Rainbow Shark

General information

Although these fish are called sharks they aren’t really sharks, they simply look like them due to their upright dorsal fin and elongated body.  Their body is greenish black, their fins are red and they have a brief stripe in the eyes and mouth, there is a large dark spot at the base of their caudal fin. They usually reach 6 inches. To keep these fish in captivity, water pH should be between 6.5 and 7.5 and water temperature should range from 75ºF to 80ºF. The aquarium should have a sandy substrate, hiding spots, rocks, caves, plants and a cover since these fish are jumpers. They can be kept in community tanks with similar species like catfish, barbs, danios and loaches, red tailed sharks and other rainbow sharks should be avoided as tankmates. These fish should be kept singly since they are very territorial, a 50 gallon tank is the minimum recommended.

This species is omnivorous. It can be fed with dried foods and live or frozen foods like Artemia and Daphnia, they should also be fed vegetable matter like lettuce or spinach.

Females are rounder while males have black lines on their anal fins.

This species can be found in South East Asian countries like Indonesia or Thailand.