# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Red Tailed Shark Eating Algae??



## HitATree (Jun 25, 2003)

Hey everybody,
I got a small Red Tailed Shark in my 60 gallon and I always see him skimming across the leaves of all my plants. I have a little black hair algae on my Rotala Indica and when I see him/her skim across the leaves, the algae is gone! Do these sharks usually eat algae? Just wondering cause if they do than maybe he can keep the algae down to a minimum along with the plecos. thanks


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## HitATree (Jun 25, 2003)

Hey everybody,
I got a small Red Tailed Shark in my 60 gallon and I always see him skimming across the leaves of all my plants. I have a little black hair algae on my Rotala Indica and when I see him/her skim across the leaves, the algae is gone! Do these sharks usually eat algae? Just wondering cause if they do than maybe he can keep the algae down to a minimum along with the plecos. thanks


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

Red Tailed sharks aren't known as good algae eaters. Lots of similar fish will eat some algae, particularly when they're young. Enjoy the phenomenon while the fish is young, because it probably won't keep it up as an adult.

Roger Miller


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## GulfCoastAquarian (Feb 3, 2003)

I was at the LFS yesterday and saw some Red Tailed Sharks polishing off some algae, too. These were the healthiest looking RTS's I'd ever seen. I might head back and pick one up. I heard they are intolerant of their own species, but can get along with most other fish. How aggressive are they?

-Sam P, BSME
My Website


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## ranchwest (Jul 17, 2005)

There is a video on The Planted Tank that shows a red tailed shark taking off on a tear after another fish.

While RTSs get along with a lot of types of fish, they can really wreak havoc on the ones they don't like. They don't usually do a lot of immediate damage, but they can put a lot of stress on the fish they chase.

RTSs go well with fish like tiger barbs and such, fast fish. Since RTSs seem to enjoy chasing, they don't seem to try to bother most very slow moving fish, such as plecos.

I would keep an eye on them with gouramis and angelfish and such, medium speed fish or fish of a shape similar to their own.


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## Vicki (Jan 31, 2003)

They won't mess with angelfish (not adults, anyway). They're bullies at heart, and are much more likely to pick on smaller fish. They become more aggressive and territorial as they get older, and will generally chase anything that wanders through their territory, especially bottom fish like cories. They get along well with clown loaches, however, and while they'll chase SAEs, the SAEs don't seem to mind and it keeps them from bothering and stressing other, smaller fish. Don't count on them to help much with algae, though; even though you'll see them browsing on it constantly, they won't actually eat enough of it to do much good.

http://www.wheelpost.com


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