So you want a Bala Shark?

[Lady Hobbs]

You could probably have 3 in a 250 and pray like heck they remain at about 8 inches. The furiously in which they swim is just as big of a consideration as their size and they need a very long tank.

[cocoa_pleco]

dam that one is big. Ive got 3 in my 90g, i bought them with the pleco and tiger barbs off of a ad, they had bad cloudy eyes but with clean water it healed, theyre gonna need the 650g

[Fishead]

I think you would be fine if you had a long 110, I just pulled 3 from one guys 75t and put them in a friends tank that is 110 long and they are about 6" long, they were very happy in the 110. The tank is also filtered 6 ways to sunday.

[Red]

yeah but they also like to be in big groups that is why you need a bigger tank

[digital3]

That pic should be posted in a profile. That way people can see from the get go how big they get. Great find Hobbs!

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

The idea of a "captive" max size assumes improper care. Fish have a genetically predetermined max size, and if they do not reach that while under our care it is because we didn't provide them with the environment they needed to meet that potential. If a fish keeper is determined to keep these beautiful fish then they better be prepared to provide them with a huge tank. I have a 125 but I wouldn't plan on keeping a group of 6 of these for a long period of time.

[Allecto]

In my dream house I'd have humongous indoor ponds, one being for a school of fishies like that one.

I definitely wish they would show pictures like that to all the Wal-Mart shoppers dropping a couple in their ten gallons just because they have a cool name.

[skinni]

found a few more pictures i thought i would add

[kaybee]

I'm unfamiliar with bala sharks.

Without a full tank shot, though, I'm having a hard time appreciating the size of the big one. For example, I can't tell if the smaller one is 3"-4" or 8" or if that tank is a 75gal or a 240gal.

What is the estimated sizes of the large and smaller bala sharks in those pics, and how big can they get?

[Lady Hobbs]

Bala's get about 1 ft and are very, very fast, aggressive swimmers that like to be in a school.