[sharkid]

ok well i hav 2 ten gal. tanks right now im gettin a 55 or 70 on march 7(for b-day so i dont pay a dime ) but ya i was thinking about putting maybe 2-3 bala sharks in their now till i get the new tank...the ones at the store ate very small right now so what i was wondering should i do this or just wait till i get my new tank to put all the fish in their at once.....also if this isnt ok what should i do with my spare 10g??

thanks everyone

-ryan

 

[Lupin]

Welcome.:wave:

I would just avoid the balas for a 55 gallons. They grow far too large and as shoalers, they should not be kept in number of lesser than 6. The lesser there are, the more skittish they often get and are prone to stress and injuries. Stress often triggers various diseases to affect them particularly ich which you'll find very annoying and you'll end up treating the whole tank.

Are your tanks cycled? I'd just put my plans on other fish if I were you. There are barbs, tetras, rasboras, angels, rams, etc.

I would make your spare 10 gallons a quarantine tank for new fish but don't buy fish until the main 10 gallons is cycled(I don't know if your tank is cycled or not.) or until your new 55 gallons is also cycled.

Just be patient and everything will go well.

HTH

 

[sharkid]

ok i guess i could use it as quarenten...umm cycled i dunno ut my min 1 has been set up for about 3 months just put the fish in wanted to make sure everything went ok water wise before fish went in...hmm well my mom said she found a nice used 85 gal w/ filter but no lights or stand would that be good for balas...? sry i kind have had an obsession with sharks(anything that looks act or is names shark) since i was very young...im even attending college(next year) to study them so as you can see my b-day is coming up and i will do everything within my power to get those sharks in a tank that will be good for the....what would you reccomend? sry for the long post

thanks

-ryan

 

[Lupin]

Hi Ryan.:wave:

I'm sorry but I will not recommend balas considering the size they reach is 12 inches despite the fact that they are slow growers. Most of them get stunted and eventually die. How about torpedo barbs? They are expensive unfortunately but are worth the fun.:thumbsup:

I'm not sure if Apollo sharks are available in your area. Being 8 inches, they might be your option. Fortunately they are smaller than balas but seem hardly available. It depends in your area however.
http://animal.discovery.com/guides/fish/freshwater/apolloshark.html

There's not many large schooling fish options for a 85 gallons. Congo Tetras will look rather stunning in your tank. It depends on your choice however.

Good luck.

 

[lioness501]

is a bala the same as a silver shark? if so i have a lone 1 and hes a really happy lil fish, the previous 1 i had(rip) lived on his own for the 6 months i had him and he was a happy fella too! i didnt know they were schoaling

 

[flatcam1]

is a bala the same as a silver shark? if so i have a lone 1 and hes a really happy lil fish, the previous 1 i had(rip) lived on his own for the 6 months i had him and he was a happy fella too! i didnt know they were schoaling

yes, same fish.

they do like to be in shoals but they can survive on their own...

Hope this helps!

 

[Dk]

Yeah i have to go along with dont get the balas, and whatever you do dont get an irridescent shark either. those things should not even be sold in the hobby due to thier skittish nature and the fact you cannot commecially buy a tank big enough to house one. i would suggest a raphael cat . they look alot like a shark when swimming. Kinda fat bodied with big vacant eyes and big mouths. When they swim after the lights go out they slowly woosh thier tail and prowl the tank like jaws hehehehe.