dead bala!

[zach_1_6]

hi there i woke up this morning and found one of my small bala sharks have died unexpectadly. he was perfectly healthy swimming fine eating fine, all his fins were up, no colour loss or anything. i read that they have panic attacks and can hurt themselves. is that what may have cuased him to pass on?

 

[logansmomma1228]

How old is he? Maybe iit was just his age? BTW you posted this in the wrong section

 

[mommytron]

need more info. what are your water parameters? how long have you had the tank set up for? how long have you had the fish? what else is in the tank? did he have any wounds?

 

[zach_1_6]

no wounds, had him forabout a month, he is in a 65 gallon planted tank.

 

[zach_1_6]

oh, and he has 4 other bala's with him, they are all very small, some tetra, albino rianbow shark, common pleco, rapheal catfish, pictus catfish, 3 clown loaches

 

[maxima423]

maybe the balas were aggressive towards him? just a ponder

 

[zach_1_6]

maybe, they all schooled well together though. odd

 

[logansmomma1228]

hmmm that sounds pretty overstocked to me. I am sure they didn't have any room and probably did start fighting. IMO you need to get rid of all the sharks. JMO, but they probably won't thrive in that small of a tank. I would say maybe one, but you would have to get rid of the cats and pleco probably.

 

[mommytron]

i agree with logansmomma. also, have you checked your water parameters?? the cats and plecos are known to be poop machines. ammonia could easily get out of hand in that tank.

 

[zach_1_6]

i dont believe my tank is overstocked at all, the largest bala i have is just over 2 inches long, none of my fish are fully grown, and i do plan on upgrading to a much larger tank, and if at worst i will find them a good home.

 

[logansmomma1228]

Well as long as you plan on getting a bigger tank, IMO, because fish will not grow in a tank that is too small. Sounds fine, but it isn't. It is painful for the fish and shortens their lifespan. I also think you will need a MUCH biggeer tank for all tohse fish. A common pleco can get up to 2 ft. on its own. Not to mention the cats and sharks . I believe clown loaches get up to 5" at least. This isn't counting swimming room, territories, and just plain comfort of the fish.

 

[zach_1_6]

yes i know, my dad might take a few bala's and a much larger tank is in my sights for the futur.