# Sharks



## Celeste (May 13, 2005)

my husband used to have a 200 gallon aquarium with about 12 Bala Sharks when he lived in St. Louis. there was a fire in his appartment building on a different floor. they put it out and his appartment wasn't touched, but they wouldn't let anyone back in the building for a week and had all the power shut off to the building. well, the sharks got too cold and they all died.

so he really misses his sharks. i have a spare 20 gallon aquarium that i did have hermit crabs in, but is now empty. does anyone know how to set up a fresh water aquarium for sharks? how many sharks can you have in a 20 gallon tank? what kind of filtration do they need? anyone know of a forum where people might know all this stuff? i don't want to spend a fortune on the setup. the sharks themselves only cost like $5 each for baby ones (about 2-3" long) what's better, one of the filters that hangs on the back of the tank, or an under-gravel filter, or both? i know they need a heater too....

i don't know if i really want to get him Bala sharks though, as i know they get big and we really don't have the room for a 200 gallon aquarium. are there any other species of fresh water sharks that stay relatively small and can live in a 20 gallon tank?


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

Info can be found right here at FISHFORUMS.COM! You did the right thing in asking first... Your right Balas get LARGE (12 inches) and need a lot of space preferably a 125 gallon tank for a small school. Unfortunately stunting fish in a smaller aquarium severely limits thier lifespan. Some smaller sharks would include: Red tailed sharks, Rainbow Sharks, and Flying Foxes also are included in the shark category (although none of these are actual sharks including the bala, they lack the cartiliginous skeleton and have a different reproductive system, just to name a couple differences) I would have to say though, that you'll want to go slightly bigger than 20 gallons... I know money is hard to come by, but saving that little extra will help you prevent an upgrade, and or possibly a failure of the tank. Your best bet would be the redtail, it only grows to be 4" so one could be kept in a 40 gallon or so... and can have several other tankmates. I would do a hang on back filter for filtration for convience.


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## Celeste (May 13, 2005)

whoops. sorry, i originally posted that message on another forum for horses, lol! i didn't read it again before i just copied it over here. 

so i could only have one red tailed shark in a tank? they don't get another with other sharks? one of the reasons he liked the bala sharks was because they all swam in a school together and they looked really cool with a black light, lol! well, perhaps i will have to keep my eyes open for some cheap aquariums. i know someone who got a 60 gallon free, just had to clean it cause it was all grimy with algae.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

Yeah keep your eyes open, especially on ebay... also if he likes schooling fish, then I'd suggest getting a 20 gallon aquarium and getting some schooling community fish such as neon tetras, rasbaras, cardinal tetras, serpae tetras, lemon tetras, tiger barbs, black skirt tetras, danios, or cory cats. Pick one of these species and get 7-15 of them, and maybe a center peice fish such as a dwarf gourami.


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## Celeste (May 13, 2005)

would those fish get along with a betta or some african dwarf frogs? i've seen a betta in a large tank with a school of tetras and they seemed to get along fine. i know bettas can't be housed together because they are agressive, and they'll eat small fish and get picked on by larger fish because they are slow swimmers.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

Betta would be fine with the tetras I mentioned as well as rasbaras... just watch him a while and see if he is getting nipped, usually they are fine though. A dwarf frog would be fine... coarse osteo is going to burn me for saying that. There is a slight controversy in which we disagree if ADF's are safe for fish because of the waste they produce.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Bettas do NOT go well with tiger barbs. In fact, tiger barbs do not fit in a 20 gallon tnak. Whatever schooling fish you get (my suggestions are lemon tetras, danios, neons, cardinals, pristella, but the best schooling tetras are rummynosed tetras) be sure to get 8 or more. The more schooling fish with a betta, the better.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

I never said they went with tiger barbs. And yes, a small school of Tiger Barbs will fit in a 20 gallon long.


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## Celeste (May 13, 2005)

well, my husband is dead set on sharks. i saw at the pet store that they had rainbow sharks (i think those are the ones) and they only grow to be 6" long, so that might be a possiblitity, but my husband said that he had several baby bala sharks in a 20 gallon and when they got too big, he moved them into a larger tank. so i know i can start out with a 20 gallon and maybe 4 little baby bala sharks, and just get a larger aquarium in 6 months when they get too big. i think i'd rather wait until we have the room to get like a 60 gallon though and then just keep like 3 bala sharks in there. would that be enough room for 3 or 4 adult balas?


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## Lexus (Jan 19, 2005)

No its not sorry


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## Celeste (May 13, 2005)

yeah, it would probably be best to just wait until we buy our own house, that way we won't have to worry about moving them all the time, even if i could fit a 200 gallon aquarium in my appartment, which i can't.....ahh well. i'll just keep my eyes open for a big aquarium until then at yard sales and ebay.


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## buddah101 (Mar 20, 2005)

Hi there, I feel sorry about your husbands balas cause I keep em and they are really fun to have. It takes a long time to raise them up and and would be sorely missed if gone. You could keep a couple in a 20 gallon untill they get too big and then upgrade if he absolutely has to have the Bala's again. Here is a picture of my 10 inch bala sharks for him. They supposedly can reach 17 inches but mine have slowed down in growth at around ten. I suppose they will get bigger but I believe the initial growth spurt is over. Well, good luck in what ever you decide to get. Maybe some redtails would be nice but I hear they are kinda agressive tward each other but I don't really know alot about them. 
sharon&balas


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## maxpayne_lhp (Jan 19, 2005)

> they wouldn't let anyone back in the building for a week and had all the power shut off to the building. well, the sharks got too cold and they all died.


Ah that sucked!  :-S
Personally, I'll suggest you to start over and builkd a HUGE tank. a school of 8 BALAS should be so cool! The guys will be very very happy! I currently have 2 of them and they're very nervous! The most nervous guys here! Whenever I approach, argh...! I always want a school of them but...


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