Wife came home with a Bala shark that i have been telling her not to get.. but she had to have one because "they have such pretty tails" lol.. anyway i herd these suckers grow to be like a foot... right now i have 2 silver dollars, the bala and 3 neon tetras in my 55 gallon... am i going to have enough room?
The wife bought a Bala shark.. how big is this thing going to get?
- Thread starter Jeffd1979
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Here's the AC species profile of the bala shark...
http://www.aquariacentral.com/species/db.cgi?db=fresh&uid=default&ID=0487&view_records=1
It says they should be kept in a group with its own kind or other large fast fish... if they're not kept in a group they will get scared and over stressed... They grow to over a foot long...
IMHO you should take him back, go with your wife and look at other fish that she thinks are pretty looking. Write down the names and then come home and research them. Guppies have pretty tails, and you could have a lot of them in your tank!! Good luck!
~Tara
http://www.aquariacentral.com/species/db.cgi?db=fresh&uid=default&ID=0487&view_records=1
It says they should be kept in a group with its own kind or other large fast fish... if they're not kept in a group they will get scared and over stressed... They grow to over a foot long...
IMHO you should take him back, go with your wife and look at other fish that she thinks are pretty looking. Write down the names and then come home and research them. Guppies have pretty tails, and you could have a lot of them in your tank!! Good luck!
~Tara
Ya it says silver dollars go good with it and there are 2 of those in there as well so he will probably be ok... I may just keep him and when he gets to large it will just be an excuse to get a 75 or 100 gallon tank
now the question is.. how long will it take for a fish like that ro reach the 13 inches?
Good plan but go for broke and look at something around 180+g for a full grown bala and silver dollars. you'll want to get a second bala anyhow.
My experience is that bala's take about 3 years to reach full size in proper housing. this also depends largely on feeding and type of food.
The Bala definitely needs more room. I would go as far to say that AC's profile is a little lenient. By this, I mean 70 gallons really would be a bare minimum for this fish. Many keep these fish in 100+ gallons.
I understand that balas can get even larger than the oft quoted foot or so. it is the limitation of space that means they don't get larger than that in most cases, but at the expence of the length of thier lives.
I have heard of 2 1/2 foot balas in public aquariums where they had room for them
I have heard of 2 1/2 foot balas in public aquariums where they had room for them
While your bala shark is compatible with the silver dollars, it doesn't mean he's happy by himself. Bala sharks need their own kind. Your neons need some more friends as well, they don't do well with less than 6. When the bala shark grows larger, it may eat your neons.
The big one doesn't do this 
Bala Sharks grow to about a foot but need more space than some other foot long fish because they swim around constantly and quickly.
I believe they have a taste for small tetra too. A couple of my cardinals dissappeared completely!
You do need more than one of them too.
I believe they have a taste for small tetra too. A couple of my cardinals dissappeared completely!
You do need more than one of them too.
Perhaps you can replace the bala shark with a nice redtailed black shark. They only get to be around 6 inches so a 55 gallon would be great. Plus they are more bottom dwellers so that puts fish in another spot in the tank. Just don't get any other bottom dweller with that similar shape. And the RTBS shouldn't eat the neons.