Can this be Possible???

GodsChld · Member Joined: 23 Aug 2004 Posts: 67

I have a 125 with a tiger oscar, a pictus cat, and what used to be three bala sharks

my tiger is about 7-8"
my balas are all about 4-5"

when i came home today i only had 2 balas left.....these fish have been together for 6 months now and all of a sudden one is gone....since the tank is covered and there are no fish on the floor am i to assume my tiger ate my bala??? If so isnt that a bit of a big fish for him to have eaten???

thanks for the help all!!!

t_chelle16 · Moderator Joined: 22 Mar 2004 Posts: 3436

I had a couple of 7" oscars easily down a couple of 2 1/2" fish. So it may have been possible for him to eat it whole. How long had it been since you last saw the bala?

He also could have killed it, eaten part of it, then the other fish finished it off.

I hate disappearing fish. One of my otos in my 10 gallon disappeared a few days ago and I still haven't found any trace of him.

-Chelle

GodsChld · Member Joined: 23 Aug 2004 Posts: 67

i JUST had the fish in there yesturday.....and he is not 2.5" long.....these balas are close to 5" long.....and there is NO sign of him......

Its a sad day in old apt 10H

While we are on the topic.....is there anything i can replace him with??? that will not get eaten at this point.....and be good in the 125 gallon tank???

it seems like a waste to have this big tank and only 4 fish in it....

t_chelle16 · Moderator Joined: 22 Mar 2004 Posts: 3436

If it where me, I'm not sure I would add anything else to that tank. It may look empty now, but when both those oscars are 12"+ long and the remaining balas are around 14", it's going to look pretty full.

If you wanted to return the balas, a pretty good substitue for them would be silver dollars. There's a few different species available, but I think the ones commonly available only get 6". That's relatively small for oscar tankmates, but because of their shape they're difficult for oscars to eat. And in a 125 gallon with 2 oscars, I think you could fit a nice school of about 6 silver dollars. At least that's what I'd like to do when/if I ever get a 120ish gallon tank for my oscar.

-Chelle

GodsChld · Member Joined: 23 Aug 2004 Posts: 67

i only have one oscar.....i was going to get two but i read on here that the best thing to do is get one or 5 or more.....i dont have a big enough tank for 5 or more, so one it was.......now i have two balas and a pictus cat.....the cat will not get much bigger and the balas grow quite slow.....compared to my oscar of course.........

silver dollars......are they schooling? how many would i need and woud that be ok in my size tank? Second would it be safe to put anything in there with my oscar being the size it is now?

Thanks for the help ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!

t_chelle16 · Moderator Joined: 22 Mar 2004 Posts: 3436

I don't know why I thought you had 2 oscars.

Okay, so with one oscar, 2 balas and a pictus, you could probably fit about 4 silver dollars in there (they are schooling btw). And you're right, your oscar's size might be a problem. If you can find some larger silver dollars (maybe about 3" or more) or get some smaller ones and grow them out in a separate then it might be okay. If you can't do either of those, then I'd just stick with what you have.

-Chelle

GodsChld · Member Joined: 23 Aug 2004 Posts: 67

silver dollars are good then then....there were also some fish that looked like bala sharks only had a white tint to them and their fins had a redish orange tint to them....they were pretty big......any clue what they were and if they would work?

M_wm · Senior Member Joined: 26 Jul 2004 Posts: 613

How about tinfoil barbs?

t_chelle16 · Moderator Joined: 22 Mar 2004 Posts: 3436

Yup, they sound like tinfoil barbs. They get about the same size as balas and also prefer to be in groups.

-Chelle

GodsChld · Member Joined: 23 Aug 2004 Posts: 67

that is what i am talking about! you guys are good.....i guess i can not get 3 or 4 of them....so silver dollars is what i will have to go with if i do add more fish....thanks all!!

~BC