FishProfiles.com Message Forums

Ok, this is a wierd question. It's wierd because I WORK at the local chain petstore and and am generally pretty knowledgable about fish but this puzzles me.

Every week we order bala sharks, both baby (about the size of a zebra danio) and slightly older (about four inches). They always die. Not all at once, but one at a time. They will all be swimming along quite happily, and then one will either start spinning in circles or twitching on it's side for several days before dying. Then a couple of days later another will do the same. It's extremely depressing as these fish seem very healthy in every other way (eating well until they are stricken) and we have yet to find a way to stop or reverse it.

Our water is kept at between 6.8 and 7.4 pH, with zero nitrites and ammonia. Nitrates never rise above 40, and they're usually well below that. There is a small amount of salt in the water. Hardness and alkalinity are moderate. We've tried adjusting the current in the tanks, changing ornaments (adding more plants, etc.) and pretty much anything else we can think of, but nothing seems to save them.

Please help!

I'm so adjective, I verb nouns!

Sounds remotely like NTD. I wouldnt be surprised that considering how popular something called "shark" is that they'd be the next to start having serious issues with NTD.

If not that then I'd look @stress as well. Bala sharks are extreamly active fish, and knowing most LCPS and LFS's I know they're often kept in very small tanks. Yes I know they're young still IMO that doesnt matter. The fish are active and keeping them in anything less than a 55 short term I have a feeling stresses them.

^_^[hr width='40%'] Only 13 dives and they're already calling [link=me]http://babelfish.qwertydigital.com/" style="COLOR: #EB4288[/link] a
[/font]

Does your store put those little cups of salt in the tank like many chain stores seem to do? Even if they are in other tanks that are in the same system, they can hurt the balas.

If your store uses those, take them out immediately, as they are most likely what's causing the mysterious deaths.

---

I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Are balas really that sensitive to salt? We do not put salt in cups (any more) but rather in the main sump for the benefit of fish such as mollies; but since all 120 tanks are hooked up to the same sump, the salinity in all the tanks is equal. We keep it about .18-.2 all the time. This doesn't seem like a high level of salt to me, but am I wrong?

I'm so adjective, I verb nouns!

If by "0.18 - 0.2" you mean a SG of 1.018 - 1.020, then that is almost pure seawater. I hope you mean something different.

It's best not to put any salt in the water, because so many of the fish we keep in our tanks come from water that has very little or no sodium chloride in it (though it may or may not have other salts in it).

Dilute the salt from your systems at work; there is absolutely no need for it in freshwater (tapwater contains any "freshwater" salt that the fish may need), and it may actually be hurting your fish.

---

I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

No, I don't mean that! LOL
I mean, using an aquarium pharmaceuticals salt level test it shows up as .18, I cannot remember if this is PPM or % but this is the level that head office requires we keep the salt at, and all the tanks are connected to the same sump so we cannot lower it in a certain tank. It is, IMHO, a bit low for the mollies, but management I guess has decided that this is a happy medium to keep the brackish fish (mollies, etc) and the freshwater fish (tetras, barbs, angels, the lot) happy. I can't change the salt, nor can we stop selling balas as they are "required" for us to have in stock at all times...

I'm so adjective, I verb nouns!