Bala Shark

[betsonmets12]

Can Bala Sharks be put into a 20 gallon community tank. I'm starting a new tank and looking into the future about what i may want to have. I was curious if and how many bala shark would be good for this size tank. Also, what are some other good tank mates for bala sharks.
-thanks

[Watcher74]

Bala Sharks can grow to about 18 inches long. So the answer is no Balas in a 20 gallon.

Sorry.

[FreddytheFish]

Yeah. There's no way. The little ones you see at the store soon grow into big, big ones. :(

[ddayton21]

That reminds me; one time when I was at petco this couple wanted a medium sized bala shark for a 29G tank. The girl working told them the balas were too large for that tank. Well as you know, they sell them in "small" and "medium" sizes. So the couple decided to get a small one for the tank. Yes, they honestly thought the fish came in a small variation.

just thought I would share.

[Red_Belly_Pacu]

I have 8 of them in a 75 gallon..They are really slow growers. From my experience of having them, they will not reach the 12 inch mark in the aquarium as there max size in the wild.

As a matter of fact, it is hard to find Balas that are 8 plus inches for sale at fish stores.

[hgolden]

I just had a 13 inch Bala pass. I started him in a 55g but he soon out grew it! He was in a tank with mostly african cichlids and did very well with them. Only recommend mixing with these if Bala is big! Or africans will beat him up.undefined

[Lady G]

They were most likely slow growers because they were in a tank way to small for them, and in the fish store they are small because they only sell baby ones your most likely not going to see a full grown bala in a fish store. I believe they can grow more like 18 inchs or so. But no in an aquarium they are not going to reach their max size because they will die first from not being able to grow properly.
If I'm wrong about this someone will let you know but IMO DO NOT get bala, they should be kept in groups of 3 or more to be happy and in a MUCH bigger tank.

[Red_Belly_Pacu]

From the books I read, Balas can grow up to 14 inches in the wild. I never saw a 14 inch one for sale. Eight years ago, one fish store had one and it was about that size. That was the biggest one I ever saw. I been keeping Balas for 10 years.

A 75 gallon is 48 1/2 x 18 1/2 x 21 3/8, that is a lot of room for a 6 to 7 inch fish

[Lady G]

How long do the ones you have usually live? I'm not trying to be mean but from everything I have read they should be in at least a 125/gallon (I beleive that is for just one even), and should grow to be at least 14"-15" and live for years.
Look at thatpetplace.com they are called tri colored shark there, or at *****************.

If you really have had them for years..you actually are making me feel much better about myself, I do have 3 but was feeling so guilty that all I could upgrade them to for now was a 55 gallon. Believe me I had WAY to much fish for my tank in the begining, now the only ones I still have are my bala's (which I love BTW), and gourami's. That is why I was so worried about the person getting bala, I lost 4 fish in the begining (2 to death and 2 to new homes) and I know how terrible I felt.

To correct myself it does say they grow up to 14" not 18", and actually should be kept in groups of 6 not 3.

To answer what makes good tank mates, my dwarf gouramis go great with them...but I would say unless you DO plan on going bigger with the tank steer away from the bala.

Just my opiniom,

Gin

[Red_Belly_Pacu]

gstoffer, You told me to go to *****************. I agree with what ***************** said. If you don't, well so be it and go by your opinion. In a paragraph in *****************, it said this about the bala sharks:

"From time to time I hear well intentioned but rather cross advice to new aquarists, who are told something like, "You really shouldn't get Bala Sharks because they will soon grow to 14", and it isn't fair to keep them in a little aquarium." Well they probably won't grow to 14", even with the best of care, but they might grow to 7" and have a nice long healthy life. It will take several years for them to grow to 7". You might start with six of them at about 2.5" long in a 30-gallon aquarium with a few other compatible fish."

[Lady G]

Red Belly, I'm not trying to say you are wrong. I put both place's because I was trying to show how different information is at different sites. You obviously know more than I do about them if you have raised them for 10 years! I am still pretty new at fish keeping and most the information I have is from this site and the sites others have recomended, and in all the places I had been (until now) I had read that they grow that big and had been advised they were one of those fish that should not be kept in a aquarium.
I really am interested in how big and how long yours live and grow, this is for my own "peace of mind" I guess you could say. I assumed mine were growing slowly because I had them in to small of a tank. (In the 30/gallon) now they are going in a 55 so I am hoping they will grow a little more and be happy, they really are a great fish and very active.
Really I wasn't trying to start a "my opinion is better than yours" war, and I am sorry if you took it that way. This is a great site and I have got some very good advice here (actually I think you have answered a few of my questions from time to time).

Anyway to the original persons question though a 20 gallon community tank would be to small right?
Please let me know about the growth rate. :rolleyes:

Thanks,

Gin

[Lady G]

I just had one more question then to Red belly, sorry... but if I have a 55 with 3 bala, 2 dwarf gouramis, and 5 blk skirt tetras can I get 3 more bala so I can have the recomened 6? I never got more because I was advised that I shouldn't even have them in the first place or would it be to late for them to "bond" with the other 3?

Thanks,

Gin

[Candycat21]

Okay to answer the original posters question, forget balas in a 20, they shouldn't be kept in anything smaller than a 90 gallon at first as they need to be in groups and are fairly shy, skittish fish. However once they reach a size of about 6-8 inches, a 180 gallon is the minimum for a small group of bala sharks. Bala sharks are very active swimmers and need tons of swimming space in order to be happy and comfortable.

Gstoffer - You are right by not getting anymore balas for your size tank. IMO you shouldn't even have 3 in a 55 gallon, but I know that's what you can afford right now for them, so I'm proud that you actually care about your fish and are willing to upgrade to the necessary tank size and at least you got them out of that 30! :thm:
Now, unless you are planning on getting a MUCH larger tank here in the next 2 months or so, don't even bother getting 3 more balas. Your tank would be way overstocked if 3 more bala sharks were added. Rather leave the 3 you already have as is.
Now for size. I just want to say that Balas grow very quickly if kept in the right conditions! I had mine in a 46 for a few months until I got my 250 up and running and cycled. While in the 46 they were around 4 inches a piece and I had only had them about 5 months. As soon as I got them into the bigger tank they just blew up in size. They are all now pushing 10-11 inches in little than a years time and are still growing like crazy!!! :clap:
Just because someone has been keeping a certain fish for a long time, does not always mean that they know what is right or do things the right way for that particular type of fish.
I know there are MANY other aquariaists on this site that will agree with me that even a 75 gallon is too small for even 3 Bala Sharks, not to mention the 6-7 that red_belly_pacu suggested!! :rant: !! Yes maybe at first a 75 would be okay to start them out in if they're on the smaller side from the start, but the tank will need to be upgraded at some point, say when each othe sharks start to get around 4-5 inches.
Also, you probably won't find Bala Sharks for sale bigger than 5 inches, but that by no means suggests that they won't GET BIGGER once you get them home!!! It's usually once you get them home and have them for a few months that they start to get bigger.
Honestly, these sharks should live a good 15 plus years if kept in the correct setup.
A lot of the information given on ***************** IMO is wrong, including the info about the Balas.
betsonmets12 stay away from Bala Sharks unless you start off with a larger tank.
gstoffer stick with what you have already. Don't start doubting yourself after this because you were very correct by thinking that Balas were too big for your tank and that you shouldn't get anymore. Rather save up for a larger tank in the future and then you can think about making that Bala school bigger :p:
Good Luck to the both of you and PM me or post a new thread if you have anymore questions! ;)