Distressed Bala Shark Please Help

[Anthonyswaddle]

Whilst attempting to feed fish my bala shark was startled jumped and hit the lid of the tank now its swimming CRAZY and cant balance keeps turning upside down does anyone know what i should do please help
Cheers
Tony

 

[Lillefishy]

Turn off the lights & leave it to calm down it will be stunned for a while

 

[fluttermoth]

Sorry to hear about your fish, Tony
 
Unfortunately, bala sharks are a very skittish fish and if it's injured it's head and, possibly, its brain there won't be anything you can do.
 
However, you could try leaving the lights out and the tank in peace and quiet, and if it's just shocked its self, then it might recover, given time and rest. Fish can be remarkably resilient.
 
One thing I would caution you on; bala sharks grow very big, and are shoaling fish so, if the worst comes to the worst and you lose it, do please think very carefully before replacing it. These fish really need to be in big tanks (at least five feet in length) and in a group of at least six.

 

[Anthonyswaddle]

Thanks for helping i rescued the two balas from a friends tank they have grown rather large since been great never bothered the tiny fish i also have but now if one goes what should i do with the other ???

 

[wrightt3]

These fish really need to be in big tanks (at least five feet in length) and in a group of at least six.

 I disagree, 5 foot is too small for these fish considering that they are an active fish that can reach a foot in length. That would be like keeping rainbow fish in a 15 gallon.
6ft would be the absolute bare minimum but 8-10ft is what is needed for them to be happy.

 

[Chad]

I agree. Not only do they get large, and are active, but their unique body morphology means they require a larger tank for turning and maneuvering about. I think one could do with a 5 foot tank as long as it was at least two feet wide as well. But that's not a standard size.

 

[Anthonyswaddle]

Wrightt3 dont turn this into a fight who's right its distressed i may have a large tank i never said i just need some advice

 

[fluttermoth]

 

These fish really need to be in big tanks (at least five feet in length) and in a group of at least six.

 I disagree, 5 foot is too small for these fish considering that they are an active fish that can reach a foot in length. That would be like keeping rainbow fish in a 15 gallon.
6ft would be the absolute bare minimum but 8-10ft is what is needed for them to be happy.
 

 
 

I agree. Not only do they get large, and are active, but their unique body morphology means they require a larger tank for turning and maneuvering about. I think one could do with a 5 foot tank as long as it was at least two feet wide as well. But that's not a standard size.

5'x2'x2' is a standard size in the UK 

wrightt, I'm happy to see six foot being quoted, I was just trying to be realistic.
 

Wrightt3 dont turn this into a fight who's right its distressed i may have a large tank i never said i just need some advice

It's ok, we're not fighting
 
The only reason I mentioned tank size in the first place was is that balas are one of those fish that are very prone to injuring themselves in mad dashes, if kept in tanks that are too small, or in shoals that are not large enough. I wanted to try and ensure that this wasn't likely to happen again.
 
If you do need end up needing to rehome one, or two, you could try your local Maidenhead Aquatic store, who are very good at taking in unwanted fish, even if it wasn't bought from them originally, or an advert on Aquarist Classifed (it's free) might find someone with space to take it in.
 
Best of luck; I hope he/she pulls through, they are a very handsome looking fish.

 

[wrightt3]

I wasn't intending to start a fight, I was merely offering some advice and am sorry if I came across in an aggressive way.
 

 
 wrightt, I'm happy to see six foot being quoted, I was just trying to be realistic.

 
 Yeah, admittedly 6ft+ is  impractical for most but exceptionally big fish require exceptionally big tanks and in my opinion, impracticality is not really a good reason too keep fish in inadequate conditions.
Don't get me wrong Anthony, I'm not blaming you for anything (for all I know you could have a 6ft tank) and that was good of you to give the fish a larger home than what your friend was offering it but I would consider rehoming them like fluttermoth said if your tank is too small.

 

[Chad]

That's right, you folks do that metric thing.
 
As for the original question I do think the shark will be fine. They are pretty sturdy in this way.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

It's a coin toss as to if it will recover. I had a discus startled that ran hard into the glass. It went nose down and was never able to right itself. I kept it alone in a 25 gal tank and it managed to live another 9 months or so.
 
If yours is unable to right itself in the near future, it may never do so. They can suffer brain damage If it doesn't, consider euthanizing it.

 

[Anthonyswaddle]

Thanks all for your help its not looking good its stopped swimming its just lying on its back ive segregated it to stop its mate picking and just to let you know its a large 7"x4"x3"wide custom built tank in and old chimney breast double sided affair. All my other fish are small so i wont get new ill just rehouse the other dont want to loose any more i cant bare it .

Once again thanks for all your help

 

[wrightt3]

I'm sorry about the fish

Just out of curiosity, what else do you have in there? sounds like a decent sized tank!

 

[Chad]

I'm guessing it should be 7'x4'x3' instead of 7"x4"x3" then?

 

[Anthonyswaddle]

12 rummy nose 30 neon 6 bronze cory 6 albino cory 15 at last count cherry shrimp 10 black tetra 1 fighter 3 females 10 harlequins 20 or so guppies same mollies and 4 loaches 2 balas ish