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All new bala owners please keep in mind that these are schooling fish, in the wild they are in groups of hundreds, so to be fair to them, keep them in groups of no less then 6 in aquariums at least 24 inches wide and 72inches long.

Thanks for your answers
she has decided to have the 6 silversharks with the 6 clown loaches.no more fish will be added.

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I know human beings and fish can co-exist peacefully.

You gotta have Clown Loaches

Silver Dollars would also be good with the sharks.

how about some clown loaches
i too agree with the post aove
why dot you try and get your friend to go on fp

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''All the clown fish and yellow tangs in the world cant save you now!''

I know this is kind of late but putting Tiger Barbs in a tank with Balas is probably not a good idea. Tigers are fin nippers & Balas have big fins, especially when they get larger. Even if you have a school of Tigers, they will eventually become comfortable & will most-likely start harassing the Balas.

As far as putting 6 Balas in a 140g tank, I would strongly recommend against it. I have a 215g tank & I have 4 Balas (along with Clowns) & I wouldn't think of putting more in it. Balas require a LOT of swimming space, especially when they get older. Having 6 of them in a 140g tank is too much. I would recommend a maximum of 3 for that tank.

FLIPPER

Last edited by Flipper1987 at 29-Dec-2004 23:19

...i thought of that...tiger barbs seems to be the best choice...thank you john
Robby

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I know human beings and fish can co-exist peacefully.

Hmm..... Maybe tiger barbs. The clowns will try to play with them.

Ok..thanks...then i will tell her to go with 6 of them
She also wants to know if she can have a school of some other small fish.middle/top.any suggestions?
Thanks,
Robby

Last edited by robby1619 at 24-Dec-2004 07:27

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I know human beings and fish can co-exist peacefully.

I don't think that's really optimal... I think a group of 6 would be much better.

The friend of mine asks if its ok to have 8 silver sharks
in the 140g,or will this be to many?
she has 6 clown loaches.
Robby

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I know human beings and fish can co-exist peacefully.

And even that's pretty small for them - everyone agrees they hit 12", and many go to 14" or even 18". Even at a foot, putting a group of Balas in a 6'x2' tank is like putting zebra danios in a 6"x2" box!

-Molly
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Hello,
A friend of mine has a 140us Gallon tank and she has 5 silver sharks in it.She would like to know what kind of fish can she have with the sharks?
Is SAE and pearlgourami a good choice?
Robby

Last edited by robby1619 at 15-Dec-2004 01:35

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I know human beings and fish can co-exist peacefully.

"Balas should not be kept with anything that will be overly aggressive towards them "
Well, of course, I expect people would know not to mix overly aggressive fish with community fish. I kind of assume that is a no brainer.

BrTaylor- What do you mean tank limit for Balas?
Do you mean minimum size tank required- or do you mean, maximum number of balas in a tank?
Minimum size tank for a bala shark is a 5 foot tank- preferably 75 gallons or larger.
I would not put any more than 2-3 Bala sharks in a 75g tank though- I keep 3 in a 90g, I think KeithGH keeps 3-4 Balas in a 80+ gallon tank.
The maximum number of balas you could have depends on tank size. Like I said, I wouldnt put more than 3 into a 90g tank, but you could probably put 6 in a 125-150g, and then add 2 more per additional 50g of tank space.
I hope that answers your question.

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whats the tank limit for silver sharks?

RTB Sharks are not good tank mates for Balas

i dont think that's necessarily true. i've got my balas in a tank with a rtb shark and i've never had a problem

You can keep pretty much anything with Bala Sharks

This is not exactly true Sneaky Pete...

Balas should not be kept with anything that will be overly aggressive towards them as they are easily stressed and tend to jump out of the tank or bash themselves against the sides in an attempt to get away. RTB Sharks are not good tank mates for Balas, nor are the other sharks that tend to be aggressive towards anything with a similar body shape.

I have also heard that some people believe that Balas eat small fish such as Neons (in fact that is how I got two of mine for free ) But I have never seen anything that would lead me to believe it is true. In fact, I think that Balas would probably very much enjoy being the biggest fish in the tank as long as their tiny tankmates didn't pick on them too much!!

L.

Thank you guys for your quick replies.
She decided to go with pearl gouramis and clown loaches..then later add some more fish.
Robby

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I know human beings and fish can co-exist peacefully.

Go with the Clown Loaches. At the suggestion of John and others I've just added 6 to go with my balas in a 125 gallon and their doing great.

a few more silver sharks would be nice... and a bout 6 clown loaches... more if you like them.

You can keep pretty much anything with Bala Sharks.
Some people say not to keep tiny fish like neons with them when they get bigger. Mine are not interested at all in other fish. They are peaceful and friendly and get along with my Pearl Gouramis, and my SAE's, as well as tons of other fish.


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