Bala Shark die-off?

[Pete Stephenson]

I recently purchased two Bala Sharks for my 25 gallon freshwater tank.
The other day, I found one of them floating and dead at the top of the
tank. This was unusual, but not terribly unexpected -- there was a
significant algae bloom, so I would imagine that the bloom was at least
partially responsible for this poor fish's demise.

Upon returning from work today, I noticed that the second Bala Shark was
not actively swimming, as it normally does. Upon closer inspection, it
is lying on it's side on the gravel half-concealed by the artificial
plants. It is twitching and "gasping".

This is, of course, very unusual behavior for a fish, and so I'm rather
concerned. The danios and black skirt tetras are just fine, as is the
medium sized pleco.

I have no idea what is wrong with the Bala Shark, nor do I know what (if
anything) could be done to save it. Any suggestions?

I'm not sure if the condition of this shark is related to the recent
death of the other, but the only thing that I could imagine that would
change the water chemistry would be yesterday's addition of AlgaeFix.
Since the other fish are doing fine, I don't know why this would affect
only the Bala Sharks...

Any ideas?

--
Pete Stephenson
HeyPete.com

[Robert Flory]

I wouldn't use algae fix, anyhting than can hur plants, and Algae fix will
can hurt fish.

I'll swear Excel killed off my Amica Splendens, or something did over night.
None of the others had problems, just $75 of one species gone overnight in a
tank full of healthy fish.

Some of the loaches are sensitive ich treatments.

One never knows until you hit the combination that will do the trick and you
have a species specific die off.

Myself, Ive never lost a fish during a green water attack.

bob

"Pete Stephenson" > wrote in message
...
>I recently purchased two Bala Sharks for my 25 gallon freshwater tank.
> The other day, I found one of them floating and dead at the top of the
> tank. This was unusual, but not terribly unexpected -- there was a
> significant algae bloom, so I would imagine that the bloom was at least
> partially responsible for this poor fish's demise.
>
> Upon returning from work today, I noticed that the second Bala Shark was
> not actively swimming, as it normally does. Upon closer inspection, it
> is lying on it's side on the gravel half-concealed by the artificial
> plants. It is twitching and "gasping".
>
> This is, of course, very unusual behavior for a fish, and so I'm rather
> concerned. The danios and black skirt tetras are just fine, as is the
> medium sized pleco.
>
> I have no idea what is wrong with the Bala Shark, nor do I know what (if
> anything) could be done to save it. Any suggestions?
>
> I'm not sure if the condition of this shark is related to the recent
> death of the other, but the only thing that I could imagine that would
> change the water chemistry would be yesterday's addition of AlgaeFix.
> Since the other fish are doing fine, I don't know why this would affect
> only the Bala Sharks...
>
> Any ideas?
>
> --
> Pete Stephenson
> HeyPete.com

[Margolis]

what are your water parameters? temp? ph? gh? kh? how long has the tank
been setup?

the algae bloom didn't harm the fish. It is unnatractive to you, but it
doesn't really bother the fish unless it gets like pea soup. And even then
I wouldn't think it would do that much harm.

And as suggested, you should never use any algicides in a planted tank, it
is not good.

btw, your tank is much too small for bala's anyway. They need room to
swim. I wouldn't recommend keeping them in anything smaller than a 4ft long
75gallon tank or larger when they are still young. Once they grow up they
will need at least a 6ft tank as they get very large.

--

Margolis
http://web.archive.org/web/20030215212142/http://www.agqx.org/faqs/AGQ2FAQ.htm
http://www.unrealtower.org/faq

[Richard Sexton]

>I'm not sure if the condition of this shark is related to the recent
>death of the other, but the only thing that I could imagine that would
>change the water chemistry would be yesterday's addition of AlgaeFix.
>Since the other fish are doing fine, I don't know why this would affect
>only the Bala Sharks...

Just a guess, but when all that algae died it created an ammonia spike...

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[Richard Sexton]

>And as suggested, you should never use any algicides in a planted tank, it
>is not good.

Eh, I dunno. I agree they're a last resort but they are designed not
to kill fish and plants. I've never had a problem. All that dead
algae is definitly a problem though. Plus you kill all the beneficial
bacteria with this stuff soit's "new tank syndrome" all over
again. Massive water changes help.

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[Pete Stephenson]

In article >,
"Margolis" > wrote:

> what are your water parameters? temp? ph? gh? kh? how long has the tank
> been setup?

I'll break out the chemistry kit I have, but it's a bit late to be doing
that now. I'll see if I can post it tomorrow.

> the algae bloom didn't harm the fish. It is unnatractive to you, but it
> doesn't really bother the fish unless it gets like pea soup. And even then
> I wouldn't think it would do that much harm.

Hmm. It was pretty dense -- I could barely see the powerhead at the back
of the tank, and that was about a foot away.

> And as suggested, you should never use any algicides in a planted tank, it
> is not good.

Right. All my plants are artificial, so it's not a big deal.

> btw, your tank is much too small for bala's anyway. They need room to
> swim. I wouldn't recommend keeping them in anything smaller than a 4ft long
> 75gallon tank or larger when they are still young. Once they grow up they
> will need at least a 6ft tank as they get very large.

Hmm. Alas, the gentleman at the local shop failed to mention that, which
is unusual for him -- he's a good guy. Perhaps I'll do a bit more
research ahead of time.

Since one of the Balas died before I applied the AlgaeFix, I suspect
that it may have been some sort of shock based on changing from the fish
shop water to my algae-infested aquarium. I've added numerous fish to my
aquariums over the years, nearly all the time without problems. Perhaps
it was just shock, and that combined with the algicide killed the second
one?

*sighs* It's not fun losing fish, that's for sure. Hopefully now the
chemistry will work out, and I can stock the tank with an appropriate
amount of fish suitable for the tank size.

Thanks to all who replied.

Cheers!

--
Pete Stephenson
HeyPete.com

[Margolis]

I'm not really blaming the algicide for killing the fish, even though it may
not help if the fish is already sick. I just don't like to use chemicals in
my tanks when other non chemical means can do the same thing.

how much light do you have on this tank? how long is it left on? what kind
of filtration? What is your regular maintenence routine and schedule?

--

Margolis
http://web.archive.org/web/20030215212142/http://www.agqx.org/faqs/AGQ2FAQ.htm
http://www.unrealtower.org/faq

[Pete Stephenson]

In article >,
"Margolis" > wrote:

> I'm not really blaming the algicide for killing the fish, even though it may
> not help if the fish is already sick. I just don't like to use chemicals in
> my tanks when other non chemical means can do the same thing.

*nods* I don't like using chemicals either. They tend to be quite harsh.

I've exhausted all methods I know of (including some I discovered
online) to rid the tank of the algae, none of which had any effect.

> how much light do you have on this tank? how long is it left on? what kind
> of filtration? What is your regular maintenence routine and schedule?

Two flourescent tubes, as part of the standard Eclipse 25 gallon hood.
They're presently on a 6-7 hour timer (for several months, they were on
10-12 hours a day without any algae bloom. During the bloom, light was
reduced to <3 hours per day.). The only natural light that reaches the
tank is what makes it past a closed venetian blind, which is very little
and doesn't fall on the tank itself. During the algae bloom, an opaque
towel covered the window to cut back even that light.

I have both an undergravel filter fed by an AquaClear Powerhead 301 and
the standard Eclipse filtration system. Filters are changed regularly
when flow decreases and water spills over the spillway to the bio-wheel.
During the algae bloom, filters needed to be changed weekly. Otherwise,
they're changed every 3-4 weeks as necessary.

Weekly 25% water changes and gravel siphoning is performed, as is
general cleaning of the tank itself -- algae is scraped from areas the
pleco can't get to (i.e. behind the heater, under the driftwood, etc.)
and various parts of the tank (i.e. the plastic bits, glass, etc.) are
scrubbed with a suitable aquarium brush to remove any algae, grime, etc.

Every month or so, I check to insure the impeller blades and motors for
the powerhead and filter are functional and clean.

I think (and hope) that I have all the bases covered.

--
Pete Stephenson
HeyPete.com

[Richard Sexton]

>I've exhausted all methods I know of (including some I discovered
>online) to rid the tank of the algae, none of which had any effect.

What kind of alage is it?

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[Pete Stephenson]

In article >, (Richard Sexton)
wrote:

> What kind of alage is it?

I honestly have no idea. It's green, that's about all I know.

Are there different types of algae?

--
Pete Stephenson
HeyPete.com

[Richard Sexton]

In article >,
Pete Stephenson > wrote:
>In article >, (Richard Sexton)
>wrote:
>
>> What kind of alage is it?
>
>I honestly have no idea. It's green, that's about all I know.
>
>Are there different types of algae?

(looks around fishroom)

Oh yeah.


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[NetMax]

"Pete Stephenson" > wrote in message
...
<snip>
> I'm not sure if the condition of this shark is related to the recent
> death of the other, but the only thing that I could imagine that would
> change the water chemistry would be yesterday's addition of AlgaeFix.
> Since the other fish are doing fine, I don't know why this would affect
> only the Bala Sharks...
>
> Any ideas?
>
> --
> Pete Stephenson


Balas are notoriously prone to transit shock and acclimate to new water
poorly. Assuming all the usual water parameters are good (NH3/4, NO2,
temperature), try to match the water hardness and NO3 levels as close as
possible. Never purchase new arrivals from a store (transit shock often
follows a 2-3 day delay pattern), so wait until they are well acclimated
to the water they are in before attempting to move them. First inspect
the fish carefully (full belly, good silver colouration, no dark shading,
clear eyes, active swimming, no white around lips etc). Then take a
sample of their tank water to compare the NO3 and gH levels with your own
water. Ideally have a quarantine tank which matches those parameters and
then you can later slowly migrate the parameters to match your main tank.
Expect 20% losses (1 in 5).

As already mentioned, Balas benefit from longer tanks, 4ft +. They get
as large as Oscars (13"+, but grow much slower), are best kept in groups
and are very active swimmers (6ft tanks are much better :o).
--
www.NetMax.tk