# RTBS Growth rate



## leongreenway (Mar 29, 2005)

Anyone know how quickley a RTBS grows, i know it is dependant on foot size tank etc. 

He eats flakes lettice cucumber and Algae wafers
He is in a 25UK Gal tank.

Cheers 

Leon


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## something_fishy (May 15, 2005)

Hi Leon,

In my experience if you have more than one Red Tailed Black Shark the dominant one will grow very quickly but with only one in a tank the growth rate is a bit less extreme! when i was much younger  i got a few for my 30g tank which in retrospect wasn't a great idea! I found that the dominant one grew double the size of the others within a few months and was extremely aggressive so I took him out. Very soon the new dominant one had done a growth spurt too. from that experience i would never normally put more than one in a tank at a time. They can be very aggressive with their own kind, but generally leave other fish alone so it is possible to keep a single RTBS in a community tank. 
They usually grow to about 4 to 5 inches reasonably quickly.

You only have one however, so i'm sure you are fine! What else have you got in your tank?


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## leongreenway (Mar 29, 2005)

I have a Bushnose Pleco and a Black Calvus Cichlid, who doesnt get on with The Red, but doesnt harm him.


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

Don't worry, this won't effect the growth rate of your RTBS. :lol:


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## leongreenway (Mar 29, 2005)

Anyone know the growth rate of the RTBS, whats the best food for them??


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## something_fishy (May 15, 2005)

i'm not sure about the actual growth rate but i know that they need a diet that includes live foodstuffs so  insect larvae, tubifex, crustaceans or aquatic insects along with vegetables (lettuce, spinach etc) are all suitable.


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## leongreenway (Mar 29, 2005)

Cool, can you recommend any brands of
insect larvae, tubifex, crustaceans or aquatic insects I can use? In my experience alot of these float and My RTBS usually eats from the bottom!


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## lulu (Apr 22, 2005)

My lfs has been very poor in the past about stocking a range of brands so i have had no choice but to use the Tetra Freshdelicia range of freeze dried food. They have a whole range of different types- daphnia, brineshrimp, bloodworm, tubifex etc. It seems to be perfectly adequate though although yes it does float! 

I have also bought live food direct from a company called fish & fins http://www.fishandfins.co.uk/live-aquarium-food.htm

I know that hikari have a brand of sinking food pellets for carnivore fish, but i've never tried them so i can't comment on how good they are.


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