Jason

[Odd Duck]

On 2/5/2022 at 12:12 PM, Fishman Jason said:

Thanks all for your comments.  Especially, @Odd Duck for suggesting to measure the tank!  I got the tank free from a friend whose kids lost interest and it's been in my garage ever since.  I just assumed it was a 26 bowfront because that's about the smallest I've seen in stores.  Turns out it's only a 16G tank! 20" x 17.5" x 12.5"

No shark for me! 😆

Time to rethink the plan...

Cute little tank, but I think deciding against the red tail is a very keen and wise choice!  Thank you for not being mad at the messenger!  I never know when someone is going to be mad at me for being the one that’s raining on their parade.

It really does sounds like a very cute tank and if you decide to use it, I’m sure you’ll find something just right.  But then again, maybe it’s time to find a bigger tank to better fit your space?  Ehh?  You know you wanna bigger tank!  You could use this little guy in the “‘Scapes from Scraps” non-contest.  It would be perfect for that!  It could fit in a couple different catagories.

 

Edited February 5, 2022 by Odd Duck
Typo

[Mydonkeyfish]

I saw a red tailed shark at my local aquarium that was at least 8 in!

[Fishman Jason]

@Odd DuckI’m in!  My plan was to scrounge on this tank anyway. 
 

@Mydonkeyfishare you sure it wasn’t a rainbow shark?  I’ve never heard of a red tail that big!

Edited February 6, 2022 by Fishman Jason

[Mydonkeyfish]

On 2/6/2022 at 6:29 PM, Fishman Jason said:

@Odd DuckI’m in!  My plan was to scrounge on this tank anyway. 
 

@Mydonkeyfishare you sure it wasn’t a rainbow shark?  I’ve never heard of a red tail that big!

They told me they fed beef heart 2 times a day and they were in a 1000 gallon so maybe that contributed to its size.

[gardenman]

I don't mind squeezing a more sedate fish into a smaller tank, but when it comes to the more active/frantic fish, bigger is better. I tend to think of it in dog terms. Even a big, laid-back dog like a Basset Hound or even an older Great Dane may be fine in a small apartment as in a typical day they may not do a whole lot of moving around. Put a Border Collie in the same apartment and he might go insane. In aquarium terms, something like a leaf fish that parks itself in one place for hours and hours at a time waiting for something food-like to wander by, I'd have no trouble keeping in a "too small" tank. It's not like the fish would use the extra space anyway. (Assuming you could maintain the water quality in the "too small" tank.) A more frantic fish that is constantly on the move and very active needs a bigger space. Red-tailed sharks fall into the more active category. A very young one can be kept in a smaller tank, but they grow.

Tank shape also matters with the more frantic fish. A twenty long is better than a twenty high for the more active fish. It's not just the number of gallons, but the tank shape that matters. The round, donut shaped tanks you'll see at shows like Aquashella can be very good for the more insanely active fish. It's like a never-ending tank for the fish. They never hit the end of the tank as there is no end to the tank. A tank like that with reversible water jets could simulate tidal changes and might help stimulate spawning in some hard to spawn species. It would take a smart controller of some sort and reversible jets, but you could simulate slack tide, low current as the tide just starts to shift, then faster current as the tidal change hits full speed, then a gradual decrease to another slack tide then reverse the flow again and repeat the process. If you were able to synchronize the lighting to the lunar cycle at the same time and also simulate rainy season rainfall and temperature swings, you might just get some hard-to-spawn fish to spawn like crazy. It could be the closest simulation to a natural river setting you could create. You could even vary the water level with the tidal swings given the right amount of investment.

[jasper5150]

On 2/2/2022 at 7:25 PM, Fishman Jason said:

Hello Fishy Friends!

I'm working on a scheme for a tank in my home office.  I decided to fill it with fish I've always liked but somehow never actually kept. 

First to mind was a Red Tailed Shark!  When I was a kid I was fascinated by one in a tank in a pirate ship at the Stride Rite shoe store at the Willow Grove Mall (this mall is now semi-famous from The Goldbergs and Jill Biden).  I would give anything to have that pirate ship cabinet!

My concept is a low maintenance, low light setup, an oversized filter for high flow, and lots of rocks, wood, and low light plants.  As for tank mates, not many.  Maybe a bunch of danios or a small school of barbs (only species I've never kept!).

I'm concerned the tank just won't be big enough once it reaches full size.  Those of you with more experience with this fish, what do you think?  Thoughts on the concept overall?

Why a 26 bowfront?  Because I have one in the garage and it'll fit in the space I have!

 

That’s a cool looking fish!