Ok so im working today minding my business. Then i get the call from my girlfriend... "the guy from the fish store stopped by my work to tell me he got in big freshwater fish". I had to get fish food anyways so i drop by and there are 2 big 9"+ bala sharks. I got both for 70 bucks. Did i get ripped off or is this a good deal? I was told they will eat just about anything and aren't aggressive. Anyone know how big these actually get? I read like 7" and mine are bigger than that. Anyone who has big guys, is there any special care? What do you all think of them? They are kinda cool and very active, but not exactly monster fish, but I'll try to get some pics later
Big bala sharks
- Thread starter brich999
- Start date
The most ive heard is they can get anywhere from 10" up to 20"..
They do best in schools of 3 or more.
The minimum tank size i've heard is at least 120g for adults.
Temp 72f-84f.
(http://www.balashark.info/bala_shark_care.php)
They do best in schools of 3 or more.
The minimum tank size i've heard is at least 120g for adults.
Temp 72f-84f.
(http://www.balashark.info/bala_shark_care.php)
Bala's are nice fish. They can definately get very large, i've seen some around 15" and they are quite thick and quite tall at that size also. I would say they are similar to that of a huge tinfoil barb in personality and movement. They are very fast swimmers and unfortunately they spook easily and have a tendency to jump straight up when they spook.
They are not aggressive but will eat things they can fit into their mouth. They will not defend themselves though. Think really really HUGE minnow.
They do better if you have two or more together, they do seem to have some schooling behavior but it doesn't seem critical to keep them in a school.
As far as price goes that's a little high but not bad, once they attain some size to them like yours they can fetch a good amount of money if they are really nice looking fish. Usually one's that are about 3" here sell for around $9.00-$10.00 or so.
They are not aggressive but will eat things they can fit into their mouth. They will not defend themselves though. Think really really HUGE minnow.
They do better if you have two or more together, they do seem to have some schooling behavior but it doesn't seem critical to keep them in a school.
As far as price goes that's a little high but not bad, once they attain some size to them like yours they can fetch a good amount of money if they are really nice looking fish. Usually one's that are about 3" here sell for around $9.00-$10.00 or so.
I don't think you got ripped off, but I wouldn't have paid that for them because I don't like them. Small balas are usually in the 10-15 range around here. I see very few large healthy balas, the people who usually buy them are noobs with small tanks. I know you have been looking for large fish so they will be okay with almost anything else you get, excepting a catfish with a large enough mouth.
I've had two for 5 years now and they are about 1 foot long. They grew very fast at first now growth has slowed to almost nothing. I would love to see a 20 incher but I'm doubtful they get that big.
As you can see from the pics they eat just about anything
Mine love Brussels Sprouts, Aro sticks, massivore, algae wafers and they occasionally grab a mouse or two when I'm feeding my gar.....
As you can see from the pics they eat just about anything
Mine love Brussels Sprouts, Aro sticks, massivore, algae wafers and they occasionally grab a mouse or two when I'm feeding my gar.....I think it was a good deal, they cost between $5-$10 for babiesbrich999;5128719; said:
The more of them the more secure they'll feelbrich999;5128719; said:
I think 70$ was a little expensive. They get harder to sell when their big and I've seen 10 inchers for 20$