My bala shark died??

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dizzy

Registered Member
Jan 9, 2006
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0
Hi, my bala shark just recently died. I don't know why but all I know is the shark was swimming upside down for like 3 days. It started doing it after I put a little too much food in the tank. Why do you think it died?? The tank is 50 gallon and the Bala shark was about 7inches. There's still one more bala shark alive and he's 7 inches as well. I was wondering if I should by another bala so he can have a buddy. Right now I have 2 kissing gourami's and 1 bala shark in the tank. Appreciate the help as I am a new member!!
thx
JOn
 

DarkEntity

AC Members
Dec 2, 2005
141
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48
Glasgow (ish) Scotland
If a fish starts swimming upside down or what looks like looses its balance in the water then its generally a swimbladder problem.
 

Galaxie

AC Members
Feb 4, 2005
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VA
Might need a bit more info:

How old is your tank?
Any major changes recently?
How do you filter your tank?
You know Bala's grow to over a foot? so 50 gallon is the bare minimum for one, much less two + gouramis.
Could you post your water readings for ammonia, nitrite, & nitrate?
How often do you change the water & how much is changed & do you use a dechlorinator?

Sorry for all the questions, but these should be standard operating procedure for all tank-problem related posts.

thx
 

DarkEntity

AC Members
Dec 2, 2005
141
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48
Glasgow (ish) Scotland
He did state that it was swimming upside down. Which would point to a balance problem.
 

DaisyTattoo

AC Members
Jan 11, 2006
1,395
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51
Illinois
Was his stomach bloated? This can be a sign of overeating. We lost an ID shark this way. He ate too much of my mystery snail :mad:
 

graphicdesign_r

Tact is for the weak.
Oct 31, 2005
701
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In your nightmares.
Look in the "species profile" section for bala shark and you will see that you

a.) Do not have enough bala sharks kept together
b.) Do not have a big enough tank for bala sharks

If it happend after overfeeding, likely the fish overate and this put pressure on his swim bladder, misshaping it and causing the irregular swimming position. Another possibility (since balas are known for it) is that the fish swam into the side of the tank and hurt himself. Balas need lots of room and are vigorous swimmers, which is another reason larger tanks are a better fit.

I would suggest you return your remaining bala to the store and look into more appropriate fish for your tank size.

This site also lists 55 gallons as the minimum for kissing gouramis (which grow to 12+ inches), but I would challenge this and say a larger tank is needed. Especially for a pair, two foot long fish in a 55 gallon is pushing it.
 

Galaxie

AC Members
Feb 4, 2005
571
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VA
DarkEntity said:
He did state that it was swimming upside down. Which would point to a balance problem.
Agreed. Looking for solutions though. Unfortunately, the fish is already dead. I wouldn't suspect that one isolated overfeeding would cause the problem though. Always good to have the basic background info. :thm:
 

quenton

Dennis Smith
Feb 5, 2006
87
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80
Toronto Ontario
I have bala's in my 65G (2) and in my 29g (2 -- waiting to move to the 65).

In both cases I had noted swimming standing on head, rolling over, drifting into strange postures.

In my 65g they gradually stopped doing that -- in my 29g (quarantine tank) they have been doing that for 3 weeks now -- but seem to be gradually (just lately) swimming more normally. I don't know if bala's are prone to this kind of thing or not, but my two experiences say they are.

I am waiting for a bit longer before moving the 2 newer ones to the 65g tank.
 
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