Bala Sharks. . .

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H20-Cam

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Hi everyone ! !
I have a 10 GALLON TANK with 2 BALA SHARKS, 5 SERPAE TETRAS, and 1 ALGAE EATER. I have about 4-5 inches of gravel with a fake plant (soon to be replace with real ones). I am wondering... will my bala sharks do well in there!?!? Will it die from lack of space?! i heard they get up to like 7inches or something!!! Im scared that they are gonna get too big and take over my tank!! SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME! ! ! ! :hyper:
Thank you!!! :D
 
Hi and welcome to the forum. :)


Bala sharks get 15"-16" so your 10g wouldn't be sufficient for them.

Depending on what algae eater you have, that's going to be way too big for a 10g also.
 
alot of ppl here will say that is just not big enough. i am one of those ppl. i would move them to a bigger tank. i dont know wat size tak i just kno u need a bigger one.
 
Um... alright... but the real question is ... when? they are about 2 inches right now.. will they get biger over years? months? days? by the way... THANKS FOR UR HELP :D i seriously appreciate it!
 
With Bala Sharks I wouldn't necessarily go by their size as judging if they are ok or not. They need lots of room to swim, more than most fish, to be happy.

They "fit" in a 10g tank right now but they probably aren't very happy with it so I would take them back now instead of waiting.
 
A healthy bala should grow about 1/2 to 1 inch a month until it reaches 6-8" then it will slow down taking about 4 years to reach full size.
As SMB said these fish get BIG with 13" specimins not being uncommon, to keep a shoal of them for life you need to be looking at tanks of 75 to 100 gallons minimum.
 
hey thanks yall that helped a lot.. i will probably give them back to the fish place :( thanks agian guys hope to see more of you! :hyper:
 
H2O-Cam,

I moved this thread here to get a better response.

One question I have...why do you have 4-5" of gravel in your tank??

At most, you really only need 2"!! Having anymore than that only allows debris (detritus) to form and eventually foul the tank water.

Another thing is beneficial bacteria colonies only inhabit the first inch or so of the gravel bed.

CM
 
hi just 1 thing i have asked alien about sharks as i would do any thing to keep 1
only prob was she sade most sharks are massive (real 1s)as the rtbs isnt a real shark just names it as look very simalar and others ..silver shark?

is a bella shark classed as a REAL SHARK if so i would be so happy to get 1

i have around 4 to 4half ft i thought it was 4 seems lil bigger and 50 gallons

i only have a cpl fish in it at the moment so if i got a bella would have alot of room
would this be ok for me ?

i saw 8.1/2 inch fairy fast but that isnt much compared to around 50 " is it leave 40 insh to swim then 4 yrs to grow

withing 4 yrs i want a custom 100 gallon tank built by friend

if i dont have enough room for a balla pls pls can you leave sum sharks i may be able to keep
 
damn i just noticed your in california can i even get them in the uk ?
 
is a bella shark classed as a REAL SHARK if so i would be so happy to get 1
No it's a Balantiocheilus melanopterus.

i only have a cpl fish in it at the moment so if i got a bella would have alot of room
would this be ok for me ?

No because they get up to 15-16" and they like to live in schools. You'd need at least a 250g tank, imo, for a school of them because of how they need room to swim.


if i dont have enough room for a balla pls pls can you leave sum sharks i may be able to keep

A red tail black shark and a rainbow shark would work in your tank. :)

Only get one tho. Either 1 rtbs or 1 rainbow. They are very conspecific aggro. They are actually minnows but because of the dorsal fin they got the name "sharks" to help sell them better.
 
thanks guru i been reading few posts on fishprofiles about them and ppl owning them

there are few people that have them and say they have 4 foot tanks
but as soon as i read they can jump 6ft i thought again thats taller then me and i couldnt have them jumping out the tank

ill wait abit this is my 1st tank 4ft im thinking on buying a 6ft maybe 8 when i move as my brother keeps fish and said he would love marine so i would pay if he helped
 

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