[Ebook] The New Guide to Aquarium Fish – Cypriniformes – “Sharks” and Flying Foxes
Both “Sharks” and Flying Foxes are popular in the aquarium hobby. The best known are Epalzeorhynchus bicolor (still, incorrectly, known as Labeo bicolor) (Red-tailed Black Shark), whose striking coloration-velvety black body and scarlet caudal fin – is all that is needed to sell it; and Epalzeorhynchus frenatus (formerly Labeo frenatus) (Red-finned Shark, Ruby Shark) which has, as one of its common names suggests, red fins and a dark brown body. The “shark” part of their common name derives from their shape and the manner in which they swim, cruising the aquarium in a sharklike manner, and not from their eating habits! Although popular, they are not ideal community fishes. Both can be quite belligerent and will pick on other fishes, as well as each other, shredding fins and generally bullying them. When fully grown at about 12 cm (4 3/4 in) they can really cause a lot of damage, so keep them only with other fishes large enough to take care of themselves, such as the mediumsized barbs and cat-fishes. True omnivores, they will eat anything.