75 Gal Bala Shark setup

[neutrino]

I had at one time a phantom placo and somehow I ended up stirring the sand up too much and killed him. But Bala didn’t really seem to mind him, but the placo also kept well to himself along with the Chinese Algae eater. I have been told that a gold nugget placo beings they don’t get that big is a suitable addition for Bala shark and decent community fish. As far as the ones you listed, I’ve never considered, but will look into it. ATM though I’m still battling the nitrate issue along with red algae. The lights I have have a day and night light switch. I’ve been keeping the night light on a lot more to see if I can get the Algae under control. Also changing the water as regular as I can and adding some PH solutions slowing as to not shock the Bala. Thanks for the info.

Bala sharks get along with a lot of different fish ime, as long as they're peaceful, so there are a lot of options. Mainly I was trying to say you can add some fish that don't get as big and it should make the bala happier. But the rainbows I got them turn into nice fish, I've had them before. Congo tetras are another, smaller fish I like-- but, again, a lot of options.

...By the way, I've seen them a lot worse overfed than yours, just a small adjustment should fix him right up.

 

[Sassafras]

Being squeezed into that 75, your Bala will never reach its potential. They are big, schooling/shoaling fish.

 

[Backfromthedead]

Try to upgrade your tank to something like 7'x2' or better soon. It's not only that these fish reach a respectable size, the real constraint is that they are such active and fast moving fish, cannot be kept to their full potential in a 75g.

 

[puffers4puffers]

Sassafras
That’s amazing

 

[phreeflow]

That’s like posting up a picture of Shaq as an example of how big humans can get. Most balas don’t get close to that size in captivity.

For now, you can try some Denison’s barbs. They should shoal together and once the bala gets too big, upgrade or rehome it and keep the barbs

Most ancistrus, hypancistrus, and peckoltia plecos stay small. Gold nuggets are hard to keep alive long term.

Ancistrus should help keep your algae at bay. Add more flow across the tank to prevent dead spots to keep algae from growing on your Anubias. Also, up water changes to export excess nutrients and reduce light. Adding floating plants or stems plants will use up excess nutrients also