Silver Sharks

[nobbyninja]

hi,
i was told by a shop assitant that silver sharks can grow to 12 inches long and will EAT any fish that they can fit in their mouth , is this correct because i would really like a couple of these fish to go in my community tank

thanks in advance

 

[OohFeeshy]

No, not correct. They can in fact grow to more like 14", are schooling (so need 6+ as opposed to 'a couple') , but I'm not sure about eating smaller fish. AFAIK they are 'gentle giants', but don't quote me on that.

 

[FroggFrogg]

They are not community fish...unless you have a huge tank. They can gro to about 14-16inches i believe....

Hey you beat me to it! LOL..

 

[WILDER]

How many gallons is your tank.

 

[allan45121]

i might be wrong... excuse me if i am... but i thought only 1 shark was advised per aquarium???

 

[WILDER]

Bala sharks have to be kept in groups to be happy, it's the red tailed shark and rainbow shark that should only be kept in ones.

 

[allan45121]

Damn those pets@home fools sellin me bad info... i wanted silver sharks but the ba%*&rds said that i could only have one. So i went with a rtbs but i quite happy with my rtbs... its bootifool

 

[Swandazi]

A few things to know about silver sharks:

They grow up to 12" sometimes more...

Their omnivores

Thier peacefull, but i wouldnt be suprised if they eat a smaller fish...

They are capable of jumping out of aquiriums

Their also known as the bala shark

 

[Ethos]

I have a 4" Bala in my 55G with Mbuna Cichlids and he does fine. I wouldn't suggest Purpously putting a bala in with african cichlids, but it works ftm. He's doing well, basically because he can out-swim them by 10x.
When he gets bigger I'll need to find him a new home.. unless he's already stunted. He hasn't grow much since I saved him from a neighbor who kept him in a 10G..

 

[nobbyninja]

How many gallons is your tank.

it is a fluval 170 ltr tank

 

[WILDER]

No, they need large tanks of 125gals.

 

[andywg]

I would recommend 180 as a minimum for the balas, they get to be quite a bulky fish. After 5" they tend to start deepening up so that by 8" they will be 3" deep on the body without the fins.

Add to this the fact they are one of the most skittish fish around (with the possible exception of Chalceus sp.) that like to swim quickly. They will need that extra room to trun once they grow. I certainly wouldn't want to put my three biggest (around the 7 and 8" mark) into my old 72x18x18 tank.

 

[grayt]

Hi, does anyone know the minimum tank size (in inches) for a bala? I am quite interested to know exactly how much of a tank is needed to keep these sharks.

From what I have read about these fish already they are for the more enthusiastic fish keeper due to the size of the equipment that is needed. I always find it annoying that retailer we sell fish like this as if they grow to the size of Neons.

Don’t suppose anyone has a picture of one fully grown do they?

Thanks

 

[andywg]

I would say a 72x24x24 for balas.

Can't find any pics of my shoal, they are far from fully grown at 4-8".