The light-colored body contrasted with its brilliant fins gives the albino rainbow shark a unique, yet highly sought after appearance. Sometimes, the body of an albino rainbow shark will take on a light pink or yellow hue as well. This fish has the same red fins as the rainbow shark but has a white body rather than blue or black markings. There is an albino version of the rainbow shark. You’ll have to wait until the fish are sexually mature to distinguish males from females. These become apparent as the fish mature as there is basically no difference between juvenile male and female rainbow sharks. Males will also have thin gray lines on their tail fins, while females will not have any lines.įemale rainbow sharks also tend to be thicker and have more rounded bellies. For example, males tend to have brighter red or orange fins than females do. There is some color variations between males and females. The rest of the rainbow shark’s body is rounded near the head and back and then tapers off as it nears the tail. There are two eyes, one on either side of the head that often appear to be sunken. The rainbow shark’s face is rather flat, with a somewhat rounded snout in front.
These fish have dorsal fins that may consist of up to 11 branched rays, along with a forked tail fin. Some rainbow sharks will also have a dark blue body, although this is somewhat less common. Their colorful fins stand out even more against their gray or black bodies, which tend to be very long and slender. Aside from being red, their fins may sometimes take on an orange hue as well. Of course, rainbow sharks are well known for their red fins, which is primarily what gives them their name. The aquatic trade has little effect on their numbers in the wild as just about all commercially-available rainbow sharks originate from farms in Thailand.
River dams may decrease floodplains and may therefore interfere with the ruby shark’s breeding patterns. Scientists believe that the damming of certain rivers such as the lower Xe Bangfai has led to fewer rainbow sharks in recent years. This species was once abundant in the waters of Southeast Asia, but have dwindled in numbers in recent years. They belong to the cypriniformes order and are classified as Epalzeorhynchos frenatum.Īuthor Note: With that being said, it’s common to classify this species as a freshwater shark that you can keep in a variety of fish tanks. True sharks also belong to the Chondrichtheyes family, but rainbow sharks are part of the Cyprinidae family, which is the same family as minnows. Instead, they are given their name because they have a shark-like appearance due to their dorsal fin on top. However, they are also known to migrate into floodplains during periods of heavy rain or flooding. They prefer rivers with sandy bottoms and plenty of plankton. In particular, they live in the rivers of Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Malaysia. They are not a saltwater fish but instead, thrive in freshwater. Sometimes referred to as a red-finned or ruby shark, the rainbow shark is native to Southeast Asia. Dropsy In Fish: Your Guide To Symptoms & Treatment.Why Is My Goldfish Turning White? All Possible Causes.Why Your Betta Fish Is Laying At The Bottom Of The Tank.However, if kept in a very small aquarium (less than 30 gallons) they may become more aggressive towards all of their tank mates.
They generally do not exhibit aggression towards other fish species that are shaped unlike themselves. It is important to provide them with plenty of vegetation and cave or tunnel structures in order to replicate their natural environment.Īlbino Rainbow Sharks can be kept with most commonly available freshwater community fish species, but can be a bit too aggressive for some of the more shy species.
A suitably large aquarium for multiple specimens would be a 6 foot long tank like a 125 gallon, which if aqua-scaped correctly could provide plenty of territory for multiple specimens.Īlbino Rainbow Sharks prefer a sandy substrate, but this is not a requirement as they can also do very well with gravel substrates as well. In order to keep multiple Albino Rainbow Sharks or to keep a Albino Rainbow Shark with a similar species like a Red Tail Shark or Bala Shark, a much larger aquarium is required to provide each specimen with enough territory. Single specimens can be kept in aquariums as small as 30 gallons, but do better in aquariums of 55 gallons or more. The larger the aquarium and the more plants, rocky caves and tunnels provided to them, the more their territorial nature can be mitigated. Albino Rainbow Sharks are considered moderately difficult to care for due to their territorial behavior towards those of their own species and similarly shaped species.
0 kommentar(er)
