Silver Shark... Going Blind?!

[HayleyH]

Hi Everyone,
We have a silver shark in our tropical tank that seems to be going blind..? He/she darts around and then slams into the glass, they actaully now have an open sore on their nose from where they keep slamming into the glass. There eyes do seem slightly cloudy. Just wondered if they can go blind, and what advice you have? Tank is currently undergoing treatment for white spot - but shark has been behaving this way for a while. Thanks for your advice in advance.

 

[HayleyH]

Just wanted to add... we estimate shark is about 8/9 years old - there fairly big about 7inches. Just wondered if could be an old age thing..?

 

[fluttermoth]

I'm afraid that's just normal behaviour for bala sharks; they are very skittish fish. Is yours on it's own? They are a shoaling species and really need to be kept in a group of five or six.

Cloudy eyes are very often a symptom of poor water quality, or sometimes water that is harder than the fish's preference. I hope your tank is large as bala sharks can grow to over a foot long!

 

[HayleyH]

I'm afraid that's just normal behaviour for bala sharks; they are very skittish fish. Is yours on it's own? They are a shoaling species and really need to be kept in a group of five or six.

Cloudy eyes are very often a symptom of poor water quality, or sometimes water that is harder than the fish's preference. I hope your tank is large as bala sharks can grow to over a foot long!

Hi there, its quite a large tank - about 30 gallon, we were given it off some friends, who had just the shark and 2 large plecos in it at the time, he is very jumpy - but didnt realise swimming / banging into the glass was usual behaviour - especailly as its making his nose area so sore. Hope he recovers from the white spot - he/she is fairly covered in them at the moment

 

[nosoup4you]

First of all, silver shark is a fairly generic name given to many species of "shark". We'd need to know for sure which type before making any definitive diagnosis. Most of the fish sold as "sharks" get far too large for the private aquarium. It could be that he is banging into things because there is not enough room for him to swim as he would like.

You mention that you are treating for white spot. One of the major symptoms of Ichtyopthirius (white spot) is "flashing", in which the fish bounces about the tank in an effort to scrape off the parasites which are causing him discomfort. Also, many "sharks" are sensitive to aquarium meds. It could be that the recent increase in erratic behavior is caused by poor tolerance of the ich medication.

Cloudy eyes can mean a few things. It could be a symptom of an internal protozoal infection (unlikely, particularly if you are in the US), cataracts (slightly less unlikely), or a symptom of poor water conditions (which may or may not be directly related to the meds in the tank). I'd start doing large water changes (50%) daily, replacing the white spot med when you refill, for the duration of the treatment.


Edit: 30 gallons, is unfortunately far too small for bala sharks. These are fish that get quite large and need a large volume of water for swimming as they are quite active.

 

[fluttermoth]

My mum has some in a 5'x2'x2' and I wouldn't want to see them in anything smaller than that.

 

[raptorrex]

First of all, silver shark is a fairly generic name given to many species of "shark". We'd need to know for sure which type before making any definitive diagnosis. Most of the fish sold as "sharks" get far too large for the private aquarium. It could be that he is banging into things because there is not enough room for him to swim as he would like.

You mention that you are treating for white spot. One of the major symptoms of Ichtyopthirius (white spot) is "flashing", in which the fish bounces about the tank in an effort to scrape off the parasites which are causing him discomfort. Also, many "sharks" are sensitive to aquarium meds. It could be that the recent increase in erratic behavior is caused by poor tolerance of the ich medication.

Cloudy eyes can mean a few things. It could be a symptom of an internal protozoal infection (unlikely, particularly if you are in the US), cataracts (slightly less unlikely), or a symptom of poor water conditions (which may or may not be directly related to the meds in the tank). I'd start doing large water changes (50%) daily, replacing the white spot med when you refill, for the duration of the treatment.


Edit: 30 gallons, is unfortunately far too small for bala sharks. These are fish that get quite large and need a large volume of water for swimming as they are quite active.

i am afraid the term silver shark, always refers to a bala shark. and, certainly on this forum, there has never been any other "silver shark" mentioned. a quick google will confirm this, pages and pages of the "silver shark" being the Bala!


@op. a bals shark needs a lot of water, preferably in a long form tank. 5-6 foot. they grow, if not stunted, to 12 inches, perhaps more. and the problems you are facing are typical of a bala in a confined space. even in 6 foot tanks they still bash the ends. as someone has mentioned the "cloudy eyes" are a sign of VERY bad water conditions (high ammonia). unfortunately you need massive water changes and a new tank for your bala. there is no second option here. fish do not grow to fit their tank. you need to purchase a tank that fits the fish. in this case 100-200 gallon long form tank. they also need kept in a shoal, 3 minimum.

your treatment for white spot also leads to the assumption of stress via bad water conditions. but personally i have never seen a bala try to "flash" by ramming into the end of the tank.

I am sorry my advice seems so negative. but the truth is inescapable.

 

[HayleyH]

My mum has some in a 5'x2'x2' and I wouldn't want to see them in anything smaller than that.

Like i said, the tank was given to us by some friends - i guess as he was the only fish in there apart from the pleco's thats why he's grown so big and i agree - too big for our tank. However, i cant imagin petshops taking him off us with him being infected with white spot at the moment... ? So kind of stuck with him in this size tank, at least until we clear the white spot up.

Lovely video by the way, they are beautiful fish.

hayley

 

[nosoup4you]

name='raptorrex' timestamp='1307021133' post='3022564']
i am afraid the term silver shark, always refers to a bala shark. and, certainly on this forum, there has never been any other "silver shark" mentioned. a quick google will confirm this, pages and pages of the "silver shark" being the Bala!

I managed a large fish shop for a decade. I did all of the ordering of stock. I can assure you that the bala shark is NOT the only shark commonly listed as a "silver shark". I did assume he/she was referring to a bala as you can see by my comments re: size, but wanted to be sure so that I might help the OP to the best of my ability...as after all, the reason that I visit this forum is to help others and not argue arbitrarily given common names. Furthermore, how could anyone have known for sure that they meant that the fish was called a "silver shark" as opposed to a shark that was silver in color?

Edited to add: Common names vary widely from continent to continent and region to region. If it weren't for TFF, I'd likely have never known that balas were commonly referred to as silver sharks as we do not call them by that name where I live.

 

[bullit]

My mum has some in a 5'x2'x2' and I wouldn't want to see them in anything smaller than that.

Like i said, the tank was given to us by some friends - i guess as he was the only fish in there apart from the pleco's thats why he's grown so big and i agree - too big for our tank. However, i cant imagin petshops taking him off us with him being infected with white spot at the moment... ? So kind of stuck with him in this size tank, at least until we clear the white spot up.

Lovely video by the way, they are beautiful fish.

hayley

What are the water stats?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Personally i would treat the fish with an anti external bacterial medication as concerning the sharks "nose" sore it does sound like a bacterial infection has set in. I once treated almost exactly the same thing on a pleco many years ago (when i first bought my para pleco for the first 2 weeks it rubbed its face a lot on the tank glass causing a pink sore infection on its "nose" to develop). The Cloudy Eye is also most likely a secondary bacterial infection that has set in due to damage caused by the sharks skittish behavior.
I would personally recommend Myxazin as the medicine of choice for this situation.
As you know the sharks grow too large for the tank, but for the mean time putting a background print on the back of the tank and keeping the lighting levels dim may help reduce the sharks skittish behavior a bit . What are the planting levels like in the tank? If the tank has plastic plants these could injure the sharks but if the plants are real they may be beneficial.

 

[raptorrex]

name='raptorrex' timestamp='1307021133' post='3022564']
i am afraid the term silver shark, always refers to a bala shark. and, certainly on this forum, there has never been any other "silver shark" mentioned. a quick google will confirm this, pages and pages of the "silver shark" being the Bala!

I managed a large fish shop for a decade. I did all of the ordering of stock. I can assure you that the bala shark is NOT the only shark commonly listed as a "silver shark". I did assume he/she was referring to a bala as you can see by my comments re: size, but wanted to be sure so that I might help the OP to the best of my ability...as after all, the reason that I visit this forum is to help others and not argue arbitrarily given common names. Furthermore, how could anyone have known for sure that they meant that the fish was called a "silver shark" as opposed to a shark that was silver in color?

Edited to add: Common names vary widely from continent to continent and region to region. If it weren't for TFF, I'd likely have never known that balas were commonly referred to as silver sharks as we do not call them by that name where I live.

please name one fish with the "common name" SILVER SHARK?

 

[interbug]

I had this with my Silver shark when I moved his from Dorset to Devon. He was also a scatty thing, and I only had him because if you had have seen the tank he was in, mine was considerably better desipte no others to swim with etc.

Anyhow, after moving him, arround two days after, you could see he was stressed and his eyes went like you described. Puffy and cloudy. I didnt' treat the tank, just upped the water changes and eventually they returned to normal. Happy ending because I found a home with a big tank and friends for him in the end.

As for an open sore, I have little experience.