The Red Tailed Black shark is a popular fish and often mistakenly bought for smaller community aquariums where it often becomes an aggressive bully, chasing other fish to the point where they become stressed and ill. Despite this the Red Tailed Black Shark is well suited to a community of larger, robust fish where it should not cause any problems. Avoid mixing with small or timid fish and closely related species. Provide hiding spots amongst rocks, wood or hardy plants. At one point, tens of thousands of these fish were collected from the wild for the aquarium trade, all specimens available are now captive bred and the fish is virtually extinct in the wild. A tough and adaptable fish with plenty of character which is well suited to the aquarium, but not in a 'traditional' community tank.