Albino Biker (bichir) took out two balla's

Newbie101balla

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Jul 29, 2006
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So i added a 4 inch Albino biker about 2 months ago and it always got along fine with my other fish then out of no where this morning i woke up and there is a huge hole in one of my ballas on his bottom where his stomack is (this balla shark is like 4 inches and my other balla was floating at the top with a bunch of deep scraches it seems on the same area as my other balla but no hole he's about 3 inches. Wut the heck is going on the only fish that could be responsible for this is the albino biker cuz i dont really have any other big fish in the tank and there all community. Wut would of caused him to do this all of a sudden and not to just one but both

I am so sad cuz i loved my ballas
 
I'm sorry, are you referring to a "bichir"?
 
yes i am
 
Not sure what a "biker" is, unless like rosita said you meant "bichir".

I've had the same problem with my 4'' yellow panchax. Was getting along with all of my other fish absolutly fine, then one day I was watching him, and he was in this weird almost vertical position staying PERFECTLY still.

Went over to the tank slowly to see what was up, and as I was walking over... BAM!! Panchax ambushes one of my ottos before the otto even knew what was happening.

Other than that he hasn't attacked any of my other fish (he trys the danios but they are way to quick for him), and hes a wicked food hog, always stealing the shrimp/algae tabs from my cories and plecos.
 
Currently have 38g with whisper 30 filter
2 balla sharks
3 zebra danios
3 white clouds
2 chinnese algae eaters
1 rainbow shark
3 swordtaits
1 swordtail fry

I think you will find the answer to your problem when you look at your current tank situation. You are terribly OVERSTOCKED! I don't know what a "biker" is but even without it your tank is way way over capacity.

Your 2 bala sharks will get way too large for your tank, think 200+ gallons to make them happy. Get rid of them now before your problems get worse!!

3 zebra danios are fine, why don't you up their school to at least 6 once you get rid of the inapropriate stock.

3 white clouds have totally different needs than the rest of your fish. The rest of your fish are all tropical, requiring higher temps than white clouds which are cold water fish. Get rid of them or set up a smaller tank just for coldwater species.

Your 2 chinese algae eaters will max out at around 12" and become extremely MEAN the larger they get!!! Trust me, I learned this one the hard way. Get rid of them!!!!

Rainbow Sharks only get to about 6" full grown I believe, correct me if I'm wrong. I don't believe a 38g aquarium is a proper home for him.

Your swordtails are fine, quite appropriate for your tank and fun fish to own!!

I think once you address your stock issues you will find that there will no longer be any aggression issues, etc. Good luck!!! Hope you do the right thing for your fishies!!

Elizabeth ;)
 
Hehe bikers can get pretty rowdy, what with all that Jack Daniel's coursing through their bloodstreams and all. In all honesty, I am not a biker, nor an albino, but I think I'd be pretty riffed if someone shoved me into a 38g tank!

Just kidding, but you are having aggression issues due to two things:
1. Pretty heavy overstocking
and
2. Incompatible fish

Please take the advice offered in the thread so that you can turn your tank into a successful one and save yourself a lot of heartache when one of your fish go ape again.
 
Bitsy said:
Your 2 bala sharks will get way too large for your tank, think 200+ gallons to make them happy. Get rid of them now before your problems get worse!!
If I understood the first post correctly, there is no need for that anymore.

Bitsy said:
Your 2 chinese algae eaters will max out at around 12" and become extremely MEAN the larger they get!!! Trust me, I learned this one the hard way. Get rid of them!!!!
How do wounds caused by algae eaters look like?
 
Chinese algea eaters don't eat that much algea, and as they get older they eat even less. So wounds made by them look pretty much like those made by other fish, I imagine.

I have to say that I can't throw the image of an Albino biker ala that bad guy in da vinci code taking out two fish that had gotten too big for their aquarium.
 
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