BALA SHARK

[Warren66]

Got in from work to find all my BALA SHARKS DEAD everything else is fine please help

 

[Wills]

Got in from work to find all my BALA SHARKS DEAD everything else is fine please help

Can you give us more info please - tank size, number of fish that have died, how old were they, did you add anything to the tank recently. Have you tested your water - any ammonia, nitrite or nitrate? Even if your water is usually fine various things can happen that mean it suddenly isn't.

Wills

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

How many Balas did you have? How old were they? What other fish do you have in their tank?

 

[Warren66]

I had 5, 2 angel fish and 5 gourami

 

[Warren66]

Tank is 200ltr water tested on Saturday

 

[Warren66]

200ltr tank 3 not sure of age they weren't very big water tested on Saturday all ok only thing added to tank were the Pearl gourami

 

[Warren66]

How many Balas did you have? How old were they? What other fish do you have in their tank?

Can you give us more info please - tank size, number of fish that have died, how old were they, did you add anything to the tank recently. Have you tested your water - any ammonia, nitrite or nitrate? Even if your water is usually fine various things can happen that mean it suddenly isn't.

Wills

Have you any idea on what could be the issue as all the othe fish look and seem ok

 

[powerdyne6]

When you say “water tested fine” what does that mean?

Post results of your tests. What is the PH, GH and KH of your water?

Any pictures of the bala sharks? Did they show any signs of disease?

I am going to say a 50 gallon tank will be way to small for bala sharks as they will grow quite big

 

[Colin_T]

pictures?

 

[Warren66]

When you say “water tested fine” what does that mean?

Post results of your tests. What is the PH, GH and KH of your water?

Any pictures of the bala sharks? Did they show any signs of disease?

I am going to say a 50 gallon tank will be way to small for bala sharks as they will grow quite big

Ph6.4,kh50 ,gh125, nitrate10, nitrite0.5,ammonia0

 

[Warren66]

pictures?

 

[Ichthys]

Nitrite 0.5. That’s a likely culprit. What issues have you been having that have caused that?

 

[Warren66]

None that spring to mind I haven't done anything different

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Sorry for your losses. How long has your tank been set up? Any measurable amount of nitrite is extremely toxic to fish. If you haven't read about cycling, that would be a good place to start. In the meantime, I recommend a bit water change (make sure your new water is the same temperature and treated with a good dechlorinator) to reduce the nitrites and prevent further losses.

 

[GaryE]

Balas in a tank that size were only a matter of time. That's a species I would never keep in captivity because their needs are way beyond their size, which gets large. They swim in bursts that last for several kilometres, and no one has a tank to equal that. If I were you, I would not replace them. They are beautiful, but they just don't fit in the home aquarium.

There are a couple of possible reasons. It could be nitrates, and not enough water changing, or it could have been something the new gourami was carrying. Sometimes a fish is a carrier of something it recently survived, so it's fine but tankmates facing a first exposure aren't.