ive got two smaller bala sharks that i've had for about a month and a half. ive just noticed in the past few days that one of them seems to be much darker than the other, almost black...is this a dominance thing? ive been doing a salt treatment for ich, so maybe its the salt that is doing this to his coloring, but i just wanted to see if there was maybe something wrong with him? thanks!
bala shark darker than other?
- Thread starter iamsquatty
- Start date
Does your tank currently have White spot? If not why are you treating the tank for it?
As for 2 Bala Sharks in the tank, what size is the tank as these fish get rather large and very aggresive towards other members of their species.
As for 2 Bala Sharks in the tank, what size is the tank as these fish get rather large and very aggresive towards other members of their species.
yes treating your'e tank for no reason is not good practice. I dont think it is anything to worry about, is he/she feeding normally, is it behaving normally? What tank size are they in what other fish are in the tank? These fish get a good 10inches+, so be ready to upgrade.
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i am not treating my tank for no reason, a week ago i noticed the tank had ich and i am treating it with the salt treatment and raised temperatures, im not going to treat my tank for a disease for no reason.
squatty, color changes can indeed be a display. However, it would be accompanied by lots of chasing and biting, so you'd know for sure. It sounds to me like the bala's actually stressed. That's another reason fish will change color, either going to really pale white or dark almost black when they're feeling ill. What size tank is this? Bala sharks are active, fast-swimming fish that really need large tanks.
Well lets start with this... I have kept balas my entire time in this hobby.
The color change may very well be normal. I have seen this happen in almost all of my sharks. When you first buy them at the LFS they are nice pretty, fins are transparent with a perfect black stripe on them. They stay like that for awhile but then begin to change. They will darken and sometimes even lighten back up for no reason.
If they are showing no signs of stress, water params are good, and no signs of disease, I wouldnt worry too much about it.
One note, when they get around 4" they will not be as shiny as they were when you got them.
The color change may very well be normal. I have seen this happen in almost all of my sharks. When you first buy them at the LFS they are nice pretty, fins are transparent with a perfect black stripe on them. They stay like that for awhile but then begin to change. They will darken and sometimes even lighten back up for no reason.
If they are showing no signs of stress, water params are good, and no signs of disease, I wouldnt worry too much about it.
One note, when they get around 4" they will not be as shiny as they were when you got them.