Rainbow Shark Compatible with Gouramis?. 3/15/09
Hello,
WWM is my trusted source for aquarium advice.
<Thank you.>
I need advice regarding two tanks.
<Fire away.>
Tank 1: An established 37 gallon -tank with 1 large female Blue Gourami - 4 inches, 1 male Swordtail, 3 Otos, and 1 small ghost shrimp that must have stowed away on a plant since I have never bought one. The tank is heavily planted with a large piece of driftwood. Eheim Ecco 2234 canister and 150W Stealth heater.
I used to have 14 Cardinal Tetras in there also, but lost them all recently to a horrible bout of Ich brought in with a few new Cardinals. The other fish all survived - Gourami, Sword, and Otos. Since the Cardinals were lost, the Gourami hardly ever comes out anymore except to eat and the Swordtail hangs very close to her - they're an odd couple. I figure they need some dither fish.
<Possibly, but neither are "dither fish" species. Certainly not Swordtails, which live at the surface, so would *actually be* dither fish, rather than needing them. Likewise Gouramis live in thickly vegetated environments
close to the surface, and wouldn't really be nearby any schooling fish most of the time. So I'd be considering other factors first.>
Our local water is pretty hard with high pH - constantly around 8.
<Should be fine for a wide range of fish. Perhaps not Cardinals though, which do seem to prefer water at least only moderately hard, and ideally soft.>
I don't want to mess with Cardinals again so I will gradually add in about 10-15 Harlequin Rasboras, which will be hardier.
<Can't say I've ever found Harlequins to be hardier than Cardinals. Both are pretty much soft water fish. When it comes to hard water tetras, I'd be looking at the "old reliables" like Pristella (X-ray) tetras or Lemon tetras. Even better, look at the Celebes Rainbowfish, Marosatherina ladigesi. This fish thrives in hard water, and has the neon blue you want, though in combination with yellow rather than red. It's a cracking little fish, and like most rainbowfish, if you buy good specimens, they're really very reliable and long-lived.>
I currently have 6 Harlequins cycling a new 10 gallon tank, which will move into this bigger tank in a few weeks. I would also like to add 2 or 3 Pearl Gouramis (1 Male, 2 Females) to the 37 gallon tank.
<OK. A male Blue Gourami would probably have a fit, but a female should be fine.>
Anyway, I just got a very small Rainbow Shark a few days ago - I caved in to my 13 yr old son who has bugged me for months about getting a shark.
This was our compromise, since he wanted Balas and that was out of the question.
<Quite.>
The Rainbow is a little smaller than 2 inches. I purposely got a small one, so the other fish would be dominant - at least until he is full grown.
<Wise.>
I still have time to get the Pearls before the Rainbow becomes more mature and established in the tank. Right now, he kind of hides in the plants by himself, but is coming out more and eating well. The Gourami has not shown any interest in him at all, which is good, I guess.
<Rainbow Sharks do tend to be amongst the mildest of all the Sharks. In general, they're only aggressive towards other shark-like fish, including things like loaches.>
My question for tank 1 is this - Do you think the Rainbow will be compatible with the Rasboras and the Pearl Gouramis - that I plan to get in the next 2 weeks?
<Always a gamble with Sharks, but in this case, I'd certainly risk it.>
Any suggestions you can offer will be welcome. And no, we can't get rid of the Blue Gourami - she's my daughter's that we raised from an egg....parents were relocated.
<Cool.>
Tank 2: In this tank which is currently being cycled with 6 Harlequin Rasboras (1 week now - fish are doing well and Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates are all 0 daily. Filtration: AquaClear 20 and a 50W Stealth
heater. I was considering a pair of Blue Rams. However, after research, I am coming to the conclusion that these will not be the right fish for this tank.
<Would agree. Mikrogeophagus ramirezi is one of the more demanding fish species, and many aquarists completely fail to keep them alive for any substantial length of time. A much, much better choice is its close
relative the Bolivian Ram Mikrogeophagus altispinosus, a species that thrives across a wide range of water chemistry conditions and, most critically, at regular temperatures (Blue Rams need much hotter water than
most tropical fish like). There are few fish I recommend without reservations, but Mikrogeophagus altispinosus is one of them. It's slightly bigger and perhaps a little less gaudily coloured, but mature fish are
still very beautiful and the fact they're hardy (by dwarf cichlid standards, at least) is a major plus.>
Most of what I have read says they need more territory and softer water with higher pH - like my Cardinals, which were fine to a point, but as soon as something upset their balance, they couldn't bounce back like the other fish did.
<Precisely.>
My other thought was to put in a pair of Labidochromis (Electric Yellow Cichlids). Our water conditions would be more suitable, but this tank size is also too small.
<Agreed; these are superb fish for a Mbuna community tank, or possibly mixed in a community with robust rainbows and barbs, but like all Mbuna they need space.>
Question - What other fish or fish combinations could you suggest for a 10 gallon tank that is more suited to higher pH and hard water such as we have in our local area? I'd like to give them the optimum living environment considering it will be such a small environment.
<For a 10-gallon tank, if you're up for a challenge, and want something quirky, consider Tanganyikan Shell Dwellers. These are small (typically an inch or so) cichlids that live in empty snail shells, sometimes in pairs,
but usually as harems. Lamprologus ocellatus and Neolamprologus multifasciatus are probably the two most widely traded species. Besides looking good, these fish have the usual fabulous spawning behaviours we
expect from cichlids, but scaled down to the point where males barely show any interest in things more than a couple of inches above their shells. As such, you can add some genuine dither fish to the mix in the form of
suitable hardwater species; Endler guppies for example are popular choices.>
We also have a Betta in a 1.5 gallon tank - quite old (almost 3 years old) and may soon be on his way to a happier hunting ground.
<A heck of an age.>
Your help is greatly appreciated.
With kind regards,
Sandy
<Cheers, Neale.>

Rainbow Shark, Red-Fin Shark, Compatibility
Hi! My name's holly!
I recently bought a shark (I'm not sure what type of shark it is) with red fins (ALL the fins are red) and a red body. I thought it was a red fin shark but I'm not to sure...I was wondering if you could tell me what it is.  So when I got it, it did nothing but hide in a little cave of wood that I have in my tank and it wouldn't eat. I got worried so I bought a red-fin shark (I am sure this one IS a red-fid shark) to try to make him come out and eat and maybe be a bit more active. I think it has worked but I'm not to sure. I can see it eating now...should I still be worried? If so what can I do and was adding another red-fin into the tank a good idea?  If it makes any difference I have a community tank and I have:
1 x clown loach
1 x snail
2 x neon tetra
2 x white cloud
2 x big sucker fish
3 x tiger barbs
5 x platies
(and the 2 I'm asking about)
<Hello Holly. The fish you bought are Epalzeorhynchos frenatum, also known as the Rainbow Shark. This is an aggressive, territorial omnivore from Southeast Asia. Feeds primarily on green algae and tiny invertebrates in the wild, but in captivity does well on algae, algae wafers, small live foods such as brine shrimp, etc. These fish tend to be pretty belligerent towards one another, so adding two specimens isn't a great idea unless you have a really big tank. So if possible, re-home that fish. Yes, they mostly hide in caves, except when out feeding or chasing rivals. Dissimilar fish are generally ignored. For some reason you aren't keeping your schooling fish in schools. Neons, clown loaches, minnows and barbs all should be in groups of at least 6. With clown loaches, you can get by with fewer, but they're shy. By the way, Clown loaches get big: up to 30 cm. "Big sucker fish" can mean anything, but I'm assuming those are either catfish (Pterygoplichthys spp, which grow to 30-60 cm) or "sucking loaches" (Gyrinocheilus aymonieri, to 30 cm, and incredibly nasty and aggressive when mature). Both need giant aquaria (300 liters +). There's plenty more info on "sharks" here -- http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/minnowshks.htm . Cheers, Neale>

Black Ghost Knife w/ Rainbow Shark? <& Banded Pencil?>  - 05/01/07
Good afternoon!
<Christina>
I apologize if you have answered this question before but I have looked through numerous Internet sites including reading most of your FAQs on BGK compatibility without finding much of an answer for my specific concern.
Let me start off by saying that I fully realize that within a couple of years, I will need to purchase a MUCH larger set up and am already planning for it, I just do not have the floors to handle it at this time. For now, I have recently set up a 30 gallon aquarium, have let it cycle, and purchased 2 "diamond" tetras, one honey dwarf gourami, and a 4-5" BGK. My hopes/plan was to incorporate my 10 gallon fish that have a great need for a larger tank (one 4" angelfish, one 4" Banded Leporinus and one 4" Rainbow Shark).
<Yikes... this Pencilfish species can be very "nippy"... the FW minnow shark possibly as well>
I started with placing the Rainbow Shark into the 30 gallon that for the past 24 hours has housed the gourami, tetras and the BGK. The shark immediately went into the large ship ornament that housed the ghost Knifefish.
<A typical behaviour... hiding>
Both fish started swimming around one another nipping. I removed the shark and placed him back in the 10 gallon until I am able to get advice on the situation.
<Maybe another such "ship" or tube...>
There are two other ornaments including a tube in the tank that the fish can swim into to hide. Will the Black Ghost Knifefish and the Rainbow Shark be OK together (even in a MUCH larger tank such as 75 gallons or 125 gallons?
<Likely so, yes>
Is there a better way to introduce them? Should I first place the angel and Leporinus in the 30 gallon?
<I would not place the Leporinus here>
Thanks for any advice you can provide.
~Christina
<There is a good chance that the Shark may get along if introduced slowly (as in a floating colander for a few days, the lights off), but not the large pencil. Bob Fenner>

Rainbow Shark Nutrition - 02/17/2007
Just wondering if it's normal behavior for a rainbow shark to not eat flake food or frozen bloodworms...
<Not really, they should eat most anything.>
He just seems to be eating algae and my plants...
<Well, if he's keeping himself fat and happy, I wouldn't be too worried.  Maybe try offering him some algae flakes or other "green" foods, like Ocean Nutrition's "Formula Two" flakes or frozen foods?  If he seems inclined to nibble algae, this might be a good food to try.>
I thought it was an omnivore and would enjoy the flakes and bloodworms?
<Yeah, he should.  It's possible that he's got some sort of nutritional deficiency that is making the algae more desirable to him....  Who knows!  Again, if he's keeping himself fat and happy, you've nothing to worry about.  Wishing you well,  -Sabrina>

Rainbow Sharks, comp. with dwarf Cichlids sel.    02/17/07
Hi, I have a single rainbow shark living in a 23g, he's (definitely a male) currently living with two dwarf gouramis and a Sailfin Molly, the gouramis and the sailfin molly will be moved out within the next few days, as I finally managed to fix their tank, and set it up and plant it. Anyway I've been trying to find a new tank mate for Kelvin my shark, there are plans in place to move him into either a 4 foot or 3 foot tank when he gets bigger but so far he's all of 5cm long. So I'm after a single fish with personality and was interested in cichlids, but I can't find any conclusive info on the net about any dwarf cichlids that'll live in a 23g and live with a rainbow shark. Any help'd be appreciated.
<Mmm... should be of the more "feisty" variety... not the real small Apistogrammas, Nannacaras... Maybe something like the Bolivian Ram...>
Oh and the tanks currently got a couple of caves and some plastic plants,
I'm going to break up some pots to add more caves and add a few more decorations/caves from the pet store in there too.
<Sounds good>
Thanks
Emma
<Do take a look see on the mega-site Fishbase.org using the search term "dwarf cichlid"... and then a cursive look/see on the Net, your Stockists re what they can get from this sub-set. Bob Fenner>

Re: Rainbow Sharks   12/17/06
Hello again :)
My rainbow is doing fine as usual, and I'm back with another question.
I really love this fish and I'd like to have more than one.
<Mmmm>
I have heard that it is possible to keep more than one in a tank, six being a good number.
<... not really a good idea... can be "expeditiously" crowded... for shipping, retail... but almost always will establish a pecking order... with an alpha, sub-alpha individual/s attacking the subordinate individuals... with much tension for all else>
I currently have a 20 gallon that I'm cycling. I've been keeping my shark in a 5 gallon with a couple of kuhli loaches, therefore he has not been in the 20 before, and has not established any territorial claims within it. If I were to get more than one rainbow, I'd put them in the 20 at the same time so they all have equal opportunity to establish a territory.
<A good technique>
Is this a big enough tank?
<No...>
If I provided adequate hiding spots, would I be able to house 2-3 rainbows in this, or would it be impossible to stop them from fighting?
<Very likely the last>
Would I have to have 6? (I don't believe I have the room for 6 rainbows, personally)
Is this a feasible possibility, or should I not bother due to a guaranteed aggression?
<I would seek out other species... barbs, danios... and stick with one minnow shark here... Too much, way too much likelihood of troubles/aggression otherwise>
Let me know what I should do :) If I can only keep one per tank, looks like I'll be starting multiple community tanks!
Thank you very much,
-Michelle
<Thank you! Bob Fenner>

Tricolor/Red finned Sharks  11/21/06
Hello there, it's Michelle again!
<<Hello, Michelle. It’s Tom again, as well.>>
I wanted to let you know that the red fin is doing marvelous, and I've gotten myself a pair of weather loaches, and a Kuhli loach. (I hope to get more in a couple of weeks!)
<<Sounds great.>>
I did have a pictus and of course the bala, but sadly something VERY horrible happened.
<<Uh oh…>>
I was sold a faulty tank- it had a chip under the encasing at the base corner of the tank. Overnight, the tank spread out from under the casing (which was literally impossible to see) and it exploded. The bala and the pictus died. :( I was luckily able to save a few fish.
<<Sorry to hear about your Shark and Catfish, Michelle, though I’m glad not all were lost.>>
Anyway, I wanted to inform that my fish are currently in a 5-gallon Q-tank... they WERE in my 10 gallon Q-tank, but that proved to be a disaster. I'm very ashamed to have them in such a small tank, but it is VERY temporary- I'm cycling a 20 gallon as we speak and they only have to stay in the 5-gallon for a little under two weeks. I make frequent water changes (once every 5 days) and give them extra aeration and filtration.
<<Excellent and, there’s no need to apologize for anything. I know that you know that this isn’t ideal but you don’t have a lot of options right now, do you?>>
I wanted to know, because I hadn't had the chance to ask before, would clown loaches and red fins interact well? My rainbow has been a great roommate with my loaches- both weather and the Kuhli. Now, I understand that the weather loach prefers cold water, but the temperature is steady at 79, and they’re known to function excellently within a broad range such as 72 to 84 degrees.
<<Michelle, Clown Loaches (Botia macracantha) are “funny” about how they interact with other fish. I say this because they can get along quite well with everyone in the tank or they can turn out to be pretty nasty, particularly with smaller fish. As adults, provided you can get them to that stage, they don’t exhibit the almost playful type of behavior that they display as juveniles. Specifically, they’ve been known to act in a somewhat aggressive fashion at night attacking other tank mates. As to your specific question, I would say yes, at least early on. There may be some jockeying for territory but a larger tank would help a great deal in that regard. Both grow moderately large so I don’t think you’ll see one or the other being “dominant”. Provided your Rainbow Shark doesn’t mistake the Loach(es) for something they’re not, I think they could make a decent combination.>>
Am I making good decisions on tank mates? All of these fish will grow to be large (I intend to get a much bigger tank than the 20 of course, that's my starter tank). Will the rainbow accept them with age?
<<As I suggested, I might be apt to have concerns later in their lives more so than early on.>>
If not, I'd be more than happy to get him his own tank with a few tiger barbs. I've grown quite fond of him!
<<Either way, Michelle, I don’t think you’d be going wrong.>>
Please write back and let me know your thoughts. :)
Thank you for your time,
-Michelle
<<Happy to share it with you. Best of luck. Tom>>

Red-Finned Shark sys. 6/19/2006
Hi there,
<<Hello.>>
I have been given this address by a friend; I need some advice on keeping certain kinds of fish.
Up until now, I have been told by all the pet shop owners/managers that keeping a shark (red finned or red tail) along with my other fish like angels and swords will be just fine, but this shark is actually ripping the tails of all my fish.
<<They can be aggressive.>>
What to do????
<<Return the shark, or acquire another large system. Lisa.>>
Faizel Hoosen

Re: Red-Finned Shark sys. 6/20/2006
Thank you very much,
<<You’re welcome.>>
I think I have too many fish in my three foot tank. What about swordfish?? Are they aggressive as well? My male swordfish is also attacking my angel fish.
<<Umm, I’m assuming you mean swordtails? If you are overstocked like you say, aggression of all kinds will present itself.>>
Thanks for the advice on my issues.
<<Glad to help. Lisa.>>
  Faizel Hoosen

Was Goldfish disease enquiry, now tropical/Betta health, comp.    4/12/06
Hi,
<Hello>
I'm Karthik. I'd contacted you about that skin flukes/Trichodina problem that my goldfish were suffering from for quite a few months. I lost one
Oranda due to dropsy. I treated all the rest with a dose of Potassium Permanganate and then dismantled the entire aquarium, cleaned everything
thoroughly and then re-established the aquarium and allowed the empty, re-setup aquarium to stand for a fortnight to allow the beneficial bacterial
colonies to develop. I then added my fish back into the tank and now they seem to have got rid of their problem and their behaviour patterns are all
normal now. I thank you sincerely for all the assistance you had given me during that time. I'll feel free to contact you in case I need your
assistance at any point of time.
<Okay>
I wanted to know one more thing- I have another aquarium (tropical fish). I have a school of neon tetras, 4 Bala sharks and a rainbow shark.
<The Neons will be consumed here>
I also have 5 bettas- a  red crowntail, a blue halfmoon tail, a royal blue veiltail, a dark red scissor tail and a Cambodian female betta which I house in
separate (obviously), spacious jars. They're all doing extremely well.
However, when I add any of these 5 bettas to my tropical tank, they sort of become dull and their fins start tearing in various places after 2-3
days. There are lots of hiding places, and plants like the Cabomba, Amazon sword, etc. and the current due to the filter isn't very strong either. If
I put them back into their jars, they become normal again and their fins grow back. I've checked the tank- there are no pH, ammonia, nitrite and
nitrate level surges. the temperature is maintained at 24C The water quality is quite good because the other inmates of the tank are doing pretty well
and I can assure you that none of these other inmates harm the betta.
<Perhaps not overtly>
I'm puzzled about this sudden change of behaviour from these bettas. Could you tell me what could be the reason for this?
Expecting your reply soon,
Thanking you,
Karthik
<Likely "stress" from being in the presence of the sharks, particularly the Redfin... plus having so much space to swim about in... is wearing on little-used fins. Bob Fenner>

Re: Goldfish disease enquiry ... minnow shark, betta comp.    4/12/06
> Hi,
<Karthik>
Thanks for the information. Now I would like to clarify a few things here. Firstly, both the Bala sharks and the rainbow shark are about 1 to 1 and a
half inches long. They're still very young. Are you sure the presence of the rainbow shark affects the behaviour of the betta?
<Absolutely. More so though, as you hint, with increasing size>
As far as I can see, the rainbow is pretty peaceful and he's happy grazing the leaves of the various plants in the tank and nibbling at everything he can find including
the gravel and in fact, that's all he seems to be doing all day.
<You will see, learn in time... please see WWM re "Minnow Sharks"... beh., comp... I am in the process of sorting, writing review pieces for principal species...>
The bettas and the rainbow shark are supposed to be compatible species anyway.
<Not often, no>
And how come these bettas don't feel uncomfortable if I leave them alone in a large tank with just the rainbow shark? I've tried that before).
<Not long term>
You'd mentioned that the neons would become a meal of these sharks in your previous reply to me. I've been careful to choose balas of the appropriate
size considering the fact that Neons are existing in my aquarium. They're doing well. I know that neons are from the Amazon and balas are from
Thailand but would you recommend this combination?
<No... the Balas get too big (35 cm.) are too rambunctious, like very different water quality...>
After all, neons reach a maximum size of 2-3 inches
<... rarely more than half this>
but Balas grow up to 12-13 inches or so I've heard. I've also heard that the rainbow shark gets extremely aggressive as it grows older. Is this true?
<Often, yes>
I've never had a rainbow shark before. I've had almost all varieties of goldfish over a decade (ever since I was 8, now I'm 19) but I'm trying to expand my knowledge in other tropical fish now- hence the above questions.
Expecting your reply soon,
Thanking you,
Karthik
<Welcome. BobF>

Goldfish and "shark" uncertainty   3/15/06
Greetings
  I am the proud owner of one 4in Lionhead FG, one 2in Fancy G, one celestial eye FG, one 1 1/2 in unknown GF (it has no dorsal fin, humped tail, small pom poms on its face, red and white.  can u tell me the common name?)
<Not from the proffered info.>
and one 1in black moor.  I also have added a 1 1/2 in rainbow shark, yes this is probably bad.
     My question is this:  I have been having terrible issues with bacterial bloom since I have added the celestial eye and rainbow shark.
<This minnow is too "mean" to keep with fancy goldfish. Remove it.>
It is obvious that this tank has become quite overpopulated (29 gal)
<Is too over-populated with just two of the goldfish>
and must be the culprit.  All chemical levels are in check.  What can I do to rid the bacterial blooms?
<Less fish, feeding, more filtration, circulation, more frequent partial water changes, live plants...>
I have tried 2 different types of coagulating agents and this hasn't helped at all.
<These "clarifying agents" are not a good idea>
No progress here.  Do I need a stronger filter?  It is for a 20-40gal.  I am reluctant to separate these fish because they are currently rather small for now, with the exception of the lionhead, and I don't have the sufficient funds to get another tank right now.  What is my best option?
   <To read... on WWM re goldfish systems: http://wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/gldfshsystems.htm
and the linked files above>
  Also, I was fooled into getting my rainbow shark.  Why do all pet store employees give stupid advice?
<Mmm, not all... a counter... Why is it that folks are so eager to blindly accept such input? There is no "certifying" agency for such workers...>
My fault for relying on them anyway.  So this fish is supposedly very aggressive, yet I  have had him for 2 weeks and he/she swims with the other fish in a friendly manner and causes no problems thus far.  Should I separate him anyway under suspicion?
   <Yes. Will eventually become abusive>
  I realize now that I really need research more BEFORE I buy fish, if I had, I wouldn't be bothering you, I'm sorry.
   <Ahhh!>
  Thanks for listening
  Christy Bowen
<Thank you for writing, sharing. Bob Fenner>

Albino Sharks too skinny... beh., systems   2/1/06
I have a 15 gal tank with 4 Albino Sharks,
<Too small for these testy minnows>
2 Otos and 1 Chinese Algae Eater. One of the sharks looks very healthy, not fat but good sized. The other 3 look skinny, very skinny.
<Typical... the one winner is bullying the others>
I had a 5th shark in the tank that looked very good with the other 4 skinny. After I removed the normal looking one, 1 of the 4 skinny sharks then fattened up to look normal.
Will one Albino Shark bully the others and eat more of the food thereby keeping them skinny?
<Ah, yes!>
That looks to be the case. If this is the case, is there any solution other than 1 shark per tank?
<Mmm, a larger tank... at least sixty gallons. You can/could try to add "decor", plants to reduce visual stimulation... but this is only a short term solution... Bob Fenner>
Thanks,
David McGinnis

Red Finned Shark (Rainbow Shark?)  12/5/05
Hi,
I have a 29 gallon planted aquarium with various different types of plants (Giant Vallisneria, Elodea (Anacharis), Amazon Sword, Banana Plant, Some Plant that has very fine needle like leaves and is a floater) with CO2 injection and strong lighting. My fish stock is:
6 Gold Barbs
6 Cherry Barbs
6 White Skirt Tetras
1 Red Finned (I think Rainbow) Shark
My water parameters are:
Ammonia: 0.0
Nitrite: 0.0
Nitrate < 10
ph 7.2
Alkalinity: 140
<Great!>
I do a 20% water change every 2 weeks to keep the tank in top shape. Anyways my question is what type of food does my red finned shark eat. I have yet to see this shark eat and I've tried sinking Spirulina and regular tropical flakes both types of food get ignored by the shark and usually end up being feasted on by my gold barbs (remind me of my goldfish's eating habits). I've read that they eat algae but I've never had any visible algae in this tank. Do you know of any way to get this shark to eat? He seems to hide in a cave structure all day and only comes out when another fish intrudes on his territory. Thanks for any help.
Robert
<Assuming your fish is a Labeo erythrurus (Google the name for pics), s/he sounds like it's acting like a typical Labeo erythrurus. Some do like to hide all day. They are omnivorous. As far as veggies, you might try sinking algae pellets, peeled garden peas (pop the skin off and they'll sink), cucumber slices, non-iceberg lettuce, etc. Remove leftovers after about 12 hours to avoid rotting bits. You can also try these at night -- your fish may be shy and might come out to eat at dark. Frozen bloodworms and or brine shrimp also are good choices for picky eaters. Best of luck with him. Keep us posted. Catherine> 

Rainbow Shark woes
Hi! What a great web site! I'll keep this short... over the past 2 weeks I have been fighting Ich. It was 3 clown loaches that I bought that I did not quarantine that got sick. I have been a hobbyist ever since I was a kid and I have NEVER had Ich.  I treated the 20 gallon tank with Nox-Ich, elevated the temp to 82
F and the spots only became worse. I researched web sites and did the aquarium salt treatment 1 tsp/gallon leaving the water for 5 days.  I
have now lost 10 smaller fish including the loaches. I was sorry to see them go but my main concern is my 4 year old 6" Rainbow shark.  I
noticed yesterday that he is breathing fast through his mouth (he never does that) and his scales along his belly appear raised and he appears
bloated. His color also has changed, instead of being dark black; he is now a grey color. I don't think it's dropsy because I've seen that
before. I did a 50% water change but he still appears to be stressed. Please help because I will be so upset if I lose him. My filtration is
an Aquaclear 300. Thanks, Liz
<<Dear Liz, do you test your water? I recommend you get it tested for ammonia (should be zero), nitrites (should be zero) and nitrates (as low as possible, between 20-60ppm on average). If nitrates are too high, you need to do a bunch of waterchanges to bring it down. Half the battle is good water quality. The clown loaches are problematic when it comes to ich. They are extremely susceptible. I will assume you removed your carbon from your filter, and it's good that you raised the tank temp to 82 degrees. Keep it stable, though...keep a thermometer in the tank, cuz if your heater is malfunctioning and the temp fluctuates, it could make things worse. Also, the salt treatment takes time to work well, and Time is something you don't have when treating aggressive ich cases. Salt can take up to a couple of weeks to actually be effective. Get the temp up another notch, to 84F, add a respectable ich med, like Quick Cure or Super Ich Cure, and make sure you have adequate circulation. Also, cross your fingers. I hope it's not too late to save your fishy. Keep treating until the spots disappear, even if the medication indicates a two day treatment. Read and follow the instructions for dosage levels. When the spots are gone, do a 50% water change, paying strict attention to the water temperature, and replace your carbon. -Gwen>>

Rainbow Shark Cannot Swim Well
This morning when I woke up I turned on my aquarium light and discovered my rainbow shark at the top of the tank, she absolutely cannot stay down. She is very much a favorite of mine and I'm very worried about losing her. Can you please help me?
>> Some fish that are not normally surface feeders will occasionally swallow air bubbles when they go for food. Usually this lasts for up to three or four days, before they swim normally again. Nothing you can really do but wait at this time.
Good Luck, Oliver

Re: rainbow shark cannot swim well
Oliver, thank you for your help, I am really grateful. She is still not doing well, but at least now I have an idea of what might be wrong. Thanks
>> I hope she will get better, there are also some infections that cause this kind of symptoms, but I think that it is more likely that your fish's problem will pass.
Good Luck, Oliver

Re: rainbow shark cannot swim well
thank you again for your help, she did end up dying but at least I tried. Maybe she had one of those infections or something, I don't know. I'm pretty new to all of this.  You don't think the other fish I have will be at risk do you?
thanks again, Angy
>> Not likely. Often internal infections like this kill only one fish. If you get another fish with this problem let us know! Thanks, Oliver

Albino Shark
Hi, I am amateur fish owner.  I have an albino rainbow shark.  This fish likes to swim along the edges of the tank and is usually pretty mellow.  All of the sudden he's hiding a lot.  I check my water every other day and the quality is good.  What could this behavior be?  Thank you.
<Not unusual for this minnow-shark species to be or become more reclusive. This is likely "nothing" to be concerned about. Just do make sure it is feeding (sinking pellets and wafers, cooked squash...). Bob Fenner>