Full Grown Red Tail Shark Care And Breeding Guide

With their bright red tails and aggressive personalities, red tail sharks add plenty of color and attitude to community aquariums. While juvenile red tails make interesting pets, few aquarists realize these sharks can grow over 6 inches long as adults. Providing for full grown red tail sharks poses some unique challenges, but with the right setup, these fish make fabulous wet pets. This complete guide covers everything you need to know about caring for and breeding mature red tail sharks.

Full Grown Red Tail Shark Care

As juveniles, red tail sharks only require a 30 gallon or larger tank. However, these territorial fish grow rapidly, eventually needing much more generous housing. Here are the basic care guidelines for adult red tails:

Tank Size

A single full grown red tail shark needs at least a 55 gallon aquarium, while a mated pair should have a 75 gallon or bigger tank. The extra space allows them to establish distinct territories and reduces aggression. Provide plenty of hiding spots and line of sight breaks to facilitate peaceful coexistence with other fish.

Water Conditions

Coming from Thailand, red tail sharks prefer soft, slightly acidic water:

– Temperature: 74-79°F
– pH: 6.0-7.0
– Hardness: 5-12 dKH

Use peat filtration to naturally soften water and lower pH. Perform 25% weekly water changes to prevent nitrate accumulation and refresh minerals.

Tank Setup

Fill the aquarium with smooth gravel or sand substrate along with plenty of rocks, driftwood, and aquatic plants for hiding and exploring.

Red tails originate from fast-moving streams, so provide strong filtration and current using a high quality cannister filter and powerheads. Just be sure to include some calmer areas in the tank where fish can rest.

Tankmates

Adult red tail sharks become quite domineering, limiting compatible tank mates. The best options include medium to large tetras, barbs, danios, rainbowfish, clown loaches, pictus catfish, corydoras catfish, freshwater puffers, gouramis, and other sharks.

Avoid aggressive species like cichlids or slower fish that may get bullied. Never combine two red tail sharks unless breeding. Carefully monitor all tankmates, being prepared to remove any that get harassed.

Diet

In the wild red tails feed largely on insects, larvae, plant matter and small crustaceans. They eagerly accept most foods in captivity. Feed a high quality flake or pellet along with:

– Live foods like black worms, brine shrimp and crickets
– Frozen bloodworms, krill, mysis and brine shrimp
– Blanched vegetables like zucchini, spinach, cucumber and squash
– Algae wafers, spirulina tabs, and herbivore pellets

Feed mature red tails two small meals daily, making sure tankmates also get food. These active swimmers have rapid metabolisms, so avoid overfeeding.

Breeding Full Grown Red Tails

Convincing red tails to spawn can prove challenging but offers great rewards. Use the following techniques to replicate natural conditions:

– House a proven mated pair in at least a 75 gallon species tank.
– Maintain warm, soft, acidic water with moderate current. Add peat and Indian almond leaves to lower pH and simulate natural environments.
– Feed nutrient-rich foods like live black worms and brine shrimp.
– Perform large, cool water changes to trigger spawning activity.
– Provide flat rocks or inverted flowerpots for spawning sites.
– Look for pairing behaviors like fish following one another, shimmying alongside each other, or mouths wrestling. The female grows noticeably plumper with eggs.
– Remove other fish once spawning occurs, leaving just the mating pair to prevent them eating eggs and fry.
– Parents fan and guard a small territory after spawning but do not provide extended brood care.
– Fertilized eggs hatch in 24-36 hours. Tiny fry immediately swim in open water.
– Feed infusoria, then finely crushed flakes and foods once fry double in size after a few days. Growth remains impressively rapid.

Achieving that first red tail shark spawn represents a major accomplishment for advanced aquarists! Subsequent spawns come much easier once a pair bonds. Though small, the alert fry make delightful pets with their oversized dorsal fins trailing behind. Patient breeders who persevere reap wonderful rewards raising these sharks through adulthood.

In Conclusion

Feisty red tail sharks undergo a dramatic transformation from petite juveniles to impressive adults exceeding 6 inches long. While their care poses some unique challenges, these active sharks make exceptionally interactive pets. Mated pairs even offer advanced aquarists an opportunity to breed this popular species when properly conditioned. Whether simply enjoying their fiery colors or succeeding at spawning, red tails bring personality and vibrance to community tanks during every life stage.

This comprehensive guide addresses proper housing, tankmates, water parameters, diet, and techniques for breeding full grown red tail sharks. Just be sure to provide these territorial fish plenty of space with robust filtration. Follow these best practices for successfully keeping healthy, thriving red tails from juvenile to mature adult.