sammyswife Posted June 4, 2005 Report Share Posted June 4, 2005 A friend of mine has a small community tank and has two bala sharks one is about 3" and the other is about 4-5". She only has a couple of small fish in her tank (the kind escapes me) and she started to ask me why her bala sharks would be dancing around in circles and shaking...my first thought was they were breeding...however, all my fish knowledge is for African Cichlids and I wasn't sure just how the sharks do it I told her I would look into it for her. I tried to look up info on the breeding habits of bala's and the only info I could find is they are egg layers and are difficult to breed in captivity. IF, her bala's are breeding could someone tell me what she should expect.? And, if they do breed should she put the babies in a seperate tank? Thanks in advance, Amy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
African_Fever Posted June 4, 2005 Report Share Posted June 4, 2005 Seeing as they get to over 12", I'd doubt that your friends are breeding. I'd guess they're just fighting for dominance rather than breeding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammyswife Posted June 4, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2005 Thanks for the info...if by some miracle they do breed I'll let you know Amy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishBrain Posted June 4, 2005 Report Share Posted June 4, 2005 What do the shaerks look like? and size? My two are about 7 inches and both look Quite different. One is shaped like a torpedo and the other has more of a barrel chest on it. I find that once in a while they will shiver and shake and butt up against each other. but nothing has come of it. I have to agree with Africa_Fever thats its for dominance, if you have your friend watch them after they are finished one of them will be a little more agressive with the other until they stop and you will then see the loser staying out of the way of the winner!! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanked Posted June 7, 2005 Report Share Posted June 7, 2005 to the best of my knowledge Bala sharks have never been bred in captivity. I had 5 of them for several years and witnessed what I would normall associate with pre spawning activity however nothing ever became of it. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammyswife Posted June 8, 2005 Author Report Share Posted June 8, 2005 Thanks for all the info... Canadbis - The two sharks look very different in shape one is larger and more plump looking and the other is more slender shape. Tanked - Sounds like this is typical behavior of Bala Sharks The sharks were not aggrsive with eachother while they were dancing together. I wasn't expecting to learn they have not bred in captivity - yet there is bala sharks at every LFS!? Bummer... I was hoping for some little babies Thanks again! Amy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
African_Fever Posted June 8, 2005 Report Share Posted June 8, 2005 I'd guess that there's a chance they're bred in captivity on the farms using hormones, much the same way as clown loaches are bred. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanked Posted June 8, 2005 Report Share Posted June 8, 2005 I'd guess that there's a chance they're bred in captivity on the farms using hormones, much the same way as clown loaches are bred. I would think that if it could be done it would be done. Much cheaper than importing the fish. Clown Loaches have been bred in captivity and although very difficult I may one day give it a shot. From what I understand one would need to set up a shallow tank with lots of rock and a lot of strong current but for people like me who enjoy the challange of getting difficult fish to spawn or rasing up those tiny tiny fry of Barbs, Tetras and Rainbows it would be a welcome challange. Rick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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