Redtailed Black Shark

[edit] Overview

A very beautiful fish, if properly fed, but not for smaller aquaria where it can be very disruptive.

This species has reported disappeared from many areas in the wild. It is a common aquarium fish, however, with an estimated tens of thousands of new specimens captive bred each year, primarily by producers in Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries.

[edit] Feeding

Omnivore. Feeds from the bottom and will take all manner of sinking foods for herbivores, omnivores, and carnivores. In the wild it feeds on vegetative matter, small crustaceans, worms, and other bottom-dwelling prey.

[edit] Notes

Regionally Extinct According to the IUCN in its Red List status report on the Epalzeorhynchos bicolor, it is "regionally extinct in Thailand." An excerpt from the report:

"The reasons for the decline in the wild population of E. bicolor are not known. The aquarium fish trade has been accused of driving species to extinction because of very selective overfishing, but there is no documented evidence for this (Kottelat and Whitten 1996). Habitat modification may be the more likely cause of population declines in this case (M. Kottelat, pers. comm.). In the 1970s, many dams were constructed in Thailand and these probably severely impacted several large basins in the region. Large swamp areas have also been drained."

Full report: [1]

Category: Species