bala shark and guppies?

[lostnconfused]

I hate to post this on here, after reading the "stickies" but I was wondering if i could mix guppies with a red tail shark and bala shark with guppies, because i would like to do a fishless cycle in my 10 gal. (my 10 gal only as guppies in it) or, if i could, but all of them in my 10 gal until i could do a fishless cycle on my 30 gal. help!! I wish i new about this "fishless cycle" before I purchased the fish. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I could do???

 

[Lotus]

Unfortunately, you really can't put bala sharks in a tank that small. They get large (12"), need to be in schools and need a lot of swimming room. Compatability wise, balas are very skittish fish that can be kept with most community fish.

So, you already have a 10g up and running with fish? If so, you need to be checking your ammonia and nitrites and doing water changes if either gets above 1ppm.

 

[lostnconfused]

well, I have the bala shark and a red tail shark in a 30 gal right now (the pet store said 30 gal would be ok) but i really wanna do a fishless cycle on it, but its a little late now I wish I would have researched this more. And I have to drive 45 miles to the nearest petstore to get the tests... ( I didnt know about testing until recently) I live in a small town... so I have to go to houston to do stuff like that. I will probably go tommorow, but I was hoping that I could figure out a way to put the sharks somewhere else until I could get the cycle completed in the 30 gal and then put my guppies and shark in there.

 

[tubbs24]

I have just one bala shark in my 30 gallon community, and it isnt posing any threats to anyone, ive had him since he was about 2", and now hes about 5", so i guess him being raised in that environment made him less aggressive and more peaceful.

 

[lostnconfused]

ok, well what i'd like to know then is if the red tail and guppies would get along, and if they could all live temporarily in the 10 gal tank until the fishless cycle was completed in the thirty gal.

 

[Lotus]

They'll probably be OK for a while in a 10g tank, as long as you do water changes more frequently.

 

[J'sRamAir]

Eventually the red-tailed shark is probably going to get pretty nasty towards the guppies...once he gets to be around 3-4 inches.

 

[Chazwick]

I have just one bala shark in my 30 gallon community, and it isnt posing any threats to anyone, ive had him since he was about 2", and now hes about 5", so i guess him being raised in that environment made him less aggressive and more peaceful.

They usually don't get aggressive until they're a little bigger. I've heard once they're "old", they have such a temper on them! Just keep an eye on him