Bala Is Poorly!

[victorg]

Request Help

Tank size: 3ftx1ftx1ft
pH: dunno
ammonia: eh?
nitrite: erm....
kH: you what?
gH: you what?
tank temp:24 degrees

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior): has been fine for 3 months, a bit lonely at forst but has taken to hanging out with the tetras, today looks listless and spends some time near the surface pointing not vertically up but a bit up when normally he points down

Volume and Frequency of water changes: evey 3 weeks 10%

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank: none

Tank inhabitants: 10 tetras, 1 gourami, 5 guppys and 3 glass catfist oh and 2 cotys

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration): 2 cotys were new 3 weeks ago

Exposure to chemicals: drug free!

any advice please? last water change was 2 weeks ago.

 

[WILDER]

The tanks is too small for him, and bala sharks should never be kept on there own, they need to be kept in a group of no less than 3.
10% water change is not good enough either, you should be doing a least a 30% once a week with a gravel vac.
If he's headstanding it sounds like swim bladder and once they do this they die, sorry.
I would take your water to be tested to the lfs and tell them to write the readings down for you.
Plus I would do a immediate water change.

 

[victorg]

yeah, was going to get him some pals but the lfs closed down, ( I live in the middle of nowhere) another has opened up but no balas and no intentions of getting any. the bala is still teeny, my mum has a 5 ft tank that she is going to give to me when shes done, the plan was to upgrade them to a larger tank as he grew a bit. inthe lat hour he has started to move about a bit, swims up and down against the glass, much livelyier but still not his notmal behavior. will water change tonight in case it helps, 30%? im getting mixed opinions on this, some books say 10% every 2 weeks, others say 50% a month, some others still tell me 20 % every week!

poor little bugger if its IS a swim bladder problem will it infect the other fish i
n there?

 

[WILDER]

He will be stressed out on his own as they are a shoaling fish.
I do 30% water changes twice a week on a 12gal tank.
You need to be a least doing a 30% water change a week, 10% isn't enough, as it hardly moves any waste out of the gravel.
Is the fish still head standing.


Headstanding, laying flat
Water quality problems, drug side effects, swimbladder infection, intestinal obstruction, late stage of infectious diseases


http/www.fishtanksandponds.info/care-mai...swimbladder.htm

 

[victorg]

nope, not head standing at all anymore, still looks stressed though, skits aboout loads when usually he was very calm and relaxed.


halfway through change at the mo with gravel sucker thing.

my bala (and all the fish) are not on drugs, (unless they are passively smoking my toking) therefore not drug side effects!

 

[victorg]

kowgirl kate has the same issue i think. the red on the fins and the skittish behavior sounds the same.

 

[WILDER]

Red streaking on the fins can be due to poor water quality, so need to get that checked out, if stats are good its septicemia.