Rainbow Shark Care Tips 🦈🌈

[Lennie]

Hey,

I love my SAEs and their behavior in the tank. Their way of swimming and behavior is interesting to watch for me. Also I find them very useful if not the best algae eaters to this day as my main problem is usually green hair algae.

 

Anyway, long story short, I wanted to get myself an albino rainbow shark for the past year or so. I had to get new juvenile SAE for another tank today so I visited my LFS, and during my visit, I saw this cute baby albino r.shark. Well I felt bonded with it and its fat tiny belly looked so cute, I had to get it.

 

So it came home with me 🙂 I did watch videos and did readings on them in the past many times, but Id love to hear some personal experiences and tips for their best care!

 

[AtomicSunfish]

Rainbow (or red fin) sharks, and their cousins the red tail sharks, are solitary, territorial minnows. They are very aggressive with their own kind and even other territorial fish, and like many minnows they can be fin nippers. They’re basically semi-aggressive fish that tend to bully weaker fish, although they often leave schooling fish alone. They cannot handle really motivated aggression from more powerful species, though.

Rainbow sharks grow to about 5-6 inches total length; red tail sharks a bit more, perhaps even 8 inches. Both need at least a 55 gallon tank, and cannot be kept with other “sharks” unless their tank is way bigger than that. They are omnivores that accept flake food, and they do eat some algae, but are not specialized algae eaters, and can’t really control algal growth that well.

TBH I’m a bit worried about your Siamese algae eater in the presence of a rainbow shark. I’ve kept rainbow sharks and red tail sharks in community tanks, and I did keep my SAE with cichlids and sunfishes, but I’ve never kept sharks with SAEs. However, given that sharks and SAEs are distantly related, my fear is that once the shark becomes established, it could bully the SAE to the point of killing it. SAEs are not wimps, though, and can become bullies themselves as they grow. I’m wondering if the SAE would fight back or not, and if so, could that get out of hand. I’d love to hear others’ thoughts on this particular combination. I would not keep them together.

Edited August 4 by AtomicSunfish

[Lennie]

@AtomicSunfish thanks. Ive heard conflicting info about their similar looking fish aggression

 

If I remember correctly @Ninjoma has denisoniis, rainbow shark and SAEs. Can you please share you experience if you keep them together?

[AtomicSunfish]

On 8/4/2024 at 6:56 AM, Lennie said:

@AtomicSunfish thanks. Ive heard conflicting info about their similar looking fish aggression

 

If I remember correctly @Ninjoma has denisoniis, rainbow shark and SAEs. Can you please share you experience if you keep them together?

BTW - I assume when you say SAE, you are referring to Gyrinocheilus aymonieri, right?

The flying fox (sometimes called an algae eater) is in the same genus as the sharks (Epalzeorhynchus), and would almost certainly trigger their territorial aggression. I’ve never kept flying foxes, but it’s my understanding that they are less assertive than the sharks, so I would definitely be afraid that a shark would bully one to death.

Edited August 4 by AtomicSunfish

[Lennie]

On 8/4/2024 at 3:11 PM, AtomicSunfish said:

BTW - I assume when you say SAE, you are referring to Gyrinocheilus aymonieri, right?

no those are CAE (chinese algae eater)

mine are SAE (Siamese Algae eater) aka Crossocheilus Siamensis

 

Flying fox are called Epalzeorhynchos kalopterum

 

CAEs are very territorial and Flying fox are known to be somehwhat territorial and not great algae eaters. My SAES are peaceful in general, except a few chases now and then

Edited August 4 by Lennie

[AtomicSunfish]

On 8/4/2024 at 7:19 AM, Lennie said:

no those are CAE (chinese algae eater)

mine are SAE (Siamese Algae eater) aka Crossocheilus Siamensis

 

Flying fox are called Epalzeorhynchos kalopterum

 

CAEs are very territorial and Flying fox are known to be territorial. My SAES are peaceful in general, except a few chases now and then

Okay sorry for the confusion. Yes, CAE is Gyrinocheilus.

I’ve never kept SAE (Crossocheilus), but I would think it would trigger the similarity aggression of the shark. And being more peaceful than the aforementioned species, I would expect it to get bullied badly. But again, looking forward to hearing about firsthand experience from @Ninjoma.

[Ninjoma]

On 8/4/2024 at 4:56 AM, Lennie said:

If I remember correctly @Ninjoma has denisoniis, rainbow shark and SAEs. Can you please share you experience if you keep them together?

I do keep the three species together. The roseline sharks and SAEs love each other and will sometimes school together. The rainbow shark is more of a loner, but doesn't mind hanging with the other sharks. The rainbow shark used to chase my SAEs a bit during feeding time, but they don't do that anymore. 

[Lennie]

On 8/4/2024 at 8:02 PM, Ninjoma said:

I do keep the three species together. The roseline sharks and SAEs love each other and will sometimes school together. The rainbow shark is more of a loner, but doesn't mind hanging with the other sharks. The rainbow shark used to chase my SAEs a bit during feeding time, but they don't do that anymore. 

They look AMAZING.

Does the Shark have a name? I know you like to name your fish/crabs. 🙂 

 

Im happy to see they get along and live happily🩵 Hope I have a similar experience

Also thanks for the response. I was not expecting one as you were not active lately. I love your tanks mate, you should come online more often 🙂

[mynameisnobody]

That is one hell of a setup, super cool. 

[Ninjoma]

On 8/4/2024 at 10:06 AM, Lennie said:

They look AMAZING.

Does the Shark have a name? I know you like to name your fish/crabs. 🙂 

 

Im happy to see they get along and live happily🩵 Hope I have a similar experience

Also thanks for the response. I was not expecting one as you were not active lately. I love your tanks mate, you should come online more often 🙂

That's Arrie the rainbow shark. I'm glad you like my tanks. I'm in a bit of a burn out period at the moment and have been neglecting my scapes. I think I'm going to redo most of them with slow growing plants eventually when I feel up to it.

[Lennie]

On 8/4/2024 at 8:31 PM, Ninjoma said:

That's Arrie the rainbow shark. I'm glad you like my tanks. I'm in a bit of a burn out period at the moment and have been neglecting my scapes. I think I'm going to redo most of them with slow growing plants eventually when I feel up to it.

I feel your frustration very much. I had to take down my fishroom with 24 tanks. The maintenance and the time I spend working instead of enjoying the hobby burnt me out too in the fishroom.

 

I started enjoying the hobby past weeks ago by dropping my tank number only to 3 over the months. This new albino shark is my first first after ages, and I gotta confess, long time wanted one but not planned to get one. It suddenly happened when I visited my LFS today.