bala sharks

[Iggy monster]

i 3 bala sharks in a 15 gallon tank. they are very tiny, i also have a 30 gallon tank with cichlids. when the bala sharks get big enough to handle the cichlids i will be transfering them over. i know they get big and will be getting a bigger tank when they grow. now the bala sharks are only swimming along the bottem together and will not swim to the top to eat. they seem to only peck at the bottem. i looked it up and someone pointed out because they are babys that they might not be trained to eat at the top. i have no idea if that is true or how to train them to eat at the top. i am feeding them flakes and tried slow sinking pellets but i do not know what to do. Any idea's ?

 

[Cynic]

A - You shouldn't even have 3 baby Bala Sharks in a 15G
B - Try feeding them live food to attract their attention

 

[Iggy monster]

thank you for the advice. yes i know they shouldnt be in the 15g but they are to small to be in the cichlid taank once the grow another inch i will be tranfering them over. cichlids are semi aggressive and i do not want them getting hurt. the bala's are only 2.5 inches right now. by live food do you mean blood worms or?

 

[BLUElobster99]

Cynic is correct

Though you were saying you will moving them soon

Are they juveniles?
The sizes would help
3 balas wont be in a 15al for long if they are

Anyways
Are there any larger fish in the tank that might be intimidating them?
Though as u said they are juviniles which means they will not prove to be very aggressive at such a small size
And live food is always a good idea
Even frozen is good though it is more expensive than freeze dried
I dont think freeze dried will provide any more excitement compared to flake

hope i could help

 

[BLUElobster99]

Blood worms

Brine shrimp

Anything frozen your local pet store would be of interest

 

[Iggy monster]

yes thank you for the advice. they have the tank to themselves. i did look into bala sharks prior to buying them as i know pet stores will tell you anything just to make money.

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Wow, calm your horses! Bala sharks are really , really active fish, they don't have enough swimming area in a 15 gallon is not enough, it doesn't have to do with the bio load, they need a lot of space to swim! A long time ago, I had 4 in a 55 gallon with 5 silver dollars and some peacock eels, need more room, if you are looking for sharks, how about red tailed sharks, you can put three or four of those in your 15 gallon, but for better results, 3 red tailed sharks and 4 apple(mystery snails), if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

 

[Iggy monster]

Wow, calm your horses! Bala sharks are really , really active fish, they don't have enough swimming area in a 15 gallon is not enough, it doesn't have to do with the bio load, they need a lot of space to swim! A long time ago, I had 4 in a 55 gallon with 5 silver dollars and some peacock eels, need more room, if you are looking for sharks, how about red tailed sharks, you can put three or four of those in your 15 gallon, but for better results, 3 red tailed sharks and 4 apple(mystery snails), if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

okay, my bala's are about 2.5 inches big. like i said before once they grow another inch i will be putting them in with cichlids 55g and then in 2 months i will be getting a 75g for them. I was worried because they would only swim on the bottem and not go up for food. but someone said they could be not trained to eat that way. how would i train them to do so. also they seem to eat everything off the bottem. i have tried flakes and sinking shrimp pellets and slow sinking pellets. i am now trying algea waffer pellets as i know they really like algea. any other suggestions?

 

[Iggy monster]

Also about blood worms and brine shrimp. i found out that baby bala sharks dont nessecarily need this in their diet untill they are bigger. plus they are way to small to eat 1 blood worm cube so i would have to cut it up for them.

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Good to see you are moving your bala sharks, good job
Now, if they stay at the bottom, then that means that they don't have enough room to swim, you could try some sinking shrimp pellets for now, but even at this size, you should put them in the 55 gallon tank. For the current tank, you could try the sharks I mentioned above, they will be happy there

 

[Iggy monster]

okay thank you!!!! i very much appriciate the advice from everyone!

 

[Luananeko]

...if you are looking for sharks, how about red tailed sharks, you can put three or four of those in your 15 gallon, but for better results, 3 red tailed sharks and 4 apple(mystery snails), if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

As a current owner of a red tail shark, I can vouch that this option would NOT work. For one, they are VERY territorial and will not tolerate each other unless kept in groups of 5+ in a large tank (75+ gallons). For another, they are very active, and need a lot of space to be happy. If kept in small tanks, they get very nasty. My shark grew very quickly up to about 6 inches, so I wouldn't count on even being able to temporarily house a single one in a 15 gallon for long.

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

As a current owner of a red tail shark, I can vouch that this option would NOT work. For one, they are VERY territorial and will not tolerate each other unless kept in groups of 5+ in a large tank (75+ gallons). For another, they are very active, and need a lot of space to be happy. If kept in small tanks, they get very nasty. My shark grew very quickly up to about 6 inches, so I wouldn't count on even being able to temporarily house a single one in a 15 gallon for long.

Well, I had a 10 gallon with four red tail sharks before with 2 apple snails, they looked like the happiest fish in the world, they would just play all day long, they were awesome. I had one for three years, and the last died at the age of 5, they were my first fish! I had them happily in a 10 gallon, so they would do great in a 15 gallon

 

[tarpon]

Wow, calm your horses! Bala sharks are really , really active fish, they don't have enough swimming area in a 15 gallon is not enough, it doesn't have to do with the bio load, they need a lot of space to swim! A long time ago, I had 4 in a 55 gallon with 5 silver dollars and some peacock eels, need more room, if you are looking for sharks, how about red tailed sharks, you can put three or four of those in your 15 gallon, but for better results, 3 red tailed sharks and 4 apple(mystery snails), if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

Uhhh.. four red tail sharks in a 15 gallon is a bad idea. You shouldn't even put one in a 15 gallon. They grow to 6 inches and are territorialy aggressive with one another as they get bigger.

 

[Luananeko]

Well, I had a 10 gallon with four red tail sharks before with 2 apple snails, they looked like the happiest fish in the world, they would just play all day long, they were awesome. I had one for three years, and the last died at the age of 5, they were my first fish! I had them happily in a 10 gallon, so they would do great in a 15 gallon

When they're babies that may be true, as they can be social until they hit the "teenage" streak. 5 yrs old is also fairly young for a red tail to die, they're supposed to live 8-10 yrs... It sounds like they may have been stunted How big were they when they died? My red tail was super chill and friendly with the rest of the tank until he hit around the 4-5" mark, and then it was like night and day. It went from being playful and friendly to relentlessly chasing everyone in the tank non-stop. Thankfully it settled down to manageable levels once I rearranged the decor, but it was nearly to the point I was going to rehome him, and thats in a 75 gallon tank where space was not an issue at all... He still chases other tankmates on occasion, but its more of a "shooing" chase rather than a serious "HEY YOU, GET OUT OF MY SPACE!" stressful-style chase.

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Well I mean I had them for 5 years, they might have been older when I got them, the biggest was around 5-6 inches long

 

[josh7]

Wow, calm your horses! Bala sharks are really , really active fish, they don't have enough swimming area in a 15 gallon is not enough, it doesn't have to do with the bio load, they need a lot of space to swim! A long time ago, I had 4 in a 55 gallon with 5 silver dollars and some peacock eels, need more room, if you are looking for sharks, how about red tailed sharks, you can put three or four of those in your 15 gallon, but for better results, 3 red tailed sharks and 4 apple(mystery snails), if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

This is bad please don't put red tailed sharks in a 15 gallon or together. Even as little tiny babies like 1.5 inches long these guys fight like cats and dogs if put together.

 

[Goldfish loach boy]

Ok, maybe mine was a super rare case or something, never once did I see them fight, they cuddled together at night, and played around all day, five years, five inches, according to all this, they are bad, but I mean, I did it very successfully, I don't know what you want to do, good luck

 

[Scottyhorse]

Wow, calm your horses! Bala sharks are really , really active fish, they don't have enough swimming area in a 15 gallon is not enough, it doesn't have to do with the bio load, they need a lot of space to swim! A long time ago, I had 4 in a 55 gallon with 5 silver dollars and some peacock eels, need more room, if you are looking for sharks, how about red tailed sharks, you can put three or four of those in your 15 gallon, but for better results, 3 red tailed sharks and 4 apple(mystery snails), if you have any questions, feel free to ask!

ONE Red Tail Shark need 55G at minimum.

 

[Coursair]

Bala Sharks aren't aggressive with similar sized fish. Even if they are big, putting them in with an aggressive Cichlid can get them killed.

You never mentioned what kind of Cichlid you have.

Bala Sharks need an open area for swimming and preferably real or fake plants at the back and sides. Babies are notorious for getting startled and crashing into the ends of the tank and dying.

Try floating some real or fake plants to see if that makes them more secure. Get them into a bigger tank ASAP that does not have something that might kill them.

Balas grow FAST. In small tanks they either kill themselves or stunt and die.

You don't move them WHEN they grow, you move them so they CAN grow.

I fed our frozen Brine Shrimp and Bloodworms. Keep the water clean. Test water and keep up on your water changes.

And please do NOT try to keep a Red Tail Shark in a 15g.

Think small community fish or Shrimp.