Diet: Flake, Frozen, Freeze-dried Maximum size: 5" Water temperature: 72-82 degree F Swimming level: Bottom Experience level: Intermediate Tank Setup: 20+ gallons, rocks and/or driftwood Note: Pet availability is seasonal. State and local regulations may vary. Pricing may vary by store location. PetSmart stores cannot match the price above for this pet. Ask a store associate for details.

Overall rating:

4.7

(28 reviews) 28

26 of 28(93%)customers recommend this product.

Reviews for Red-tailed Shark

Review 1 for Red-tailed Shark

Overall rating

5 / 5 28 reviews

Awesome fish

June 4, 2013

by fishmanperson

fromft Collins, CO

What is your gender?M

How many pets do you have?5 or more

How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly

My dad had this fish in his aquarium at school but he needed to empty it for the summer so I took it. Really cool red tail and I also have a 6-8 inch pleco and they first fought then took turns under the root and in the helicopter. Real awesome fish that is compadible with similar sized semi aggressive fish. I would reccomend you buy this.
Sorry there is no picture he would not come out of the helicopter

0points

1of 2voted this as helpful.

Review 2 for Red-tailed Shark

Overall rating

5 / 5 28 reviews

Elite

April 20, 2013

by Polarfreeze

fromIndy

What is your gender?M

How many pets do you have?5 or more

How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly

These are my Favorite Freshwater "Sharks" they are actually catfish but we will pretend they are sharks

They are Awesome! 1 can take on a pack of 8 tiger barbs and 2 Rainbows.

+1point

1of 1voted this as helpful.

Review 3 for Red-tailed Shark

Overall rating

5 / 5 28 reviews

My Favorite

March 24, 2013

by FishGhost

fromNYC

What is your gender?M

How many pets do you have?3

How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly

Reviewer Images

My favorite shark. Gets a long with the other fish most of the time. Beautiful when they get bigger. I love it. They are very easy to take care of, and also eats food left over in the gravel

+2points

2of 2voted this as helpful.

Review 4 for Red-tailed Shark

Overall rating

5 / 5 28 reviews

Awsome fish

January 27, 2013

by Henna101

fromFresno Ca

What is your gender?F

How many pets do you have?5 or more

How often do you shop at PetSmart?Weekly

Reviewer Images

I love Rocket but hes territorital to my other 2 fish in his tank wich are Red eyed tetra and a note 2 all that want 2 get them I would put him by a window that shines light bacause they'll get gray and his tail turned white:( so put by window!!!!!!

-11points

4of 19voted this as helpful.

Review 5 for Red-tailed Shark

Overall rating

5 / 5 28 reviews

Awesome fish

December 17, 2012

by FishLover144

fromNorth Vancouver, BC, Canada

What is your gender?M

How many pets do you have?5 or more

How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly

I got my red tailed shark a month ago, and it is awesome. I bought a decoration for him that has two little places for him to swim through, he sometimes does laps. I also have non-agressive fish like guppies, and he never attacks or chases them.

+6points

6of 6voted this as helpful.

Review 6 for Red-tailed Shark

Overall rating

5 / 5 28 reviews

My favorite fish

November 18, 2012

by FishGuy101

fromCalifornia, CA

What is your gender?M

How many pets do you have?5 or more

How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly

i bought my red tailed shark yesterday. When i brought 'Jaws' home he started exploring every thing and is kept with 2 blue Gouramis 1 German ram and a blood Perrot Cichlid in a 40 gallon. Overall great fish

+7points

9of 11voted this as helpful.

Review 7 for Red-tailed Shark

Overall rating

4 / 5 28 reviews

Nice Fish

November 4, 2012

by pocket1smokey

fromNothern, Michigan

What is your gender?F

How many pets do you have?5 or more

How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly

This is a nice active fish. But, as a word of warning to all of you fish keepers out there, watch out for any so called Red Tailed Sharks that have red or orange fins. These are, in fact, rainbow sharks not Black sharks. Keep your eyes open for fish like this and please, bring it to the attention of the employees that this fish has been mislabeled. Red tailed sharks get to be five inches and need at least a 20 gallon tank. Rainbow sharks get to be 6 inches and need at least a 29 gallon tank. If you would like a reference, look at the pictures of the Red Tailed Black Shark and compare it to those of the Rainbow Shark.

+12points

12of 12voted this as helpful.

Review 8 for Red-tailed Shark

Overall rating

5 / 5 28 reviews

Excellent Fish- Likes to Hide

October 6, 2012

by RedTailSharkGuy

fromWilliamsburg, va

What is your gender?M

How many pets do you have?5 or more

How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly

I have had this fish for two days and he is pretty docile. He has claimed three hides as his own and does not let the other fish get near them - though he is not overly aggressive. He seems to be more active at night or when the light is turned off.

Pros: Pretty, fast, and not too agressive

Cons: Hides alot.

+7points

7of 7voted this as helpful.

Review 9 for Red-tailed Shark

Overall rating

5 / 5 28 reviews

Awesome!

October 2, 2012

by Fishman99

fromPennsylvania

I just bought one of these guys for my 20 gallon tank and he is not what I had expected at all. I had heard alot about how they are agressive and hide a lot but mine is really active and nice. He rarely goes in the driftwood I have for him. He looks really cool too! He does some other strange stuff too. Like when I go up very close to the tank, he swims right up to where I am! Its like he's saying hi. I guess some red-tailed sharks are territorial and hide alot, but I guess it depends on their personality. These fish are very hard to breed so if you try to breed them and it doesn't work, don't feel bad. I highly recomend these fish! But make sure you have a big tank, cause they can get big. I will have to move mine into a bigger tank soon. But don't stress out about not having a big enough tank for them, cause they take a while to grow. And lastly, don't get 2 of these sharks unless you have a huge tank cause they will fight for territory.

+2points

2of 2voted this as helpful.

Review 10 for Red-tailed Shark

Overall rating

4 / 5 28 reviews

great fish and only likes the bottom of the tank.

September 18, 2012

by Cameron925

frompasadena CA

What is your gender?F

How many pets do you have?5 or more

How often do you shop at PetSmart?A few times a year

Reviewer Images

love the color of the fish! matches perfectly with the color of my tank but is very ative and only likes the bottom of the tank. even when i put food pellets in the tank my red-tailed shark waits for the food to sink down. (my tank is 10 gallons with plastic plants, and it seems do do well in it)

0points

4of 8voted this as helpful.

Review 11 for Red-tailed Shark

Overall rating

5 / 5 28 reviews

Awesome Exploring Fish

August 23, 2012

by FishMan333

fromCary, NC

What is your gender?M

How many pets do you have?5 or more

How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly

My redtailed shark is so fun to watch! He always is finding a new way into a cave, or going in something that isn't even meant to be a hiding spot. He acts like a catfish cleaning up and down the walls, and is not aggressive.

+1point

2of 3voted this as helpful.

Review 12 for Red-tailed Shark

Overall rating

4 / 5 28 reviews

Good but aggressive fish, a must read review

August 21, 2012

by Markk

fromFairfax,VA

What is your gender?M

How many pets do you have?3

How often do you shop at PetSmart?Weekly

Hello, this fish is a great easy to mantain fish, but be careful with what you put itwith. It is very agressive to its own kind and to rainbow sharks especially. Remember to keep it with varities of fish like plecos, ottos, bala sharks about the same size, silver dollars, blue and gold gourami, kissing gourami, tiger barbs/albino tiger barbs.Ucan also keep it with eels, loaches,ghost knifes, rainbow fish,etc. But do not keep it with other community fish like glofish, platies,cory catfish, goldfish, or any other community fish- well i guess you can keep it with a few more- just talk to a petsmart assistant. However give its lots of room to swim. If you have a 10 gallon, put only one redtail and know other fish. This very important- If this fish loses color, has a bloated belly, scrapes its self against rocks, or has strange behavior, and has wierd things to it like unclear eyes, show to a petsmart assisstant immediately.

If every thing is alright with yourfish( meaning it is compatible with other fish and is and looks normal) it can be very fun and a good fish to watch and keep..in that case have fun!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

If you put it with incompatible fish remember to separate them and return it ASAP.

+1point

4of 7voted this as helpful.

Review 13 for Red-tailed Shark

Overall rating

5 / 5 28 reviews

great pet

July 9, 2012

by jackbear2000

fromST lois mo

What is your gender?M

How many pets do you have?2

How often do you shop at PetSmart?A few times a year

a very good cool pet for kids i love mine it is a great pet that is easy to maintain

+2points

3of 4voted this as helpful.

Review 14 for Red-tailed Shark

Overall rating

5 / 5 28 reviews

awsome shark

June 12, 2012

by geckobro

fromcalifornia, CA

What is your gender?M

How many pets do you have?5 or more

How often do you shop at PetSmart?Weekly

i just got this energetic shark yesterday and he has already claimed his terretory. i have a like 6 inch pocosamas and he is only like an inch and he chases it away. overall great fish

-2points

0of 2voted this as helpful.

Review 15 for Red-tailed Shark

Overall rating

5 / 5 28 reviews

great fish, territorial

May 7, 2012

by cbright890

fromNew Orleans, LA

What is your gender?M

How many pets do you have?5 or more

How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly

This is a very beautiful fish, mine changes colors depending on his mood. When he is stressed or agitated he is a very light gray, when he is happy he turns dark black with bright red/orange fins. He is supper territorial. I bought him a cave that he loves (he won’t leave the thing) when a fish comes close he quickly launches into attack mode, no biting, just aggressive swimming. He mainly feeds at the bottom and stays on the bottom in his cave. On occasion I’ve seen him mid to high level “exploring.” Keep in mind that he is very territorial, don’t get multiples these or other cave dwelling fish as they will fight over the caves. Other than that, they are beautiful fish.

+16points

16of 16voted this as helpful.

Review 16 for Red-tailed Shark

Overall rating

5 / 5 28 reviews

They are not aggressive

April 8, 2012

by Zackmohawk

fromNew york Ny

I have one and i think its still a baby but he is not aggressive to my other fish i think since its young but its totally nice, and it has a beard kinda lol.

-4points

3of 10voted this as helpful.

Review 17 for Red-tailed Shark

Overall rating

5 / 5 28 reviews

red tailed shark

January 18, 2012

by zane

fromelbert colorado

What is your gender?M

How many pets do you have?3

How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly

it is a great shark loves to swim across the bottem for full affect i recomend glow in the dark rocks so when you turn the light off he looks even cooler loves hiding under the heater and picks food off the bottem and in the rocks but overall great fish

+2points

6of 10voted this as helpful.

Review 18 for Red-tailed Shark

Overall rating

4 / 5 28 reviews

Please be ready!

January 12, 2012

by GodFan

fromUS

What is your gender?M

I got one of these a long time ago when we tried fish keeping. This fish gets big! They are tiny when bought but get to 5 inches! They need at least a 50 gallon aquarium! Also they will get aggressive when they mature! So be ready! But it is a really cool looking fish!

-8points

5of 18voted this as helpful.

Review 19 for Red-tailed Shark

Overall rating

4 / 5 28 reviews

Good large tank fish

December 3, 2011

by Nickolas82

fromSouthern Indiana

What is your gender?M

How many pets do you have?5 or more

How often do you shop at PetSmart?Weekly

They chase anything smaller than them and somtimes things bigger than them but their not much of a danger unless they are big and they are chasing new tank additions. Have a lid on the tank though because they can jump out. Also they grow up to the 3" mark pretty quick. Keep them with larger peacful fish like peacoock eels, or small bottom dwellers like Khuli loaches.

+17points

19of 21voted this as helpful.

Review 20 for Red-tailed Shark

Overall rating

5 / 5 28 reviews

GREAT SHARK!!!

August 19, 2011

by BIGo123

fromPennyslvania

What is your gender?M

How many pets do you have?5 or more

How often do you shop at PetSmart?Monthly

I just got this shark and put it in a 20 gallon tank with a rainbow shark they get along very well, but do chase often. Needs a cave to stay in, but the red tailed shark will chase others out of its cave. So overall great shark. Fun to watch.

+2points

7of 12voted this as helpful.

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