[Markus Shark]

Hi, im one of those newbies and ya...

This is truff for me to say, breath. One of my Balas is now swimming in the big sea.
I feel really bad. Iv had four Balas for about 4 weeks. i noticced last week the one has been isolating himself from the others, not really swimming too much either, just vegging out.

this lasted about 5 days and DIED... As i say, i was watching this behavior, i really dont think he was sick, maybe just not part of the click has anyone else expiereanced something like this before???


Apart from that they "the other three" / "the click" / "the pack" are looking very happy.

I got sum blood worm, wanted to treat them. they munched it up. and i wanted to feed them more, they looked so happy. SO... i havent fed them more yet... lol. I want to know how much i should actually be feeding them this magic treat?

They babies.

Give me sum more suggestions please, since all the pet shops in this town seeem absolutly brain ded plants? filters? im saving for a 375 litre tank. A cheaper way to check my ph, and or nitrate values, to add salt or not, how much. food? anything, very interested in other peoples opinions, and you all seem to be fishereses

I know i shouldnt hav discussed this here but i tried chatting on an old forum and i couldv actually faxed it, it was so old.

[Reefing Madness]

[madyotto]

Originally Posted by Markus Shark

Hi, im one of those newbies and ya...

This is truff for me to say, breath. One of my Balas is now swimming in the big sea.
I feel really bad. Iv had four Balas for about 4 weeks. i noticced last week the one has been isolating himself from the others, not really swimming too much either, just vegging out.

this lasted about 5 days and DIED... As i say, i was watching this behavior, i really dont think he was sick, maybe just not part of the click has anyone else expiereanced something like this before???


Apart from that they "the other three" / "the click" / "the pack" are looking very happy.

I got sum blood worm, wanted to treat them. they munched it up. and i wanted to feed them more, they looked so happy. SO... i havent fed them more yet... lol. I want to know how much i should actually be feeding them this magic treat?

They babies.

Give me sum more suggestions please, since all the pet shops in this town seeem absolutly brain ded plants? filters? im saving for a 375 litre tank. A cheaper way to check my ph, and or nitrate values, to add salt or not, how much. food? anything, very interested in other peoples opinions, and you all seem to be fishereses

I know i shouldnt hav discussed this here but i tried chatting on an old forum and i couldv actually faxed it, it was so old.

first of there is a profile on here for the Bala Shark (silver shark)

i have two of these and absolutely adore them due to my old tank leaking 150L's
i am getting my new one tomorrow 250L's

which means more than one thing more bala's hehe

now i have never noticed this behavior but strongly suspect that there is not enough swimming space for all of them to feed in my old 4FT tank my two have great fun after i add food one will start eating and the other will decide that it is his side of the tank for food so the biggest one will chase other around tank in 6-7 rapid laps love watching this but here's the thing by the time they have done this they have missed half of the food already consumed by other fish

kind of bulling others for food

[eaturbyfill]

Hello and welcome to the forum! Wish I could help.

[Canadian Fish]

Welcome!

How long has your tank been set up? Is it cycled? Do you know what your ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels are at?

Just so you know, Balas require a minimum 6 ft tank when they are full grown.

I keep them myself, they are beautiful fish!

[Markus Shark]

My tanks been running for aboot 4 months, i understand the NH4, nitrite and nitrate cycle... Im still not sure what a tank cycle is, i change my water every 2 weeks max, iv got two filters running and every water change i clean out one filter.

Like i see alot of people say that they havent cycled for more than a year, i dont understand that?

My fish are happy now. But id like to know more of everything.


Otherwise i still wanna get a plant, im not sure about light, and what plant i could get. Its summer now and im getting an exponential algae problem, my tank gets sunlight, should i block sum of it out? Oow.. And will a plant grow under any TUBE light???

[madyotto]

First off once your balas grow they will shred all plant other than Java Fern and Java Moss mine are around 6 inch now and starting to shred plants also you DON'T WANT ANY SUN LIGHT. MANY TUBE LIGHTS OUT THERE FOR PLANT GROWTH BUT YOU DO NEED ONE DESIGNED FOR PLANT GROWTH WITH OUT ANY. UV FROM A NATURAL TUBE PLANTS WILL WITHER
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[Jakiebabie]

Originally Posted by Markus Shark

My tanks been running for aboot 4 months, i understand the NH4, nitrite and nitrate cycle... Im still not sure what a tank cycle is, i change my water every 2 weeks max, iv got two filters running and every water change i clean out one filter.

Like i see alot of people say that they havent cycled for more than a year, i dont understand that?

My fish are happy now. But id like to know more of everything.
Otherwise i still wanna get a plant, im not sure about light, and what plant i could get. Its summer now and im getting an exponential algae problem, my tank gets sunlight, should i block sum of it out? Oow.. And will a plant grow under any TUBE light???

Hi Markus. Welcome to TFK! We're glad you joined us.
Cycling your tank. Basically it is the process of a build up of Ammonia from fish poop and old food that gets consumed by a Bacteria and this process produces NitrItes. A 2nd bacteria consumes the Nitrates and the resulting product is Nitrate.
Do you have an API freshwater testing kit. They run from about $20-$40 and it is invaluable to a fish keeper to know what is going on in his tank. Each of those 2 processes will cause a spike in numbers. This is only sometimes visible by clamped fins or hiding and being lethargic but too often the only sign we have is death.
By testing your numbers you can immediately react with water changes and if you have it, Seachem's "Prime" can neutralize these quickly. Live plants also take up Ammonia to help you thru the cycle. .25 ppm of Ammonia is about the most you want to see in your tank. NI I'm not sure of but it will also spike, then you are looking for the following numbers:
Am 0, NI 0, and NA .20 pm or less. Now...! This good bacteria that you have taken 6-8 weeks to grow is not in your water but grows on all of your surfaces... gravel, rocks, filter media, filter sponges etc. It is very important that when you are "cleaning" your filters that you use a bucket of OLD TANK WATER or a de-chlorinated tap water. Chlorine will kill the good bacteria that you just grew and potentially send your tank thru a mini cycle and put your fish at risk again. So first think about how you are cleaning your filters. Something we do not want to do is scrub our filters squeaky clean!

Fish and plants have a circadian rhythm so it is important to set your lights on a timer or keep to a schedule. Madyotto is right, direct sunshine should be kept to a minimum. When you go to your LFS to purchase plants, review the light bulbs and fertilizers they have. you may need both.

Balas!
Balas do indeed love to swim the length of your tank. I kept 2 for over 10 years in a 90 gallon but this is only 48 inches long. They need min 72 inches or 6 ft tanks which are 120 gallon. How long is the current tank they are in, and the new tank?

Remember when setting up your new tank it also needs to cycle unless you move everything over from the smaller tank to the bigger. Do not let your filter dry out and just move it "as is" over to the new tank or if you are keeping both tanks running move one of your filters over until the new tank cycles.
Good luck... keep us posted and feel free to ask any questions about your tank here in your thread.