Bala Shark

[sam2793]

Hi

In my 70L tank I have a Bala Shark- 1 of which has grown a lot in the past 6 months. It is probably about 3 or 4 inches. I was wondering if my tank is too small for it and if it needs a new home or whether he is still OK.

By the way- I have 2 Bala's and the other hasn't grown has much as this one, is there a reason for this i.e. male or female?

Thanks

Sam

 

[Esfa]

Hi

In my 70L tank I have a Bala Shark- 1 of which has grown a lot in the past 6 months. It is probably about 3 or 4 inches. I was wondering if my tank is too small for it and if it needs a new home or whether he is still OK.

By the way- I have 2 Bala's and the other hasn't grown has much as this one, is there a reason for this i.e. male or female?

Thanks

Sam

Yep, I'm sorry but your bala shark will grow far too big for your tank. They can grow upto 12" and need to be in a group of about 6, needing a tank of about 150gal.

 

[cane76]

bala sharks should get 12" long and belong in groups,so rehoming them would be best
unless you wanna start thinking about a serious upgrade

 

[mrbudgie]

they will get to big eventually but for a few months you'll be fine, I always keep Bala's in pairs i tried bigger groups but they never shoal and seem quite solitary so i find pairs keeps them pretty calm.

 

[andywg]

they will get to big eventually but for a few months you'll be fine, I always keep Bala's in pairs i tried bigger groups but they never shoal and seem quite solitary so i find pairs keeps them pretty calm.

How strange. The moment I had 5 balas they settled down a huge amount. While they don't swim in a tight knit school, they certainly do shoal.

As noted above, these fish get large, and should get to 8" inside a couple of years or so.

 

[XPANDA]

i bought two bala sharks then realised they get quite big, i thought why is my lfs selling them with all the little fishies if they grow like 12" long??!! shame they are really nice fish. everytime you see them in the shop they are about 3" long max but i saw some the other day about 8" long but sooooooo fat! im sorry you found out the hard way like me!

 

[jarcher1390]

i bought two bala sharks then realised they get quite big, i thought why is my lfs selling them with all the little fishies if they grow like 12" long??!! shame they are really nice fish. everytime you see them in the shop they are about 3" long max but i saw some the other day about 8" long but sooooooo fat! im sorry you found out the hard way like me!

Bala sharks despite there names they are vegetarians and prefer lettuce and cucumber ive have kept 3 bala sharks at 10" with rummynose tetras and they where all okay for there time together untill they got too big and have to go.