Lost My Bala Shark Today

[nez2768]

I noticed on Saturday day my Bala shark was swimming strangly upside down and not feeding (i feed the community fish twice daily), by last night he was really suffering lying on his side but still trying to swim. I felt absolutely helpless and found him dead this morning. I have had him around 1 momth and untill the last couple of days there seemed to be no problem. My tank is cycled and i change 10% of the water on a weekly basis, tested it to for Ammonia on Saturday and all seemed ok. Can anyone suggest what may have happened?
many thanks.

 

[Fishy friend2]

Bala sharks, are very skittish fish that require large tanks becuase if this, in smaller tanks they are known to bump into things and severely hurt themselves, possibly this could be what had happened

 

[nez2768]

Bala sharks, are very skittish fish that require large tanks becuase if this, in smaller tanks they are known to bump into things and severely hurt themselves, possibly this could be what had happened

thanks fishy friend2, suppose thats a possibility as my tank is only 63 litres, though he was a small shark and i would have had to exchage him when he grew too big. The rest of the fish seem in good health with normal behaviour so hopefully will lose no more fish

 

[fluttermoth]

I'm sorry for your loss

Just to help you prevent any more losses, could you post what other fish are in the tank? Have you tested the water for anything apart from ammonia?

 

[Fishy friend2]

How much and what do you feed him? Have any fish disappeared lately? The symptoms you have provided us with could indicate that it actually could be swim bladder disease, was he attempting to swim up and then just alighted and floated towards the bottom or could he not swim down? Unless this disease was a result in unacceptable levels of ammonia, etc. then I can't see it causing any problems towards the other fish

 

[nez2768]

thanks guys, i have PH test strips so its green Ph7, other fish are albino shark, 2 columbian tetras, 2 glowlights, silver molly, 2 emperor tetras, otto catfish, 7 neon light tetras, 4 rummynose, 2 platys and 2 black & 2 white widows

P.S.
i have lost 1 otto catfish and 2 rummynose that i though i have siponed up but may have been eaten, i did wonder had any other fish ate them??

 

[Tizer]

I can see you have put a lot of time and thought into your stocking, how very odd that the shark died. Sorry for your loss.

 

[Fishy friend2]

Now I see why the bala shark has died, the stocking that you have isnt the best choice for your tank
If you would like me to point out which fish you should return then just say so

 

[nez2768]

thanks, i forgot to say i usually feed the fish aquarian flakes once a day and either JMC high-grow granules or bloodworms the 2nd feed

 

[nez2768]

Now I see why the bala shark has died, the stocking that you have isnt the best choice for your tank
If you would like me to point out which fish you should return then just say so

thanks, there is one Emporer tetra that always chases other fish in the tank but have not seen him actually attack any others, would he be the problem? regarding the swim bladder disease it does sound similar like similar behaviour that you said

 

[Fishy friend2]

would you like me to evaluate on the rest of the fish and the fore coming problems

 

[nez2768]

would you like me to evaluate on the rest of the fish and the fore coming problems

fishyfriend2 yes any advise will be helpful, do you thnk the 3 fish i lost have been eaten? forgot i have an apple snail too

 

[Fishy friend2]

albino shark, I believe that you are referring to Epalzeorhynchos bicolor, Red tailed sharks, but the one you currently own is an albino version. These fish are too aggresive for any tank short of 4 feet as they have been known to attack and kill tank mates. I can speak from first hand experience on this one. they will nip other fish;s fins, and only should be placed with small fast moving fish, So i recommend that you get rid of this fish
2 columbian tetras, columbian tetras are schooling fish and require groups of 6 or more, but they are the larger species of tetras so you cant fully support a proper school of them, once again this is another bad fish for the tank so you should get rid of it
2 glowlights, schooling fish so should be in groups of 6 or more, these fish , you can keep. they are great choices for your tanks
silver molly, mollies get too large, and active for a 63 liter, they also like to be in groups of 3 or pairs so ideally you should return this fish
2 emperor tetras, they are schooling fish and are one of the larger species of tetras so ideally you shouldnt have a full school of them in a 63 liter
otto catfish, pretty fragile fish, just maintain water levels, and they should be fine in your tank
7 neon light tetras, will be fine
4 rummynose, schooling fish and are one of the larger species of rasboras, so the tank cant support a full school of them unless they are the only fish in the tank
2 platys perfect choice
2 widow tetras schooling fish and one of the larger species of tetras so they arent the best choice and you should return them, since your tank cant support a full school of them

so this should be your final stocking,
3 platies
3 otos
7 neons
6 glolights

 

[nez2768]

cheers ff2, i will have to decide what to do then, most of the advice i got was from my local tropical fish suppliers and obviously not all correct

 

[Fishy friend2]

Some members might be able to take them off you, just post on the classifieds