# red tailed shark freaking out.



## jrury (Feb 23, 2012)

i have a red tailed shark and every so often he will just freak out and swim in a circle really fast around his house and then swim straight up and hang upside-down on the inside roof of his house. he has been doing this for a week or so. is he sick or is he just bored? 
any help is appreciated. 
thanks


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## Tazman (Jan 15, 2012)

what are your readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?

They also should be kept in as a single species with carefully selected tankmates otherwise issues with aggression arise.


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## jrury (Feb 23, 2012)

Tazman said:


> what are your readings for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate?
> 
> They also should be kept in as a single species with carefully selected tankmates otherwise issues with aggression arise.


Ammonia is 0, Nitrate is 0 and Nitrite is between first colors of 0 and 5 and he is in a tank with ghost shrimp


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## Tazman (Jan 15, 2012)

Might just be bored as it doesnt have anything to chase, shrimp are not exactly active tank mates for it.


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## jrury (Feb 23, 2012)

Tazman said:


> Might just be bored as it doesnt have anything to chase, shrimp are not exactly active tank mates for it.


alright thanks. and sometimes he just lays on the ground and looks like he's dead.


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## Tazman (Jan 15, 2012)

one other thing, what size tank is it in?


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## jrury (Feb 23, 2012)

Tazman said:


> one other thing, what size tank is it in?


i have a 10 now as he is only about a month old but is going to be moved to my moms 55 once he gets a little larger


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## Tazman (Jan 15, 2012)

might just be he needs more space as 10g is a little small but good on him going to the 55g. They do like to have bursts of speed occasionally.

Just be careful as to what fish he goes in with, they can get quite aggressive although rarely will cause injury, it is more stress from chasing fish away from its territory.


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## jrury (Feb 23, 2012)

Tazman said:


> might just be he needs more space as 10g is a little small but good on him going to the 55g. They do like to have bursts of speed occasionally.
> 
> Just be careful as to what fish he goes in with, they can get quite aggressive although rarely will cause injury, it is more stress from chasing fish away from its territory.


right now in the 55 is another red tail shark that is 4 years old and some kissy fish and a large pelco the shark never really bothers them but it might be because he's old.


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## Tazman (Jan 15, 2012)

Be extremely careful adding it to a tank with another shark..They generally DO NOT get along well together.
The older shark will see it as a threat and likely stress the younger one to the point it will cause problems or at worst death.

The tank would need areas that both fish can claim as their territory and also for hiding should aggression show.


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## jrury (Feb 23, 2012)

Tazman said:


> Be extremely careful adding it to a tank with another shark..They generally DO NOT get along well together.
> The older shark will see it as a threat and likely stress the younger one to the point it will cause problems or at worst death.
> 
> The tank would need areas that both fish can claim as their territory and also for hiding should aggression show.


I'm going to wait until the older one dies it seems like it will be soon he usually just lays on the bottom until feeding time


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

jrury said:


> I'm going to wait until the older one dies it seems like it will be soon he usually just lays on the bottom until feeding time


This species lives to 15 years, assuming it is healthy and in the proper environment. At 4 years it is still quite young. And Tazman is quite correct, never put two together. You can read more in the profile, click the shaded name Red Tailed Shark.


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## Sousa Hari (Feb 28, 2021)

jrury said:


> i have a red tailed shark and every so often he will just freak out and swim in a circle really fast around his house and then swim straight up and hang upside-down on the inside roof of his house. he has been doing this for a week or so. is he sick or is he just bored?
> any help is appreciated.
> thanks


For the first time ever, in years of keeping my red tailed shark, he/she is acting just as you describe, often leaping out of the water while performing the rapid circles, causing lots of bubbles and splashes. He/she is full grown, around 5 years old and has two caves which he/she tends to swim between. No aggressive behaviour towards other tank mates, in fact they can be seen swimming or relaxing side-by-side. The tank is a 90ltrs horizontal tank, previously he was in a 165ltr upright tank, with different varieties of fish including very small ones. none of which he was aggressive towards. 
I have tested the water several times using a Tetra test strip, all markers show its ok.


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## Sousa Hari (Feb 28, 2021)

Sousa Hari said:


> For the first time ever, in years of keeping my red tailed shark, he/she is acting just as you describe, often leaping out of the water while performing the rapid circles, causing lots of bubbles and splashes. He/she is full grown, around 5 years old and has two caves which he/she tends to swim between. No aggressive behaviour towards other tank mates, in fact they can be seen swimming or relaxing side-by-side. The tank is a 90ltrs horizontal tank, previously he was in a 165ltr upright tank, with different varieties of fish including very small ones. none of which he was aggressive towards.
> I have tested the water several times using a Tetra test strip, all markers show its ok.


Its possible he's showing dominance over one of his caves as its always happening above this cave. He's often to be seen relaxing inside the cave, side by side with a loach. He's not much of a chaser.


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