# Red Tailed Black Shark Died. :(



## deadmanwalking (Aug 3, 2012)

Hi all, I currently have a 33 Gallon Outgrow Aquarium and the stocking list can be shown on my photo album. Unfortunately, my Red Tailed Black Shark has recently died. It did have a few white spots on it, but due to the fact that red tailed black sharks are meant to have some white on them and due to the fact that no other fish has died or has white spots despite the shark dying almost a week ago, I don't think that ich is the problem here.

Personally, I believe that the pair of male dwarf gourami may have killed the Red Tailed Black Shark. I believe it had a bit of its tail missing when we took the shark out of the tank, but from what I can only presume that was taken off after the shark died. Anyway, a few weeks before this, one of the male swordtails back fin was bitten off, and we had to move him to a quarantine tank. He has not been eating and his fin is yet to make any signs that it is growing back. Now, if the shark was killed, then that is two incidences of aggressive fish. And when you look at the tank, the gourami do look like the most aggressive fish in there, considering they chase each other, the swordtails, ANGELFISH and even a BALA SHARK.

Anyway, do you think a dwarf gourami would be capable of doing this? And also, do you have any advice on what to do to help the sick swordtail eat and recover?

Thanks!


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## MainelyFish (Sep 20, 2012)

correct me if I am wrong guys but could the issue have been between the Red-tail shark and Bala Shark... It was recommended to me to not mix Bala Sharks with any other Sharks but themselves, because of the aggressive and territorial nature of them... and the sword tail may have gotten caught in the middle some how...


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

i would like to know who told you that red tail black sharks are meant to have white spots on them..i have kept red tails and balas off and on for 40 years and never saw the white on the reds nor had issues between reds and balas..(but i do agree that it is quite possible for the two to be a bit aggressive with each other..
i would not even consider the gouramies as the culprits...they couldn't even dream of being able to catch up with the red..
as far as the missing tail is concerned ; once the red was dead any of the other fish in the tank would have eaten it......fish eat fish.....


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## MainelyFish (Sep 20, 2012)

loha, 

So in the past you have mixed redtail and balas and had no major issues?


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

yes i have....on a number of occasions..i used to buy 50 or so of each at a small size for $1.00 each...throw them in a 125 for a few months and get them up to about 5 inches and sell them for 5 or 6 bucks a pop...they would only last a few days like that..


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## deadmanwalking (Aug 3, 2012)

So the injured swordtail died a couple of hours ago. And the Black Ghost Knife has a bit of its fin ripped off. The only two fish species who have been in the tank for all of these attacks have been the Gourami and the Angelfish. And to be honest, the Angelfish are extremely peaceful and the Gourami look extremely aggressive.

Also, about the white spots on the Red Tailed Shark, sorry for the lack of clarity, that was my fault... I don't mean white spots, I mean the sort of white lining it has.

So, what do you all think I should do? I want to move the Gourami to the 10 Gallon Quarantine Tank, but will the two males be okay in there together?

Thanks.


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## amagad (Jan 6, 2013)

gouramis are pansies, you can rule them out of your equation. Angelfish can get be territorial and likely the angelfish as they are part of the cichlid family. If you havent done so already, sit at your tank for an hour every now and then and see who is the dominant fish in the aquarium capable of such monstrosity.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

i still say that the red died on it's own...nobody killed it...the only other fish in the tank fast enough to catch it is the bala shark...and the missing tail is from the other fish eating at it after the red had died...


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## deadmanwalking (Aug 3, 2012)

About sitting at my tank for an hour every now and then, I have been and I think everybody else who has seen the aquarium has commented on the agressiveness of the gourami. Personally, I think that any fish who tries to attack angelfish and Bala sharks is capable of many things. And as for the Bala shark doing something to the swordtail, the Bala shark wasn't in the tank at that time so we can rule that out.


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