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Good Large Community Fish.

31K views 14 replies 6 participants last post by  Tracy 
#1 ·
Q: Have you been searching for a great large fish to add to your community tank?

Q: Have you been worryed that big fish might eat all your neon tetras or smaller fish?

Q: Have you been looking for a shoaling fish that is hardy?

Well Bala Sharks are for you. These little guys :)P Not little at all) are awsome fish to have, These guys grow to be 12-14 inchs and will not harm a small fish in your aquarium (Recommended you get them when there small for this information). To tell you the truth they are timmid and can be a reward to keep. They dont ask for much, But they give alot in return. Beauty, hardyness and good friends to add to your aquarium. These guys get spooked if you come up fast to the aquarium and may jump out of the water so make sure you have a good cover, even if you are slow to come up to the tank.

True Story
This is a true story from my friend.

One morning my friend woke up and saw his bala shark in the cornor of his tank and he was wondering, Whats going on? well then he saw a small neon tetra following him and as that tetra followed him the bala shark would flee to the other cornor trying to get away from the scary 1/2 inch neon tetra. This bala shark is 9 inch and the neon is 1/2? i mean why doesnt the bala eat the neon? well bala's dont eat fish in the wild they eat veggies. but they will take flake foods etc.

:NOTICE: this is from my experience keeping these fish this may not apply to you, you may not agree with this information.
 
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#2 ·
What is the size of the tank where the balas were kept? A shoal of 6 alone require 150 gallons or more as they need lots of swimming space.

I would not recommend balas for beginners. They are often the ones victimized into living in small tanks and poor water conditions.:shake: Even as slow growers, they should never be kept in small tanks.

Just my opinion.:)
 
#3 ·
Blue said:
What is the size of the tank where the balas were kept? A shoal of 6 alone require 150 gallons or more as they need lots of swimming space.

I would not recommend balas for beginners. They are often the ones victimized into living in small tanks and poor water conditions.:shake: Even as slow growers, they should never be kept in small tanks.

Just my opinion.:)
Hey man i totaly agree but they are hardy i forgot to add that they cant be kept in a small tank :p
 
#4 ·
Balas are NOT considered a "hardy" fish. They are very skittish and nervous fish, prone to ick because of stress. Balas are known to play dead when stressed too much, and I've heard of people flushing them, thinking they're dead, but they start to swim as they go down the toilet bowl, when its too late to save them. Balas are also a member of the "silver fish" category, which means sensitive to water quality AND many of the common meds on the market.
I agree with Blue, this is not a "beginner fish" and surely not for a small tank.
 
#5 ·
im expecting the people on this site are moderate so im saying there hardy for them, maybe not for beginners.... nore for the people that cant keep them because me and my friends have had no problem's with them.

:NOTICE: this is from my experience keeping these fish this may not apply to you, you may not agree with this information.

^--- that is why i also posted that.
 
#11 ·
bettababy said:
tinfoil barbs are ok for mixing with the oscars so long as they have enough space for seperate territories and are similar in size, but I wouldn't mix tinfoils in with the tetras...
Agreed.:) Large boisterous fish combined with small fish=stress for small fish
 
#12 ·
:D i love tinfoil barbs but i dont want to add them to my com tank :p

naw i love my 110 com tank :D my oscars are fine in there tank :p, i do my waterchanges 25% a week to keep ammonia levels down.
 
#13 ·
KishFeeper said:
Q: Have you been searching for a great large fish to add to your community tank?

Q: Have you been worryed that big fish might eat all your neon tetras or smaller fish?

Q: Have you been looking for a shoaling fish that is hardy?

I would have to say Silver Dollars. They grow FAST and I have never seen them pick on the smaller fish; they also schoal nice. And yes, I know they need a large tank, as they can get 6 - 8 inches. They're great! :D
 
#14 ·
Silver dollars actually grow 10 - 12 inches, and they are primarily vegetarian fish, so I wouldn't consider putting them into a planted tank. They have been known to eat small fish such as neons and guppies once they get large. The hardest part of raising silver dollars is that they stress easy, are prone to illnesses such as ick, and they get to be a lot of work to keep clean. In a large enough tank with good filtration, they can be quite awesome. The "red hook silver dollars" are very pretty, too.
 
#15 ·
They only had ick (so far) when I brought them home from the store (and i know that PetSmart fish often have ick); I treated the entire tank and have suffered no fish loss from it :) I can't believe how fast they grow! And they are very well behaved :) There is nothing 'tiny' in my community tank, just 3 platys which are holding their own. If they appearto be picked on, I can move them. Silver Dollars are sweet!
 
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