View Full Version : Are my Balas mating?
Prometheus
12-31-2003, 3:05 PM
They are about 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 inches long.... Way too small from everything I've read, but....
They are swiming next to each other (not like normal) above and below, at one point they looked 'stuck'... swiming together but facing opposit directions...
Seems to me like they are mating... but at that small of size?
It would be nice to have babies for the new year ;)
they look sort of like a pair of scissors when they're swimming together?
i had a pair doing that, i never saw anything come of it tho. unfortunately a couple weeks after i noticed the behavior a shovelnose ate one of them. it was a 5 inch fish or so, i thought they were safe....... :rolleyes:
Prometheus
01-01-2004, 1:36 AM
Originally posted by ewok
they look sort of like a pair of scissors when they're swimming together?
i had a pair doing that, i never saw anything come of it tho. unfortunately a couple weeks after i noticed the behavior a shovelnose ate one of them. it was a 5 inch fish or so, i thought they were safe....... :rolleyes:
Yep, that was part of their 'dance' ;)
Sorry to hear about your bala's fate... When mine died, I almost cried...
Mark_b
01-01-2004, 3:19 PM
An interesting article! (http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/show_article.php?article_id=39)
A good link for you mate!
Sounds like you may be experiencing this sort of behaviour although your fish do seem young.
Prometheus
01-01-2004, 4:12 PM
Originally posted by Mark_b
An interesting article! (http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/show_article.php?article_id=39)
A good link for you mate!
Sounds like you may be experiencing this sort of behaviour although your fish do seem young.
Thanks for the link, a great read... I haven't had any tank water changes (parameters I should say) or deviations from the norm... however the time of day is correct, I've seen this 3 times now, and all were around 9 to 10 pm...
I'm going to keep my eyes open for bloating / eggs ect....
Anyone know how long the gestation periods are?
dethjam316
01-01-2004, 7:07 PM
under 3 inches in size? not possible. according this to this site (http://www.geocities.com/wtaf2000/balashark.html) breeding size is in excess of 6 inches. i can't see how a fish that exceeds a foot could be sexually mature at 2 1/2 inches, so i'm going to side with this site. maybe your fish are just being friendly...who knows?
Prometheus
01-01-2004, 8:19 PM
Originally posted by dethjam316
under 3 inches in size? not possible. according this to this site (http://www.geocities.com/wtaf2000/balashark.html) breeding size is in excess of 6 inches. i can't see how a fish that exceeds a foot could be sexually mature at 2 1/2 inches, so i'm going to side with this site. maybe your fish are just being friendly...who knows?
Link is dead...
Everything I've read (except the size) falls perfectly in line with what they are doing now.
In fact, about 5 minutes they were at it again... same times, atmospheric changes (a front just passed over us again) ect. ect.
It's wild, but I think they really are 'doing it'...
Anyways, I'm going to keep a close eye on them and watch for bloating ect. just incase the 'dancing' worked ;) Also I'm going to video it next time...
dethjam316
01-01-2004, 8:31 PM
it's not dead for me. i just clicked it from the usual page...no problems. give it another try, maybe geocities was acting up, wouldn't be the first time. but basically it says 6"+ is breeding size and that they only breed in fish farms and that 'in all probability there is no record of them breeding in aquarium conditions.'
Mark_b
01-02-2004, 1:05 PM
To me it does sound like mating behaviour.
However they probably are too young for anything to come of it. Hopefully they'll still be 'doing it' by the time they sexually mature at whatever age that is!
I have heard though that the breeding process is unknown in Balas and has never been documented in aquaria.
good luck anyway mate!