You’ll have to wait until the fish are sexually mature to distinguish males from females. These become apparent as the fish mature as there is basically no difference between juvenile male and female rainbow sharks. Males will also have thin gray lines on their tail fins, while females will not have any lines.įemale rainbow sharks also tend to be thicker and have more rounded bellies. For example, males tend to have brighter red or orange fins than females do. There is some color variations between males and females. The rest of the rainbow shark’s body is rounded near the head and back and then tapers off as it nears the tail. There are two eyes, one on either side of the head that often appear to be sunken. The rainbow shark’s face is rather flat, with a somewhat rounded snout in front. These fish have dorsal fins that may consist of up to 11 branched rays, along with a forked tail fin. Some rainbow sharks will also have a dark blue body, although this is somewhat less common. Their colorful fins stand out even more against their gray or black bodies, which tend to be very long and slender.
Aside from being red, their fins may sometimes take on an orange hue as well. Of course, rainbow sharks are well known for their red fins, which is primarily what gives them their name. The aquatic trade has little effect on their numbers in the wild as just about all commercially-available rainbow sharks originate from farms in Thailand. River dams may decrease floodplains and may therefore interfere with the ruby shark’s breeding patterns. Scientists believe that the damming of certain rivers such as the lower Xe Bangfai has led to fewer rainbow sharks in recent years. This species was once abundant in the waters of Southeast Asia, but have dwindled in numbers in recent years. They belong to the cypriniformes order and are classified as Epalzeorhynchos frenatum.Īuthor Note: With that being said, it’s common to classify this species as a freshwater shark that you can keep in a variety of fish tanks.
True sharks also belong to the Chondrichtheyes family, but rainbow sharks are part of the Cyprinidae family, which is the same family as minnows. Instead, they are given their name because they have a shark-like appearance due to their dorsal fin on top. However, they are also known to migrate into floodplains during periods of heavy rain or flooding. They prefer rivers with sandy bottoms and plenty of plankton. In particular, they live in the rivers of Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, and Malaysia. They are not a saltwater fish but instead, thrive in freshwater. Sometimes referred to as a red-finned or ruby shark, the rainbow shark is native to Southeast Asia.
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