Bala Sharks/Parrot Cichlids

[Roxy0416]

I am planning out the fish in my future 75 gallon.

I know I at least want one Parrot Cichlid. My boyfriend wants a Bala Shark and a Rainbow Shark.

First off, do these alone get along? I've seen the Parrot and the Bala in the same tank before at pet stores. They were also much more grown though. We will probably start them off smaller and watch them grow bigger.

I also would like to know what other fish you recommend with the Parrot and Bala.

Thanks for your suggestions!

 

[smarsh7903]

I know that parrot fish are cichlids, and I might get bashed here, but I have never had a problem with them and other fish. Another member may tell you otherwise. I will recommend against the bala on the basis that they are always terrified and do get rather large. I ad two in my 110 planted and they would bash against the glass when someone went into the room, turned on the lights, fed them... they died after a few months from head injuries. I prefer the red tailed shark over the rainbow. Looks the same but black with a red tail. Would have no more than one of these. They are algae grazers too.

Sent from my X10a using Aquarium

 

[severum mama]

75 is too small for bala sharks IMO. They scare easily and do better in groups. The parrot and rainbow shark should get along just fine.

 

[Viper]

I too had a Bala Shark that freaked out one time and smashed into the intake tube of my filter. It instantly started floating upside down for a couple seconds (I presume it knocked itself senseless). It eventually righted itself but died a couple days later.

 

[Morgie]

7I personally have successfully kept a large bala shark as a single specimen in one of my tanks.. but I will say that he became best buds with a 6" pictus hybrid I had at the time. As long as you provide them with something they think looks like a shark they'll buddy up with it and be completely happy (or at least in my case). A 75 probably isn't large enough for two balas, as the others said, but you could try him out with a similar sized catfish species to see if they get along/show schooling behaviour. As a general rule other species of sharks don't get along, but if you kept maybe one bala and one 4-Line pictus (they get pretty big, but not as big as balas) and introduce them at the same time you could have a good match.
This is just coming from my personal experience though, and I may have just gotten lucky with the fish I bought.
Good luck stocking!

 

[maxima423]

im sorry for your loss =[ but it was pretty amusing until the last sentence =[

I too had a Bala Shark that freaked out one time and smashed into the intake tube of my filter. It instantly started floating upside down for a couple seconds (I presume it knocked itself senseless). It eventually righted itself but died a couple days later.

as for the OP, most sites will tell you that Bala Sharks min requirement is 70g, but i think thats a little low for a bala, i have seen these guys personally in a 70g, and it just didnt look right at all, i think a 110 would be good for them

rainbow sharks would do great in a 70g, i would put maybe two, they might get aggressive with each other so watch out for that

i love blood parrots!!! they are great cichlids, i would put 3-4 in a 70g, they would fit right in ^_^ i wouldnt put them with rainbow sharks though, i think they would be too aggressive with them, i would consider another cichlid of the same size

 

[HN1]

No offense to anyone, but I personally think a 75 is in no way adequate for the life of one AND keeping just one is a bad idea for the fish anyways. JMO

Bala Shark Care