Bala Shark Issue... looks as if he's shedding...

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
C

CrystaliZed

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 22, 2010
139
0
0
VA Beach
I'm not sure what's going on, but my one 10" Bala Shark looks as if he's shedding like a snake would... I have 3 this size and they were all acting fine until tonight I noticed the one constantly with his mouth open and this "shedding" going on... the others are shedding as well, but not as seriously but don't have their mouths constantly open. I know this one did hit something as he has a bit of a sore on the tip of his mouth.

I'm not sure what to do... These 3 were pretty beat up from a Cichlid that was brought in the tank a couple wks ago, but she can no longer get to them. I have been having a small problem with ammonia, running at .5-1.0 and my nitrites are a bit high... the tanks cycle is only about 7-8 wks old. I've been keeping a daily watch on it... but I'm worried at this point...

pH - 7.0
Temp - 82 degrees

I don't wanna start medicating the tank and messing things up, so I'm hoping someone real knowledgeable w/ Balas or tropical FW fish in general can help...

:confused:

Here are some photos...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/illusiveongaku/IMG_8017.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/illusiveongaku/IMG_8015.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v241/illusiveongaku/IMG_8018.jpg
 
Man thats a lot of bio load for a tank that is only 2 months old and its clearly not cycled if you have any nitrites, and ammonia. I lost 4 bala's due to poor with the same params as yours. They started to get red fins and died. But mine where babies. I would say do more water changes and treat with prime.

Not to mention that at that ph and temp the ammonia is even more toxic.

What size tank is this, maybe there is not enough volume to account for the bio load.
 
Wow are those 3 Bala's in a 55? Or were they moved already to the 180 like it says in your tank setup? My best guess would be a bacterial or fungal infection, but I'm really not sure
 
I had 3 half that size in a 55 and it was not good for them at all. They are big and love to swim fast. It's kinda inhuman to keep them in that tank at that size. I would do water changes until it gets no nitrites and then add a little salt to help with the brown blood poisoning.
 
nfored;5133652; said:
I had 3 half that size in a 55 and it was not good for them at all. They are big and love to swim fast. It's kinda inhuman to keep them in that tank at that size. I would do water changes until it gets no nitrites and then add a little salt to help with the brown blood poisoning.
Click to expand...

I agree, I currently have 3 in a 55 and even though their all only around 5 inches, i feel like they would be much better in a bigger tank, so I'm getting a 150 within the next month or two. And yes try and do your best to get the nitrites down by doing more water changes.

And one quick question: If they are still in the 55, did you buy them at that size or have you raised them from a smaller size?
 
When I first started I had six 2" sharks in my 55 after dying out through the cycle I 4 left, then the night before I moved everyone to their new big house the largest one jumped out and died.

I personally feel that its due to a combination of my noob keeping them in an uncycled tank, and having so many fish in such a small space, that my bala's today are only 8" after around 2.5 yo 3 years.


Also your recycle could be from taking some of the bio media out to cycle the 180. I took out a small handful out of my 220 to cycle a 29 gallon and had an ammonia spike,
 
Ya, I was kinda thinking there was no way THREE Bala's could reach that size in a 55, I saw just one 10 incher in a 55 at my LFS and it looked so cramped and had very little swimming room, I couldn't even imagine what 3 would be like.

I'd hope that by the time my 3 Bala's reach that size they would all be in at least a 200 gallon aquarium....
 
Yes, they've reached that size in the 55, that's why I'm trying to move them to the 180 but the 180 isn't fully ready yet... it was a body & mouth fungus from what I've researched and I did do a Melafix treatment since I was told not to do any water changes b/c the biomedia isn't fully cycled. The tanks only about 7-8 wks old. I also didn't wanna add any medicines to mess up the biological state of my tank as well. By the time I went to get Melafix, he died. The other 2 also have this "shedding" going on but it's slight... I dunno if their gonna make it to be honest. I'm doing the normal Melafix dosage for a week and guess we'll see where I'm at. I feel horrible that I can't get them moved into the 180 any sooner and I have no idea what else to do.
 
Your fish are suffering from Ammonia Burn.

You need to keep doing consistent water changes, and I found that adding stress coat helps because of the Aloe in it.

Melafix, and Pimafix are junk.
 
mshill90;5134112; said:
Your fish are suffering from Ammonia Burn.

You need to keep doing consistent water changes, and I found that adding stress coat helps because of the Aloe in it.

Melafix, and Pimafix are junk.
Click to expand...

:iagree:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom