Hey guys, so I've been trying to look up this information everywhere, but nothing. So I came to you guys. Basically I have 3 bala sharks currently in a 35 gal. They're relatively small right now, but two nights ago, one of the balas got stuck somehow within one of the ornamints and was trashing around in there for an unknown amount of time. I pulled him out, he seemed okay minus a chunk scratch around his dorsal fin, and a few scratches here and there, no blood, but he was eating and that whole bit, looked like he was going to recover well. Now with that being said. This morning I find him stuck, again, same place.. managed to pull him out, as gentle as possible. I noticed his underbelly has a reddish tint from scraping and pushing on some sharp but dull areas on the ornament, also his left pectoral fin looks damaged near the top of the fin, as if he broke it in half, but the flesh is still there and he is using his fin still. This just happened about 20 minutes ago. So how should I approach this? I'm out of test strips currently, however I did manage to replace new filter cartrage in the filter, and added prime for the stress coat. A water change is due but I'm afraid to put the little guy under any more stress. Thank you for your time.
Injured Bala Shark
- Thread starter Foxxtrot
- Start date
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Bichir Bro
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I don't think a water change is needed in this case yet. Bala sharks need a tank size of over 150 gallons so I hope you plan on upgrading sometime. Other wise just make sure his water is nice and clean. Your main priority is making sure it doesn't get infected so do more frequent changes but not right now, he's under a lot of stress. Hope I helped!
Start by removing that piece of decor, he's going to continue getting stuck. Second, do a water change. The cleaner the water the less chance of him getting an infection. He should heal on his own, but poor water conditions will cause problems. Third, get a liquid test kit instead of more strips. They last for something like 800 tests and are much more accurate than strips. You can usually order them online for around $20.
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