Bala down, gasping please help

[BalaClown]

Hello, I’m not a beginner, but I didn’t know where else to post this to get my question answered. We’ve had a fish tank for over 18 years now. It’s 125 gallon freshwater tank. we have a clown loach and a Bala shark. we woke up this morning, and the Bala Shark was in the corner on the bottom, just gasping for air. We did a partial water change and checked the temperature. We also checked all the parameters, everything seems fine. We have added some thing called fish doctor from a store here called The ocean floor. We live in AZ.

One of our air pumps went out several months ago, so I’ve been running with only one, BUT we have TWO filters on either end which circulates the water via spray bars. I’m installing another air filter in about an hr once we get new tubing for it. We have hard water here in AZ, but the fish are used to it. It’s what they’ve been living in all their life. I will also add a little salt just a little.

i’ve done everything that I can do. I’m just coming out of Covid and it’s just me and my son at the moment any advice would be appreciated. If it is just his time how long until he goes and is there anything else I can do? We are heartbroken. Bala sharks are such gentle fish and the clown loach already is stressed out swimming around him. They are the best of buds. Thank you so much! God Bless!

 

[threecharacters]

Unlikely for aeration to be a problem based on what you said. If it was the clown loach would be doing poorly as well.

How old is the Bala Shark? Could be old age based on what you said.

Technically, a 125 is just barely large enough for those fish in my opinion. Both of those species are social, especially the loach, and they should be kept in groups of 5 or more, but you are a bit space limited. Scientific studies have found that loaches need physical contact with other loaches and that they have a variety of behavioral rituals that need to be performed with other individuals of the same species.

I would recommend getting more clown loaches and consider upgrading to an 8 foot tank. At the very least you've done better than the vast majority of people who get clown loaches and bala sharks.

 

[BalaClown]

Unlikely for aeration to be a problem based on what you said. If it was the clown loach would be doing poorly as well.

How old is the Bala Shark? Could be old age based on what you said.

Technically, a 125 is just barely large enough for those fish in my opinion. Both of those species are social, especially the loach, and they should be kept in groups of 5 or more, but you are a bit space limited. Scientific studies have found that loaches need physical contact with other loaches and that they have a variety of behavioral rituals that need to be performed with other individuals of the same species.

I would recommend getting more clown loaches and consider upgrading to an 8 foot tank. At the very least you've done better than the vast majority of people who get clown loaches and bala sharks.

Hi, thx for responding! The shark is about 13, maybe 14 years. We had other balls, and another fish for the clown recommended by fish store here. When others passed, and It was just these two, they became best of friends, oddly enough. (Least it appeared that way). They were never mean to one another and at feeding time, they weren’t really aggressive with one another and we always make sure that they were both getting food. It’s sad, the loach goes over to him and concerned. To be honest, we never got any more fish. Once we were down to these two, because the past 10 years has been difficult just came out of a divorce with an alcoholic so having just these two fish was plenty as we also had some other pets, we felt keeping the tank minimal was in the best interest, the clown is about 6 inches and the shark about seven

 

[BalaClown]

Hi, thx for responding! The shark is about 13, maybe 14 years. We had other balls, and another fish for the clown recommended by fish store here. When others passed, and It was just these two, they became best of friends, oddly enough. (Least it appeared that way). They were never mean to one another and at feeding time, they weren’t really aggressive with one another and we always make sure that they were both getting food. It’s sad, the loach goes over to him and concerned. To be honest, we never got any more fish. Once we were down to these two, because the past 10 years has been difficult just came out of a divorce with an alcoholic so having just these two fish was plenty as we also had some other pets, we felt keeping the tank minimal was in the best interest, the clown is about 6 inches and the shark about seven

Sorry, my device changed my words, meant we had other Balas!

 

[GaryE]

Balas have been known to injure themselves by smashing into glass walls. They are like torpedos in nature, swimming for great distances at high speed. It's why I'll never put one in a tank. It's like having a cheetah in your spare bedroom - it never has room to move. Not that I've ever kept cheetahs - they can't swim enough.

 

[threecharacters]

14 years is a good long life for an aquarium fish. Bala sharks often don't make it past 10 years. I think it might just be approaching the end of its life.

I don't know what your bandwidth is these days, but I strongly consider getting some loach buddies for the clown loach. Preferably other clown loaches. The clown loach has many years left. They can hit 30 years old. They can get up to 8-12 inches long but 6-8 inches is more typical in the aquarium. It would be a shame for it to spend that time alone.

In a 125 I would recommend getting 5 more clown loaches, maybe more.

 

[Sanityassassin]

13 or 14 years of age is exceptional for a Bala shark. Don't beat yourself up too much about it.

What you need to do now moving forward is get some more clown loach. As mentioned clown loach are a social fish, it's about time your single clown had some pals.

 

[BalaClown]

So, do I just Wait for him to pass, or remove him and put in freezer? A local store here mentioned that. I’m hoping he will improve with water change and the things we added to help him…advice? And again, thx.

 

[Naughts]

Never freeze fish, they might be conscious as the ice forms crystals in their bodily tissues, which would be painful.

 

[threecharacters]

So, do I just Wait for him to pass, or remove him and put in freezer? A local store here mentioned that. I’m hoping he will improve with water change and the things we added to help him…advice? And again, thx.

You could wait for him to pass or you could euthanize. Do not put in the freezer directly as this is a slow, cruel death.

The non-violent option is to use clove oil. You can find directions for how to do this online. You will need to remove the Bala from the tank to separate container and euthanize him there. Make sure the clown loach is not exposed to the clove oil.

The violent option is to take the Bala out and give it a good sharp smack on the head with a blunt object and then spike it in the brain with a knife or other sharp pointy object. This sounds gorey and awful, but its actually fast and humane.

You'll want to wait until you're 100% sure he won't make it to euthanize. You don't want to jump the gun.

 

[BalaClown]

Never freeze fish, they might be conscious as the ice forms crystals in their bodily tissues, which would be painful.

Thank you for telling me that something the fish store definitely neglected to inform me of. I guess I will just ride it out? I’m just coming out of Covid and I’ve done everything possible today and I feel helpless and sad seeing him this way.

 

[BalaClown]

You could wait for him to pass or you could euthanize. Do not put in the freezer directly as this is a slow, cruel death.

The non-violent option is to use clove oil. You can find directions for how to do this online. You will need to remove the Bala from the tank to separate container and euthanize him there. Make sure the clown loach is not exposed to the clove oil.

The violent option is to take the Bala out and give it a good sharp smack on the head with a blunt object and then spike it in the brain with a knife or other sharp pointy object. This sounds gorey and awful, but its actually fast and humane.

You'll want to wait until you're 100% sure he won't make it to euthanize. You don't want to jump the gun.

OMG I could never do the violent option. I don’t have that in me and I’m a pretty strong person. I’ve been through lots in my life including fighting cancer, but that’s not some thing I am designed to do. I’m praying that if it’s a natural death, he goes fast. Everything I did today took all my strength as I’m just coming out of 2 1/2 weeks of Covid and pneumonia We also lost some cats over the past three years. Our one cat loves to sit every night and watch the fish and they come up to her. They’ve been living together for as long as they’ve been together. Let’s just hope this poor guy goes on his own. Thanks for responding!

 

[Sgooosh]

one time one of the small fish in my tank lost balance because the tank temperature changed too quickly...
is the heater plugged in/working?

 

[BalaClown]

one time one of the small fish in my tank lost balance because the tank temperature changed too quickly...
is the heater plugged in/working?

We took the heater out along time ago but the temperature I’m told it’s OK it’s about 77 degrees. When we did our partial water change earlier, we made sure to use some warm water to keep the temperature steady. There’s been some life changes and I believe our heater is in storage. If you guys think I should get another one I will.

 

[Byron]

Regarding the clown loach/loaches, I am going to offer quite different advice. Namely, do not get more. First, assuming this is a 5 or 6 foot tank, it is not sufficient space for mature loaches that should be in groups greater than six, but this means an 8-foot tank is bare minimum. Looking ahead, this is not going to work on this aspect alone. Second, the group of loaches must be added at the same time, so a natural hierarchy forms. One loach will be the alpha, and the others will know it. This is a basic inherent nature of all botine loaches. [Botine is my term for all species of several genera that are basically "loach" shaped, it has nothing directly to do solely with Botia species.] After the considerable time that has elapsed with this clown on his/her own, adding others (which will also likely be smaller/younger) could cause the matur loach to decide they are not welcome. That will not be very nice to witness. This is probably a situation where it is kinder to the fish to leave well enough alone. I certainly agree that being the lone loach is a very serious detriment to the fish, but this in not reversible so it may be best to leave well enough alone.