about four days ago i got a bala shark for my 55 gallon aquarium. He shares the tank with 7 tetras, 8 male guppies, 2 angel fish, a gold fish and a chinese algea eater. Since i've had him he has not eaten anything he does not show even the slightest intrest in the food. He is still active but in the last two days i noticed his fins are turning red. all the other fish are fine. the only other time anything like this has ever happened was when my new angel fish would not eat for like two weeks he started again but then stopped for another couple of weeks and then died. the angel fish was different because the other two angels were charging at him and he would try to eat but would either spit it out or stop right before he put the food in his mouth. So i don't think the angel and the bala have the same problem.i'm feeding the bala tetra min tropical flakes which i have always used on my fish. someone please tell me what's wrong before it's too late!
Bala Shark Won't Eat
- Thread starter 55gal
- Start date
kowgirl_kate
New Member
I used to have a bala. I had to give him away cause he was going to grow too big for my tank. He used to eat flakes until I gave him bloodworms for the first time and then he wouldn't touch the flakes after that or he would spit them out. Mine did eat algae wafers in the end, he seemed to like those and of course he loved frozen foods like bloodworms & shrimp.
Yours is probably just fussy like mine was. They seem to prefer good, expensive food.
Yours is probably just fussy like mine was. They seem to prefer good, expensive food.
catxx
Fish Gatherer
he may just be settling, try him with bloodworm. the fins turning red could be a sign of fin rot, where is it turning red? the ends or near the body?
he'll also grow too big for your tank and they're schooling fish.
and you have a very odd mixture in your tank anyway, whys there a goldie in your tropical set up??
don't mean to be critical, it just seems a very odd mixture of fish.
he'll also grow too big for your tank and they're schooling fish.
and you have a very odd mixture in your tank anyway, whys there a goldie in your tropical set up??
don't mean to be critical, it just seems a very odd mixture of fish.
the fins are turning red near the body and i was only sopossed to be keeping the goldie for the summer for a teacher at the school my mom works at but then she decided she did'nt want it anymore because she is not doing a classroom tank this year. how much space does a bala shark need i'm new to fish keeping other than guppies and according to all the websites i've seen they go by that a gallon of water per inch of fish rule which must be wrong do you know an accurate way of telling how many fish are supossed to be in the tank. i don't mind you being critical i agree the mix is odd that's mostly because we don't know much about fish. my mom wanted angels because she thinks there pretty my dad wanted a bala shark (he does not know that they're not sharks) because he thought it would be cool the tetras were his idea also because he had them as a kid. the guppies are there because i did not have enough room in my ten gallon (two of the guppies are from the teacher that gave me the goldfish i had given her two male guppies but she left them with me too) as far as the chinese algea eater i just wanted a bottom feeder i wanted a pleco or a group of corys but dad said he did'nt want a group of bottom feeders and he did'nt want a really big bottom feeder because he does not really like them (although they are my favorite because they seem to have alot of personality) so he brought home a chinese algea eater. there does not appear to be aggresion between the fish. i was wondering if the bala does die will there be enough room for antmore fish if so do you have suggesions on what kind?
catxx
Fish Gatherer
the chinese algae eater is going to be a bigger problem than you might expect.
check this thread under Sucking Loach
http
/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=135919
they are notoriously aggressive when they get bigger, and they get surprisingly large. and don't eat much algae either. i'd take him back to the shop, if you want algae eaters look into bristlenose plecs or otocinclus.
you will also see, once your angels get bigger, your neons may start disappearing. in the wild neon tetras are dinner for angels!
the goldie will not thrive in your tank, they contribute a HUGE amount to your bioload and could destroy your tank water quality wise. i'd rehome him to another tank (min 20 gallons) or find someone else who keeps goldies willing to take him on. If he's a common he can go in a pond, if he's a fancy he'll have to stay in a tank.
bala sharks can grow anything between 12" and 24", i've seen some BIG ones in public aquaria (donated by people who kept them in their home and they outgrew it) so they need BIG tanks. anything with Shark at the end of their name will need research before buying, some are aggressive, some are happy in community tanks but grow big!
check this thread under Sucking Loach
http
/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=135919they are notoriously aggressive when they get bigger, and they get surprisingly large. and don't eat much algae either. i'd take him back to the shop, if you want algae eaters look into bristlenose plecs or otocinclus.
you will also see, once your angels get bigger, your neons may start disappearing. in the wild neon tetras are dinner for angels!
the goldie will not thrive in your tank, they contribute a HUGE amount to your bioload and could destroy your tank water quality wise. i'd rehome him to another tank (min 20 gallons) or find someone else who keeps goldies willing to take him on. If he's a common he can go in a pond, if he's a fancy he'll have to stay in a tank.
bala sharks can grow anything between 12" and 24", i've seen some BIG ones in public aquaria (donated by people who kept them in their home and they outgrew it) so they need BIG tanks. anything with Shark at the end of their name will need research before buying, some are aggressive, some are happy in community tanks but grow big!
Tokis-Phoenix
^_^
If the fins are bloody red then its most likely septicemia (if the fins have bits missing out of them is most likely bacterial finrot). For septicemia you with need an anti bacterial med like Pimafix, Pimafix can also treat finrot if you have it as it treats both external and internal bacterial problems and well as fungal ones.
What have you tried feeding the shark?
You need to buy a test kit for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates and test your water quality and post the stats here, even if the water looks clean, there may be water quality issues going on which is making the bala shark sick- its impossible to know if your water quality is good until you test it. Paper strip test kits are no good, you need one which tells you the exact stats
.
As others have pointed out, you have some problem fish in your tank, the goldfish is one of the biggest. Goldfish will eat any fish that fit into their mouths, so the tetras and guppys will not last long once the goldfish starts packing on the inches. Goldfish are also coldwater or sub-tropical, while all the other fish you have are tropical- so temps will be stressing teh goldfish out.
The angel fish may be so agressive because they have paired up for breeding.
The CAE (chinese algae eater) will be fine when small and young, but as they grow they become more and more territorial and agressive towards other fish and are known to pick up nasty agressive habits like sucking the eyeballs out of fish or eating their protective slime coats off them.
What have you tried feeding the shark?
You need to buy a test kit for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates and test your water quality and post the stats here, even if the water looks clean, there may be water quality issues going on which is making the bala shark sick- its impossible to know if your water quality is good until you test it. Paper strip test kits are no good, you need one which tells you the exact stats
.As others have pointed out, you have some problem fish in your tank, the goldfish is one of the biggest. Goldfish will eat any fish that fit into their mouths, so the tetras and guppys will not last long once the goldfish starts packing on the inches. Goldfish are also coldwater or sub-tropical, while all the other fish you have are tropical- so temps will be stressing teh goldfish out.
The angel fish may be so agressive because they have paired up for breeding.
The CAE (chinese algae eater) will be fine when small and young, but as they grow they become more and more territorial and agressive towards other fish and are known to pick up nasty agressive habits like sucking the eyeballs out of fish or eating their protective slime coats off them.
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