Bala Shark Swimming Erratically  12/24/07
Hiya,
<Hail and well met,>
I've had my tank (its 190 Litres or 38 Gallons?) running well for about 10 months now and have the following stock;
3x Silver (Bala?) Shark
2x Ruby Shark
2x Albino Ruby Shark (Can you spot a theme :))
2x Kissing Gourami
2x Koi Angel (was 3x)
3x Glass Cat
1x Siamese Fighter
1x Plec (about 6-8 inches long)
They have all been bought from quite a small size (apart from the Plec) and have grown nicely (a nice size, but nothing too big).
<Famous last words... the Plec and the Bala Shark and the Kissing Gourami are all fairly big animals when mature. The Plec will likely reach 30-45 cm, the Gourami around 15-20 cm, and the Silver Shark about the same. While you may be fine at the moment, long term some of these fish will need a bigger tank. Ruby Sharks -- Epalzeorhynchos frenatus -- are also highly territorial fish, and while having 4 may moderate the worst of their temper tantrums, I'd still be cautious.>
Yesterday I found one of my Koi Angel's dead on the bottom of the tank, so it was removed, and now today on of my Silver Sharks is swimming quite erratically, he'll be upside down one minute and right side the next, and then on his side, you can see that he is trying to get upright whilst he is moving, am just wondering if you can give me any pointers as to what could be causing the Silver Shark to swim like this?
<Many things, but water quality is the thing to check first.>
I've just done a test and the results are below, ill do a water change in the morning but am a little worried at the moment, especially after loosing the Koi Angel yesterday.
pH = ~6.5
Nitrite (NO2) = ~0.10 ppm
Ammonia (NH3/NH4) = ~0.25 ppm
Nitrate (NO3) = ~20 ppm
<The nitrite and ammonia are both far too high. You are either [a] overstocked, [b] under-filtered, or [c] over-feeding. Quite probably all three. In any case, without fixing the situation, more fish will sicken and die.>
Thanks in advance
Regards,
Rob
<Cheers, Neale.>

Bala Shark Missing?
We have 3 Bala shark's as well as a few other types.  We have had them for about 2 months now.  Two of the Bala shark's over the last few weeks have
started to stick to each other as they swim around the tank (we just figured they we mating or fighting with one another).  Today however one is
missing!!  We saw the fish around 11am and around 1pm (few hours later) the fish was gone.  We have looked every where.  We have a full cover on the
tank but we still checked all around in the pump, in the filter, looked around the stand (knowing these fish tend to jump) and the shark is no
where!  I have had fish eat other one's in the past but never so fast without leaving a trace.  Does this sound like a mating or fighting issue?
Do you think the other's could have eaten the fish soo fast without any of us noticing?  We are just baffled!  Thanks for any help. Williams Family
>>Dear Williams Family; Sorry to hear of your lost fishie, it is possible he may still turn up alive. I have seen fish burrow into the substrate or beneath decor in order to avoid aggression, though I've never seen a Bala shark do so. You are correct in the fact that these fish jump, they can sail pretty far through the air. If I were you, I would check beneath all other furniture in the room, as he could have flopped quite a distance. What size is the tank? You should keep balas in groups of 5 or more, they will be much better off. Also, keep your nitrates as low as possible with regular partial water changes in order to prevent disease. Good luck, and I hope he was just hiding! -Gwen<<

Bala Shark Spazzing Out
I currently own 1 Bala Shark in a 55 gallon with about 20 or so other community fish ranging from Dwarf Gouramis to a School of 8 Neons.  I bought the Bala about 8 months ago.  He's been real active, zips across the tank, sometimes chases other fish etc..  (I have a full hood, so no jumping)  I have had no problems with him whatsoever.  I bought him at about 3", he's now about 5 1/2" the last week, It was feeding time and I turned on the light.  He was spazzing.  He was zipping across the tank (sometimes upside down) crashing into the walls etc.  He then shot straight up, tried to jump out, hit the hood, dove straight down and buried himself in the 2" gravel at amazing speeds and smashed into the bottom of the tank .
I thought he was dead and was real scared.  I grabbed my net, scooped him up and started moving him through the water
(His gills were still moving) after about 2 minutes, he sort of woke up and went swimming off.  so It's almost as if he knocked himself out.  So anyways, next couple of days he's fine, swimming fast and active, but not crazy or anything.
this morning, I turn on the light for feeding and he's spazzing again, it's very violent and a bit scary and my girlfriend won't even go near the tank when he does it.  He has no discolorations, no white spots, no "hole in the head" no slime on
the skin, nothing unusual at all about him (or any other fish in the tank).  My PH is currently 7.0, heat is running about 81 degrees, I'm running a Penguin 330 dual bio wheel (which is rated for a 70 gallon tank) I do about a 15-20% water change every weekend (and use some water conditioner and ammonia/ammonium conditioner).  As well as vacuum the tank and clean the filter cartridges.  (Feeding them TetraMin flakes and sometimes bloodworms) (the Bala is not skinny and he is eating)  I'm wondering if this is normal? Is he spazzing because he's stressed out for some reason?  Any help or insight would be appreciated.  thanks Rob Gillespie 
>>Rob, what are your ammonia, nitrite, and NITRATE readings? There are a few things that could be bothering your fish. One, aggression from another fish. Two, a parasite. Three, high ammonia/nitrite or nitrate readings. Four, stray current from a broken heater.
Is your pH always at 7.0? What is your tapwater pH? If your tank pH is a lot lower, there could be a problem in the tank with DOC's. Once you have established that your NH3/4, NO2 and NO3 and pH readings are within normal parameters, we can think about other causes, like a parasite. If you think this is the problem, then you will need to treat with a good quality anti-parasitic medication, like Super Ich Cure or Quick Cure. Read the labels, since some fish need to be treated at half dosage.
-Gwen

Erratic Bala Shark?
Hi,  
<Hello>
I have had one Bala Shark for about 6 months now.  It gets along great with all of my other fish which are: 1 angel fish, 2 Cory cats, 1 pleco, 2 mollies, and 11 neon tetras.  About a week ago I noticed that the Bala sharks behavior was even more erratic than usual.  It is almost a hyper behavior.  It doesn't dart from one side of the tank to the other but it does dart around a bit and is overly erratic.
<Some Balas go a bit "nutty" as they become older.  But, it might be some sort of parasite bothering the fish.  My large iridescent sharks had gill parasites and they would suddenly zip back and forth and kind of thrash a bit.>
It used to be calmer than it is now. It is as if it might be stressed about something. It will jerk around like it is excited.  I went ahead and cleaned the tank and did a water change a few days ago.
<Good plan, sometimes just making sure the fish have new fresh water cures them.>
The pH is at 7 and the temp is at 80.  The temp usually stays in between 76-80.  I have a 38 gallon tank and I just bought a 5 gallon as an isolation tank.
<Very Good!!!  An isolation tank is one of the best investments a hobbyist can make.>
I put the Bala in the isolation tank and started treating it with Quick Cure.  Although, I see nothing physically wrong with it except for the unusual behavior.  I've never seen it act like this before.  Do you have any suggestions for me as to what is going on with it?    
Thanks,   Stacy
<Treat with a medicine a little more powerful (be sure to follow the instructions) I would use Maracide or CopperSafe, Use Maracyn-Two, Maracyn, Tetracycline or TriSulfa to prevent secondary infections from bacteria.  Good luck, and make sure the fish seems healthy before releasing it back into the show tank. -Magnus>