bala shark problems...

[Brandi]

Hey everybody my sister has a bala shark who's fins are suddenly turning red... and it's mouth is as well... the shark still eats, it has a litle bit of the rapid breathing, but other than that seems fine... anyone know what it is and how to treat it... (even the pet store here doesn't know) Thanks for the help !!!

[Lady Hobbs]

Could be ammonia or could be fungus. Is her tank cycled?

Bala Sharks grow to 12 inches, you know? I have 2 and will have to get rid of mine for sure. They should be in a 100 gallon at the least.

And they are social fish and like to be with several of their own.

[jeffs99dime]

hobbs is right on all accounts!

[Incredulous_Ed]

As hobbs said, It's probably because it needs to be kept in a school

[cocoa_pleco]

are there red lines on any fins like the lateral fins?? Blood red streaks on the fishes belly??? could be hemmophoric septicemia then. Otherwise, they need a school.

[jeffs99dime]

and a VERY LARGE tank

[cocoa_pleco]

yeah. If you want to school them, which is about 5-6 fish, you're lookin at about a 150-175g tank at least. Not schooling them is like keeping one neon tetra by itself. It just wont feel secure.

[Brandi]

So the shark that had the red marks died today... sorry I never made it clear he wasn't alone there are 4 of them and they are all very small right now... the rest are all fine just the one had it one other one had a bit of red but it seems to have gone away.... wierd... anyways thanks guy for the info!

[Lady Hobbs]

Unless her tank is over 100 gallons, she needs to return the others.