What's the biggest red tail shark you've ever seen?

[BadGaskets]

I've always loved red tail sharks and they don't quite qualify as "monsters" but I figure you guys will have some big ones.

I have one that's about 4 years old and probably 4.5" long, and I just got a second one from a friend that's about a half inch longer but a lot heavier bodied.

Both fish are in separate 120 gallon tanks, where they are very clearly the dominant fish in the tank. But absolutely beautiful. Thankfully neither are being savages.

Over the years I've never kept one into "old age", life circumstances would have me rehoming them. Now, I'm pretty well settled in and I'm hoping to see just how big these get.

Whats the biggest you've seen?

 

[SalviniCichlidFan]

I've always loved red tail sharks and they don't quite qualify as "monsters" but I figure you guys will have some big ones.

I have one that's about 4 years old and probably 4.5" long, and I just got a second one from a friend that's about a half inch longer but a lot heavier bodied.

Both fish are in separate 120 gallon tanks, where they are very clearly the dominant fish in the tank. But absolutely beautiful. Thankfully neither are being savages.

Over the years I've never kept one into "old age", life circumstances would have me rehoming them. Now, I'm pretty well settled in and I'm hoping to see just how big these get.

Whats the biggest you've seen?

I'm just curious to how you got your red tailed shark to be heavy bodied. I've kept a rainbow shark for a year now and he's 3-4 inches long but I've never figured out how to get him to get that thick body that you see online.

He/she eats a lot and clearly gets full (big belly) but he never gets fully thick bodied.

Do you (or anyone else) have any advice?

 

[BadGaskets]

Overfeed them. Could also be a male/female difference

 

[skjl47]

Hello; In the town of Kingsport TN at 128 Broad Street is the shop called SEA ODDITIES. The lady who owns the shop has a tank with a big red tail. Also some other big fish. She has had that fish for years. Also nice and fat.

 

[Morti]

I think the biggest wild redtail ever measured was just over 5". I had one for over ten years and I don't think it got to 5", although not far off, but I'm stretching the memory a little.

 

[celebrist]

What I noticed is they are easily out competed by other grazing fish and then waste away. If I get another one I sure won't put it with my rose lines

 

[skjl47]

Hello; In the town of Kingsport TN at 128 Broad Street is the shop called SEA ODDITIES. The lady who owns the shop has a tank with a big red tail. Also some other big fish. She has had that fish for years. Also nice and fat.

Hello; A correction on my part. I for some reason was thinking of red tail catfish. The fish at the Kingsport shop is a red tail catfish.

 

[Cichlids-r-beasts]

Not the same species but I had my Rainbow shark for 5 years in my 125g and he/she got to about 5.5-6 inches, was really thick too. Not sure if I did anything different from you guys other than leave algae in there for it to chow down on. Did weekly 70-80% water changes and cleaning algae off the sides but left it on the decor, perhaps it’s the surplus of all that algae?

RTS’s and RS’s are wonderful fish with great personalities. I’ve had my RS come up and “clean” my hand when I’m rearranging decor in the tank and I’ve seen him/her do it to my cichlids once or twice too and they surprisingly tolerated it, wish I caught that on video lol.

 

[BadGaskets]

I’ve had my RS come up and “clean” my hand when I’m rearranging decor in the tank and I’ve seen him/her do it to my cichlids once or twice too and they surprisingly tolerated it, wish I caught that on video lol.

I have 2 yoyo loaches in the 120, both are quite big and fat. Seems to be male and female, one of them stays "ripe" all the time. Every once in a while my RTS will join in with their playing. They'll do the double belly-nibble barrel roll thing. Meanwhile the female Firemouth and male blue acara start sparring as if they're going to lay eggs. So, maybe the tank has some "chemistry" going on.

 

[cockroach]

What I noticed is they are easily out competed by other grazing fish and then waste away. If I get another one I sure won't put it with my rose lines

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I have had the same experience. They become more aggressive and just waste away until they are moved a quieter tank.
I currently have one in my hillstream loach tank and watching to see how it fairs.