Bala Shark with Oscars?

yogias

yogias

www.justgiving.com/susanmoseley
Jan 23, 2007
95
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West Wales, UK
I am upgrading my Oscar tank to a 200lt as they now need the room. I have an Albino and Common Oscar, both around 10" long. They live fairly peacefully ( apart from the odd chase) with Ike, my 4.5" Badass Convict. I also have a 6" Bala shark who could do with a bigger home, as the Silver Dollars he is with are getting a good size. I have read before about Bala sharks being with Oscars, and i know that they could not eat him, but would they still try to kill him? I am rather fond of Bruce as he is a bit of a doofus, and would love to give him the room to thrive, but would hate to see him bullied by the Oscars. My only other option would be putting him in my 96lt tank with my 2 Parrot fish (both around 6"). Any advice/thoughts?
 
to be honest, upgrading to a 200L is a waste.

those fish are going to need at least a 400L tank (about 100 US gallons) at minimum.

your oscars may be aggressive towards the bala, but if they are not currently aggressive with the silver dollar you are probably fine.

but the main issue you have to worry about is tank size.

you will not be able to keep the water quality very good in only a 200 Litre (50gallon) tank with those monster fish.

you MIGHT be able to get away with a 90 gallon (aprox. 375L) but it would be marginal.

keeping giant fish in a 90 CAN be done (I do at the moment) but it takes experience.

there is not much room for error.

hope this helps!
 
I'd have to agree^. Those guys need big tanks. Its a lot of work setting up a new tank, better to get the big tank rather than another intermediate one. As far as the Bala goes... I'd not keep just one personally, but a large shoal of them will probably need a 6' tank at a minimum. If your oscars arent showing much agression youd probably be ok, but it is a risk. A fully grown bala a foot or more I'd not worry about, but I'm guessing yours might already be stunting.
 
Just want to explain the conversions above, no offence but their not completely correct and when I was a newb they really confused me LOL

375l is EXACTLY 100US Gallons
200l is about 53g
a 90g is 337L
 
get a 120 gal and ur okay...
i know my litres but since i've used this web sight i know my gals.
if you dont have the room get the 200 litre but custom and make is hella higher... maybe double..
 
we really need a liter/gallon conversion sticky. maybe at the bottom of every thread.
 
The oscars will definately need a much larger tank as they can reach 14 inches or more. The main thing with these larger fish is the front to back measurement of the tank. Larger fish need a tank of at least 18" wide so when they reach maturity they can turn around in the tank. Its a good idea to put dither fish in a cichlid tank, but these dither fish need to be able to flee to a secure hiding spot when they are chased. So the larger the tank the better for your oscars and all other fish in the tank.
 
Mij said:
The oscars will definately need a much larger tank as they can reach 14 inches or more. The main thing with these larger fish is the front to back measurement of the tank. Larger fish need a tank of at least 18" wide so when they reach maturity they can turn around in the tank. Its a good idea to put dither fish in a cichlid tank, but these dither fish need to be able to flee to a secure hiding spot when they are chased. So the larger the tank the better for your oscars and all other fish in the tank.
Click to expand...

Dithers with oscars are a waste of money. They will be food. I have heard of oscars eating giant danios even.

Lukee said:
get a 120 gal and ur okay...
i know my litres but since i've used this web sight i know my gals.
if you dont have the room get the 200 litre but custom and make is hella higher... maybe double..
Click to expand...

Not ok really. Bala sharks alone grow to a foot and need to be in groups to feel more comfortable.

The oscar and convict could work in 120 gal. though I am not sure about compatibility though as I have no experience there...
 
wataugachicken said:
we really need a liter/gallon conversion sticky. maybe at the bottom of every thread.
Click to expand...

True. Although the approximation that 12V made was plenty close enough IMO.

Easiest way to do conversion for almost anything... google. You dont have to remember were a conversion chart is or website calculator. Just got to google (or the google bar if you have one in your browsers toolbar) and type in the search "400 liters in gallons" or "100 gallons in liters". Its pretty easy, will do basic math and just about any conversionn you want. Just remember in is the operator that tells google your trying to express an answer in a different unit (gallons, liters, imperial gallons, quarts, cubic inches, etc.).
 
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