anyone keep bala sharks?

[Experiment397]

i was making some posts about fish as gifts, and about 6 years ago my grandparents showed up and gave me 3 bala sharks, and 2 pictus catfish, for my 30. i loved having them, but wish i would have known better as to their care, the biggest was 6 inches when he died. so does anyone on here keep balas? and if so can we have tank pix, what do you keep them with, and what are some of your experiences with them. so far mine ranked as my 2 fav fish, right after zorro the ornate pim catfish...
oh and if you go to the san diego zoo, in one of their aviaries they have a giant glass sided pond with probably a few hundred giant danios and a half dozen balas it is the coolest tank ever, especially with the ducks floating on the surface

 

[Chromobotia]

I have 2 Balas at the moment. I had 3 but lost 1 several months ago in a waterchange mishap. I keep them with 10 Clown Loaches.

I like the Balas, but they piss me off. The are currently in my 150 and are skittish like nobody's business, constantly running into things trying to get away as I approach the tank. I had moved them into my 500 but had to put them back in the 150 due to a stand issue with the 500. Once I set the 500 up they will go back into it. When they were in the 500, they were much calmer. I think having lots of space is key for them to feel secure. At some point, I'm thinking of increasing my Bala count to 6 in the hopes that adding 4 more will help also with the skittishness.

You can check out this thread for pics of them in the 500. The pictures are from last winter.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=273105

 

[Experiment397]

nice tank. i never had skittish probs, and they where in a very crowed 30. i think it has to do with live plants

 

[SemperFish]

I've had balas and I love them. I plan on getting more. I lost one that jumped out of the tank. I came home from work and my dog brought him to me. The other two died sort of mysteriously. First, my biggest one (9" long) jumped out while I was cleaning the tank. Once he hit the floor he jumped again and actually went over my head. he mustve taken some damage from the impact because once I got him back in the tank he went upside down but was moving and his gills were moving. I left him there for about an hour and when I came back to check on him the other bala was upside down right alongside him! They both passed shortly thereafter. I dont know if it was some kind of sympathetic die off like dolphins and whales do or what. Ive read that balas do best in groups but i didnt think being alone or even the possibility of being alone would kill one!
After I move and upgrade I plan on getting a small school of 7 or 8.

 

[Experiment397]

i lost one from him jumping too, i think they crush their skulls or something. after i am done with cichlids i am gonna try them again in the 125 with a datnoid

 

[vaine111]

I've had balas and I love them. I plan on getting more. I lost one that jumped out of the tank. I came home from work and my dog brought him to me.

My dog brought me a bass that jumped out of my tank, bad thing is though I just got done feeding the bass and must of just jumped out right before he grabbed him. I probably would of noticed him before he actually died from something other then being in a dogs mouth, not the dogs fault though.

I've always liked balas, but my choices of tankmates wouldn't allow me to keep them untill recently.

 

[SemperFish]

My dog loves my fish. He didnt even bite down on the bala, you could tell it was only in his mouth so that he could bring him to me. He did the same with another fish once too. The only fish he doesnt like is my red devil. He used to be fascinated with him, until he got bit on the nose. Now he steers clear of that tank.

 

[jclyde13]

I have 4 pretty large balas in my 220. They are only 8-9" long, but they're very bulky (with the exception of my smallest one which still has basically the same body shape as it did as a 3-4 incher). They were very annoying as juvies and would always freak out when I turned the lights on, which would spook my aro, but now that they are a little over a year old, they are much more calm and make a nice addition to my tank.

 

[Experiment397]

ya when i had mine they where jumping fools till they hit the 3 inch mark, i got mine as 1.5 inchers from my gpa and gma

 

[jclyde13]

ya when i had mine they where jumping fools till they hit the 3 inch mark, i got mine as 1.5 inchers from my gpa and gma

Mine were still jumpy until they reached about 6", I started out with 2 that were about 2.5-3", then got 2 more maybe a week later that were about .5 to 1 inch larger than the original pair, and after a while, three of them were the same size and one was smaller, and now two are the same size, another is slightly larger, and the other is still noticably smaller than the rest.