Red-tailed black shark
Epalzeorhynchos bicolor
Photo: Astellar87 · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Tank length
- 120 cmabout 4 ft (47 in)
- Start with
- 1
- Temperature
- 22–26 °C72–79 °F
- pH
- 6–8
- Adult size
- 12 cm5 in
- Lifespan
- 5–10 yrs
Keep only one in a typical home aquarium and protect bottom retreats.Keep only one in a typical home aquarium and protect bottom retreats.
Tank sizes
Good tankmates
Avoid with
Rainbow sharkCheck Red tailed black shark with Rainbow sharkCheck Red tailed black shark with Rainbow shark
- Irian Jaya rainbowfish
No shared temperature rangeNo shared temperature range
- Alligator gar
Alligator gar may eat Red tailed black sharkAlligator gar may eat Red tailed black shark
- Altum angelfish
No shared temperature rangeNo shared temperature range
- Antenna ray
Antenna ray may eat Red tailed black sharkAntenna ray may eat Red tailed black shark
- Arapaima
Arapaima may eat Red tailed black sharkArapaima may eat Red tailed black shark
- Asian arowana
Asian arowana may eat Red tailed black sharkAsian arowana may eat Red tailed black shark
- Australian pearl arowana
Australian pearl arowana may eat Red tailed black sharkAustralian pearl arowana may eat Red tailed black shark
- Bullseye snakehead
Bullseye snakehead may eat Red tailed black sharkBullseye snakehead may eat Red tailed black shark
- Butterfly peacock bass
Butterfly peacock bass may eat Red tailed black sharkButterfly peacock bass may eat Red tailed black shark
- Channel catfish
No shared temperature rangeNo shared temperature range
- Chocolate zebra pleco
No shared temperature rangeNo shared temperature range
Data used by the planner
| Temperature | 22–26 | AqAdvisor (aqadvisor.com), retrieved 2026-10-04; agrees with FishBase (fishbase.se), retrieved 2026-10-04 · medium confidence |
|---|---|---|
| pH | 6–8 | AqAdvisor (aqadvisor.com), retrieved 2026-10-04; agrees with FishBase (fishbase.se), retrieved 2026-10-04 · medium confidence |
| Hardness (dGH) | 5–15 | AqAdvisor (aqadvisor.com), retrieved 2026-10-04 · medium confidence |
| Origin | Asia or captive aquarium strains | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · low confidence |
| Beginner friendly | No | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium confidence |
| Care level | moderate | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium confidence |
| Activity | active | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium confidence |
| Swimming level | bottom | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium confidence |
| Temperament | semi aggressive | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium confidence |
| Nips fins | No | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium confidence |
| Long fins | No | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium confidence |
| Territorial | Yes | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium confidence |
| Lives in groups | No | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium confidence |
| Minimum group | 1 | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium confidence |
| Diet | omnivore | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium confidence |
| Lifespan (years) | 5–10 | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · low confidence |
| Months to adult size | 24 | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · low confidence |
| Safe with plants | Yes | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium confidence |
| Minimum tank length | 120 | curated-v0 (needs expert review) · medium confidence |