ocelot1120

i have 2 bala sharks and one red tail shark. they do really good together exept for some reason none of them will eat the live food i give them. in a seperate tank i have a few platies that have been breeding alot and i figured i could just drop a few in with the sharks and let nature do its thing. they have been in the tank for a week or two now and no one in the tank does more than chase them alittle. do they just not have a taste for platies? what type of live food should i buy if any?

TFA101

you could try frozen bloodworms or brine shrimp. the balas are almost guaranteed to eat, but the red tail might come on a little shy from what I've seen. And the balas are big softies, they wont ever take a nip at anything that isn't small and bug-like such as fry. The redtail might take a nip, but he wont eat them.

ocelot1120

they are the fry. as mean as it sounds i was hoping to have a little population control.

TFA101

the parents go canibalistic, thats the most humane way I know of

susitna-flower

I have balas in with mollies and they NEVER eat the fry.....I have seen them pick up a whole algae wafer and eat it...I think they just aren't live fish eaters...Look at the way their mouth goes.

They are in the barb family, and do really well with a treat of frozen bloodworms or brine shrimp now and again, of which they will make little piggies out of themselves!

ocelot1120

i have seen my larger bala go after them for a few seconds, but i think maybe they just outrun him. i also have tiger barbs, do you think they would be more likely to eat them. i never remove the fry from the parent's tank, but i have live plants in the tank like hornwort, which most of them survive hiding in those. when the fry are very young, they hide in the submersable filter. i have in the range of about 15 fry in the tank now. i was really trying to feed them to my aggressive fish to help speed their growth and to maybe hone some of their natural hunting skills. i thought if nothing else (in the shark tank) that the red tail would eat them because they are so territorial. but he just allows them to hang out with him in his caves. anyway i guess (judging by my aquaium info), do i have any fish that will enjoy the live food. this website claims that just about all my fish will eat them.

Shawnie

IMO neither of your sharks will be that much of a live food muncher..they are very friendly kind of sharks...alot of people assume because the word "shark" is in their name, that they are total meat eaters...as others have said, the parents are the most likely candidates to keep the population down but you have a tank setup so they lil babes can survive and hide

Rbacchiega

as already mentioned, bala and red tails are actually members of the barb family, thus they won't eat live food. Frozen krill might be a nice addition to the diet as well.

ocelot1120

ok, i had the understanding that the sharks were actually in the minnow family. i actually have freeze dried mysis shrimp (which i normally feed to my tiger barbs). would the sharks eat that even though it floats. (they usually wont mess with anything that stays floating)

Shawnie

Both my bala and rainbow are at the top of the line when foods put in my tank LOL but they know I hand feed so when they see any fingers coming through the top, they know its dinner time!

got pics? would love to see your guys

goggles

do you have a betta, he would eat the fry.

aquariumnewbie

Yeah, I would say that betta would eat the fry. As long as it fits the mouth.

ocelot1120

no, i dont have a betta, but that is something i hadnt thought of, because my dad does. i havent ever had a betta myself without it being alone in a bowl, and i was also somewhere between 3 & 5 years old at the time. i do have pics of almost everything i have, which can be found in my profile, but i haven't been able to get a good shot of my red tail or the plecos (mainly because they are very fond of their caves). and to shawnie, i would love to know how you got a bala shark to eat out of your hand. both of mine run in terror if i so much as walk by the tank. even at feeding time... and even if i cant get them to do it i'd like to teach the tigers to.

Shawnie

Im not sure how unless he plays "follow the leaders" very well...hes a rescue whom ive been trying to find a good home for, and he just started coming up to eat out of my fingers like the rest...probably if I wanted him to, he wouldnt LOL ...you know murphys law?

ocelot1120

lol i really rarely ever see any of the sharks get near the surface (bottom swimmers of course). in fact its to such an extent that even though they all get along i took the tiger barbs out of his tank b/c they would always steal all of the food before it would reach even mid-level. and believe me when i say i would love to have your bala, but (more importantly than distance) i already have 2 in a 55 gal and (though most tell me that the 55 is overcrowded already) i just think a 3rd would be a lil over the top. also, i updated my pics a few minutes ago and i got a couple of the red tail.

Shawnie

im overstocked also prior to having found fishlore, I THOUGHT I was being a good fish mum by being a rescuer to sick fish...but, I cant change it now..so I compensate by water changes 3-4 times a week..and lots of praying to the fish gods that I find some a home that IM happpy with soon....im gonna go check out your pics

ocelot1120

based on all the info i've gathered from this site and tons of others i personally dont think any of my tanks are over stocked and my 40 gal (with the barbs) isn't even close. all of my fish and plants are very healthy. im not gonna push it too much but i think im fine unless that begins to change. how did u teach your other fish to eat from your hand? did you just start trying the idea until they caught on or what?

Shawnie

hmm to be honest, I opened the top from day one, and just put some on tongs...then I just started using my hands...now they think whenever the top opens, its time to eat...our oscars are more handfed from fingers as we can hold onto their food....I always make sure my hands are clean and I dont do it daily but I just like the closeness and trust my fish have in me so I enjoy hand feeding...