View Full Version : Bala sharks
Kevin714
12-21-2002, 9:46 PM
Do Bala sharks eat plants?
pinballqueen
12-21-2002, 9:48 PM
I don't think they actively try to EAT the plants, but they will pick at the leaves looking for scraps of food (which will poke holes in the leaves....).
Twilight
12-22-2002, 8:45 AM
they are carnavours...........
ArkyLady
12-23-2002, 12:13 AM
Bala sharks are definitely not carnivores, or else my bala shark is insane :D Sure he loves his blood worms and that used to be his preferred food, but he now is crazy for the zuccini I've been feeding to my pl*co. I can put the zuccini slice in there and within a few hours the bala shark has it eaten down to the rind lol
Yep, Balas are Omnivorous.
Kevin714
12-23-2002, 7:45 PM
So will they destroy my plants or not?
pinballqueen
12-23-2002, 7:47 PM
mine didn't do too much damage to mine, but use your own judgement.
BTW, what kind of tank are you putting a bala in? They've got some pretty broad space requirements and might be more likely to pick at things out of nervousness if they're cramped...
I got my balas 4 years ago. They were less than 2" then. Now they are 8". You're gonna need a big tank for them....the bigger they get, the smaller the tank is to them and they get skiddish when there is rapid movement . They realize they are in a confined enviornment and that a possible predator and they have no way to get away. My balas have never touched any plants at all.
dpmac10
12-24-2002, 12:30 AM
hey whats up i have one bala shark and he is about 5 inche's long and he nibles on my plants i don't know if he eating them or not but it looks like it so i would say they do and i have also heard from two local lfs that they do eat some plants.
wishmaster
12-24-2002, 11:49 AM
I'd get at leased 2 more balas, They like the company of there own and are more likely to act nervouse and dart around with only one bala in the tank. They are very good jumpers so be careful and cover the top of your tank.
Kevin714
12-24-2002, 7:21 PM
They would be going in my 90 gallon(4x2), I'm also setting up a 180 in 2003(6x2). I'm not sure I want them though and may wait on a pink tail chalceus. I need something big enough to not be eaten by a snakehead or asian redtail and also won't eat my plants.
Serrateeth_2002
12-25-2002, 5:59 AM
Bear in mind snakeheads and asian redtails will eat anything that fits their mouths,anything slim.
wishmaster
12-26-2002, 9:04 AM
I have never owned a redtail cat but I know they eat anything. I do however know about snakeheads and there is nothing I would put in there with him. Personal experience I had Two clown knifes each around 12" and a 8" red snakehead. They were all one big happy family for about month. Then one day I got home and one of the clown knifes was gone. All that remained was his head. The other clown knife was hiding in the corner of the tank behind some java moss. I figured maybe I wasn't feeding the snakehead enough so I increased his daily intake of food but 3 days later I came home again and found the mid section torn out of the remaining CK. In a nutshell snakeheads IMO kill just to kill, they don't want anything in or around them. However, I still to this day keep a pleco in with my snakehead, they seem to get along okay.