stupid bala sharks

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tottenchris

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 1, 2006
23
0
0
Kalamazoo,Mi
i just got 4 3inch bala sharks and they won't leave the side of the tank. they just seem to keep running into the sides of it. what are they doing? the only other fish is a small pleco who doesn't get any where near the balas.
 
How big is your tank?

Balas can be very skittish and timid, they may be just getting used to your tank and are still nervous about stuff. My scat does the same thing and he has been in the tank since July. He is over 2x the size he was when I got him but he is still a scaredy sCAT
 
Sounds like they are simply scared and are trying to escape, try getting them something to hide in. What size is the tank?
 
This may sound like a stupid questionbut what is the temperature in your tank? I've kept Balas for years (Uh, well, decades) because to me they're more glorious than Carp, but they are tropical, and ours are real damned calm when the temps are in the 80's. We keep ours tanks at 82 degrees and let it get higher than lower, and ours eat out of hands and don't crash into things except maybe during water changes.
 
turtall;599282; said:
This may sound like a stupid questionbut what is the temperature in your tank? I've kept Balas for years (Uh, well, decades) because to me they're more glorious than Carp, but they are tropical, and ours are real damned calm when the temps are in the 80's. We keep ours tanks at 82 degrees and let it get higher than lower, and ours eat out of hands and don't crash into things except maybe during water changes.

Good to know, so many Balas aren't taken care of properly. Can you post some pics of your big ones?
 
my tank is 55 gallons. i no it isnt big enough but i got a 150 gallon tank that they will be in in about 6 months. my temp is about 78. this is what i found out on line.
 
Put a big hollow ornament in there or something, maybe some big bushy fake plants?
Also raise the temperature a little to 81-82 F like turtall suggests.

Maybe dim the lights or leave the lights off all together for a while?
Just try and generally calm them down.
Are they eating?
 
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