Shark Compatibility

[jacko9901]

can you keep a group of silver sharks with a lone red tailed black shark?

 

[Davo86]

yep they should be fine together, however for a group of silvers you'll be looking at a tank with the bare minimum of 100G, although the bigger the better really

 

[jacko9901]

yep they should be fine together, however for a group of silvers you'll be looking at a tank with the bare minimum of 100G, although the bigger the better really

mmmm didnt realise it was 100g. could you keep 3 silver sharks in a 400 litre tank or is that still too small?

 

[Davo86]

400litres is 105USG so yep its doable

(when referring to fish most people use the measurement of US Gallons)

 

[jacko9901]

400litres is 105USG so yep its doable

(when referring to fish most people use the measurement of US Gallons)

so if i got a 400 litre/105 US gallon tank could i put in 3 silver sharks and some other fish in it such as barbs or loaches or will there only be enough room for the sharks?

 

[jonny_dw]

how big currently are the sharks? Because young bala sharks can be kept in smaller aquariums so yours is more than adaquete. When they reach adulthood the rule is usually 55G per fish although bala sharks take quite a long time to grow.

 

[Davo86]

400litres is 105USG so yep its doable

(when referring to fish most people use the measurement of US Gallons)

so if i got a 400 litre/105 US gallon tank could i put in 3 silver sharks and some other fish in it such as barbs or loaches or will there only be enough room for the sharks?

yes but bare in mind though that a potentailly foot long shark will consider very small fish as food so make sure tankmates are all at least 3-4cms minimum

 

[jacko9901]

how big currently are the sharks? Because young bala sharks can be kept in smaller aquariums so yours is more than adaquete. When they reach adulthood the rule is usually 55G per fish although bala sharks take quite a long time to grow.

i haven't got any sharks at the moment.

my dad said that we will be able to get a tank to go downstairs but he wants to get silver sharks. i did a bit of research on the fish database on this forum and it says that silversharks need at least a 75 gallon tank. i did a bit of tank research and found the jewel rio 400 which is 400 litres so it has according to the calculator 88 gallons. so i told my dad that if we get this tank we will be able to get some sharks. so we will be getting this tank.

Davo

i do know the potentional size they can get. we were planning on making an asian biotype so the minimun size fish i would put in there would probably be a tiger barb.

 

[adam98150]

400litres is 105USG so yep its doable

(when referring to fish most people use the measurement of US Gallons)

so if i got a 400 litre/105 US gallon tank could i put in 3 silver sharks and some other fish in it such as barbs or loaches or will there only be enough room for the sharks?

yes but bare in mind though that a potentailly foot long shark will consider very small fish as food so make sure tankmates are all at least 3-4cms minimum

Tank mates should be alot bigger than 3 - 4 cm.

 

[Sanj]

Tiger barbs will be fine.

I had the same issue a few years ago when i bought a rio 400, i wanted to keep a trio of bala sharks along with other fish, however i decided against it in the end, went for the shark like denisoni barbs instead (6" max).

However now i am setting up an 8'x2'x2' and im still not 100% about getting them although they would probably be ok.

If you really want them, they maybe fine for a while in there, and well its a lot better than alot of people putting them in very inappropriate sized aquariums.

One of my lfs (which has a good reputation) has a single 15" specimen in a Trigon 350, not the most appropriate shaped tanks, considereing they like to swim around, but he is very healthy and does not seem too skittish.

 

[jonny_dw]

how big currently are the sharks? Because young bala sharks can be kept in smaller aquariums so yours is more than adaquete. When they reach adulthood the rule is usually 55G per fish although bala sharks take quite a long time to grow.

i haven't got any sharks at the moment.

my dad said that we will be able to get a tank to go downstairs but he wants to get silver sharks. i did a bit of research on the fish database on this forum and it says that silversharks need at least a 75 gallon tank. i did a bit of tank research and found the jewel rio 400 which is 400 litres so it has according to the calculator 88 gallons. so i told my dad that if we get this tank we will be able to get some sharks. so we will be getting this tank.

75G? Ive had sharks for quite a few years and Ive always lived by the 55G per adult shark rule and they have always been healthy. Like I said it takes along time for them to grow so if you have some young ones it will take them quite a while to grow fully so they will be fine in a rio 400.

If you however felt they were getting to big and you couldnt afford to upgrade etc maybe you could find a place that would take them off you. Theres an aquatics place near me who allow you to trade fish in when they get to big. Whenever I go I always go and check on one of my old sharks I traded in and he's still alive and kicking so maybe theres a place similar near you,if you felt that was what you wanted to do.

 

[jacko9901]

so will it be alright to get a community tank with 3 sharks

if there is a problem is the problem going to be
that the sharks will eat the other fish
or is the problem that a community tank with that big a fish will put too much strain on the filter. if so i will get an extra filter to cope.

 

[Sanj]

or is the problem that a community tank with that big a fish will put too much strain on the filter. if so i will get an extra filter to cope.

Oh yes definately if you are keeping 3x bala sharks in a Rio 400 then i would definately buy and external, the bigger the better, somthing like an fx5 or tetratec2400 would be good.

 

[jonny_dw]

The sharks arent naturally predators but as all big fish, if a fish is small enough to fit in its mouth it will be eaten. So fish such as neons are going to disappear during the night. Larger fish will be fine

 

[jacko9901]

or is the problem that a community tank with that big a fish will put too much strain on the filter. if so i will get an extra filter to cope.

Oh yes definately if you are keeping 3x bala sharks in a Rio 400 then i would definately buy and external, the bigger the better, somthing like an fx5 or tetratec2400 would be good.

i think the tank comes with a external filter but i will get another one to go with it.