What should I add to my tank?

Question
My Red-Tailed Shark is very shy. He hides nearly all the time in a ship ornament and, from what I noticed, hasn't eaten any shrimp pellets that have sunk to the bottom. I've read he'll be shy for the first few days being in my tank, and thus far has not been aggressive at all towards my algae eater. Is there something I can do to get him to eat, and is he okay?

Thank you for the recomendations!

Bryan
-------------------------------------------
The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
I have no live plants, about an inch to two inches of gravel, and a few rocks and cave hiding places (plastic pieces bought at a pet store) and 8 non-live plants (ranging in size.

I went ahead and bought a red-tailed shark (I'll move him to a bigger tank when needed) and a male gourami, who is pretty shy so far. So I'm assuming I need to get him a buddy, a female so they don't fight? Or should I put in another fish for him to buddy up with?

Also, I want to get a mystery snail. Is it easy/worth the trouble?
-------------------------------------------
The text above is a follow-up to ...

-----Question-----
I currently have a 28 gallon freshwater tank with 3 tiger barbs and 3 green barbs. I wanted to add a Blue Paradise Gourami and either a Red-Tailed or Rainbow Shark. Is this combination okay? Which shark is better suited for my tank? Thank you.
-----Answer-----
Hi Bryan,
Your aquarium sounds like it is going to be an interesting, active tank! :]] One of mine have very similar fish :]]]

A blue paradise gourami sounds ok. It depends on your gourami because some of them tend to be a bit more shy around active and nippy fish like tiger barbs, but some of them are more lively and get along with tigers very well. For gouramis, it is always good to have pairs, so I would recommend having a pair of them rather than just one. Also, having a pair of them can help reduce their shyness.

Red-tail shark and Rainbow shark are very similar. They are both very interesting to watch and active. They are also smart, so they will be responsive to your feeding cues. As far as which is better, it all depends on you. Red tail sharks have red only on their tails and rainbow sharks have red on all fins and tails. As far as personality, I think Red tail shark are a bit more interesting. Although, their colors may fade as they get older and they grow very, very big. They can be pretty territorial as they grow, and can claim a large amount of your tank as his territory. I have seen both sharks try to attack almost all fish in its tank, so I had to remove it to a larger tank. so there are some things you might have to think about before purchasing either of your sharks. Can you live with just one red tail/rainbow shark? Is he going to be the only bottom dweller? Do you have a larger tank to put him/know someone to give him away to when he grows more than 8 inches long?

For a youngster, he will be fine, but for an adult, a 29 gallon tank might be a little too small for wither sharks. When I was little, I kept them in a 29 gallon tank, but when it grew up to 10 inches, I gave him away to my science teacher. I am very sorry to be discouraging, but these are some of things you need to really consider.

There are many many other fish that I can suggest to you in better detail, so you can ask me a follow up question with more detail of your tank. For example, how densely is your tank planted? any live plants? driftwood? gravel? What type of fish do you exactly want? If you add a line or two about your tank and your personal ideas, I will be happy to suggest some good fish to you.

Best of luck,
Barb


-----Answer-----
Hi Bryan,
Congrats for your new red tail shark! Since you can provide a bigger tank for the future, it can be a very interesting and beautiful addition to your tank!

For your male gourami, I will recommend a female, as they like to be in pairs. The best would be getting the same breed as your male.

Mystery snails are cool. They are easy and they do pretty good job on eating your algae. But personally, I do not like snails. They are beautiful when there are only a few of them, but when they start multiplying, it can get pretty annoying. If you wish, you can scrub for snail eggs on the wall and plants when you do the water change.

Here are also some fish recommendations for you.

If your aquarium still has lots of swimming spaces, a school of danios can be very interesting to watch. They are active and there are many varieties to choose from.

You mentioned that you have two inches of gravel, but did not mention the size of the gravel. If your gravel is smooth and fine, cherry barbs will do very well in a tank like yours. They are colorful and it is really fun to watch them bury themselves under the gravel. They can be a bit shy, so getting a school of them is recommended.

Harleguin rasboras are very cute. If your tank is densely planted, they will do pretty well in your tank. Scissortail rasboras also make great addition to the top part of the tank.

These were just a few examples of good fish for you. Any small to  medium sized barb, danios and rasboras will be great for your tank. I am not sure how your red tail shark will react to other bottom dwellers, so I would study your shark's reactions before putting cories or loaches.

I hope this helped!

Barb

Answer
Hi again Bryan,
It is normal for any fish to be shy for the first few days or even weeks. Just give him a few more weeks and observe his movement.

If he is not eating, there can be two possibilities:
1: He might be unhealthy. In this case, make sure your ammonia and Nitrite level is not too high and the temperature, water condition is good.
2: He might just be very, very shy. I used to have a cory cat and he was so shy he would never ever come out when I was near the tank. Try giving frozen brine shrimp or blood worm. It will sink to the bottom, and instead of trying to watch them eat, keep a bit of distance and watch from far away. The frozen food will sink and unless they are unhealthy, they will try to consume it. If he is shy of even coming out of the bushes, you can drop a few worms/shrimp near the place he likes to hang. Then, if possible, you can see if he has eaten his food.

Make sure the tank has lots of plants, since the red tail sharks like densely planted tank (of course, lots of swimming area also) and feel the most comfortable in it. It can take a while for him to get used to the water condition, temperature, and just the whole environment. It also gives lots of stress to any fish when it is just from the pet store. First they get chased by ferocious looking fish net, then gets trapped inside a small plastic baggie. In the plastic bag, they do not know where they are or where they are going, what will happen to them. Then they gets thrown in some strange tank with fish they have never seen or meet before. It can be pretty scary and stressful.

Usually the sharks are not aggressive when they are young. They only get aggressive when they reach their adulthood, which, for red tail sharks, will be from 6-10 inches long. He will not show much aggression for quite a while so you will not have to worry right now.

I hope your new shark is fine! If he keeps showing that kind of behavior for more than a few weeks, you can contact me again. It took, truthfully, more than a month before my cory cat got used to me.

Good luck,
Barb