Bala Shark Or Tri-Color Shark  

Species/genus:
Balantiocheilus melanopterus
 
Origin:  South East Asia
 
Temp:  72 - 82°F (22 - 28°C)
 
pH:  6 - 7    dH:  Soft
 
Temperament:  Peaceful, alert and active
 
Adult Size:   Up to 10 inches (25 cm) or more
But usually smaller in captivity
 
Minimum Tank Size:   25 Gallon or more
 
Feeding:  Omnivorous, a pig, eats almost any common fish food
 
Breeding:  Not in captivity
 
Comments:

Easy going, friendly and very active. An excellent community fish. Bala's love other Balas and will school in a large enough tank. But remember, they get BIG, they produce a lot of waste and they need some space. The most common problem Balas face is being kept in a tank that is too small.

 
Here's a good report from someone who keeps Bala Sharks, and who has generously allowed me to post here.
 

Keeping Bala Sharks

By Chazz1211 , you can meet her on the Message Board
 
I'm not an expert with Bala's or anything, but I have kept them for awhile. But I just thought I'd say that they can do fine by themselves because they're a fairly intelligent fish as fish go. I've had mine for about 4 years now, by himself.
 
Have Bala's even ever been bred?? I've never heard of it happening. You'd need a massive tank. But I've heard that they mature at about 6 inches. Don't know if there's any truth behind it.
Um. . .you could say that they're definetely a true omnivore like goldfish. Mine loves to eat algae off of my fake plants and off rocks. They're also great at eating anything that hits the gravel. No need for bottom feeders in my tank. So they need a varied diet. Mine gets flakes, shrimp pellets (that are actually for the loaches, but he eats it anyway) algae off of plants, and frozen/live brine shrimp, occasionally black worms. Plus they're an amazingly docile fish for such a large one. The minimum tank size you have on the fast fact is 10 gallons. Even though, yeah you could keep them in there when young, I think you should start out right from the start. Say at least a 55 gallon. (ED Note: I took the advise and raised it to 25 gallons) But ultimately you want like an 8 foot aquarium, at least, for a school. With plenty of space to turn around in. And the longer the tank the better. If the fish doesn't feel like it has enough "running space" it will panic. So they don't like to feel cramped. They are a very powerful fish so they can really knock themselves against things.
 
Well, all off this is stuff you already probably know, so don't make an article out of it or anything. I'm just talking about my beautiful bala. Someday I'm going to have a huge tank with balas and tinfoil barbs. Gosh, that would be spectacular wouldn't it?
 
I don't think anyone has very much information on Bala's honestly. Oh, they are pretty adaptable too. I keep mine in slightly alkaline water, with about a medium hardness. And I've even kept them in very alkaline hard water. Like 7.8 or around there. Not sure about the dH. So, no need to neccessarliy keep them in soft water. Even though they would probably prefer it. They are supposed to be very suseptible to ick. I wouldn't know, I've never had it happen. The temperatures in my aquarium are pretty warm during the summer, about 80 F and get down to around 65 to 72 in the winter. (so. Cal weather) (My heater's not very good anymore) But it doesn't bother the fish one bit and it stays pretty stable.
 
Oh, and sometimes if you keep just two, they get kinda aggressive between the two. I had two awhile back before I moved, that were constantly chasing each other. Actually it was one that was usually doing it. So, that just says more that you can keep them by themselves. If you don't have the room for like 6 of them, then I'd say to only get one. I keep mine with tiger barbs and giant danios. They all get along really well, except for the barbs occasional fin nipping, but that's to be expected. My Bala's about 6- 6 1/2 inches now. I keep him in a 60 gallon (4ft long, 14 in wide, 18 in tall) where he's very happy. I bought him at about 3 inches. So, Bala's do seem to grow pretty slowly. I don't know if it's in their make-up or if it's because of the fact that they would prefer much more water then we give them, or maybe they grow faster in softer water, I don't know.
 
This is definetly a very neglected fish. And because we don't have very much information on them, it's easier to do so. Many people are given incorrect information, or just missunderstood information. In my experience they will do well by themselves, but that they would be more interesting with several of their own kind. But to do this requires a very large tank, and well, many (including myself) can't afford it. So, for the best interest of the fish, actually keeping just one would be best in most situations, I think.
 
I love this fish, it has a very appealing appearance and indearing qualities that make it a wonderful fishy pet.