Mixing small fish with large fish of same type

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Holly9937

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Jan 20, 2005
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So, I have one surviving bala shark from the original 3 I started with years back. One jumped out and I have since fixed the gap, the other I think died from injuries hitting the sides or lid, it was extremely skittish. I had been considering a down grade from the current 180g to something like 125-ish and therefore was not going to replenish the school, but I think I'm just going to keep the current tank.

ANYHOW, I have never seen a bala his size so I think I'm going to have to buy small ones (plus my QT tank is only 20g and a fish his size would kill itself in something so small, IMO). Any opinions on adding 2 small in with my large one?

I also have 3 clown loaches that are pretty good sized and I think I'm going to get 3 more, but they would be quite small compared to what I have unless I want to pay 30-40 a piece which is what they're going for when I've found them close to the size of mine!

Any thoughts? THANKS!
 

SubRosa

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Jul 3, 2009
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Balas are ime one of the few exceptions to the rule that any fish will eat another fish that it can swallow whole. Smaller ones will be fine. Clown Loaches can get pretty bossy when they get larger, so if you add smaller ones the more you add and making sure that there are plenty of hiding spots should minimize any potential issues.
 

Holly9937

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Jan 20, 2005
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I had neons for quite a while that were never touched by the bala : ) But the new additions would not be small enough to be eaten regardless. It will just be such a huge size disparity! I do think a couple more hiding places would help though, thanks for the idea. I have 4 cave type structures right now, but between the 3 clowns the bristlenose and the rainbow shark that I already have, I'll need some more space
 

rufioman

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Aug 16, 2010
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Heath
Two months ago my buddy did this exact same thing. His bala was 5" and he bought 2 at 3" to go in with them and they did fine. It's a 150 and the other occupants are a 9" common pleco and 7" featherfin catfish and the balas are happy as can be.
 
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