Interesting tank. I've always heard you can't keep multiples of these guys together due to aggression. How often do you see scuffles and which species are the most troublemakers? Which are the most peaceful? Keep us posted.
Shark tank
- Thread starter King-eL
- Start date
That's awesome on your other blacks - how do they get along? I personally haven't had any luck keeping more than 1 in the tank. How old are the big ones?
They are not really as aggressive as people thought they are. You would have more deaths keeping multiple sa/ca cichlids than keeping labeoninae. Keeping multiple of them is actually the key to prevent them from killing each other just like how you keep african rift lake cichlids. Aslong as you don't keep 3-4 or just 2. Best to keep 5-6 or more.
I got them when they where 9-12" and they are 1-3 years old now I'm actually looking for an albino black shark and albino redtail shark. So hard to come by. Keeping only 2 of them and you end up with problems, especially keeping 2 females. I find it that females are a lot more aggressive than males.
How can you sex them? You're right - I've only kept 2-4 together, never more - and end up with one. I've had both normal and albino - and the albinos were twice as nasty (not just to each other.) Would love another one too.
The only way to sex them is when they get to 8-9" or a year old. Take them out and press the abdomen between the pelvic fins down to te anus. If the eggs comes out it's a female. If sperms comes out it's a male. That how farm sex and also how they manage to breed them. They do the same with redtail sharks and rainbow shark and many of labeoninaes.
