(Balantiocheilos melanopterus)
Origin
Although not a true shark, it is commonly called so because of the slender torpedo shape of its body and the triangular shape of its dorsal fin.
Its silvery color is given by the large scales that cover the entire body, with the edges of the pelvic, anal, dorsal and caudal fins black.
The mouth is small, located anteriorly, without spines or whiskers and large eyes.Life expectancy is 10 years.
Feeding the silver Shark
They are omnivorous fish; they feed at medium depth with phytoplankton, small crustaceans, rotifers, insects and larvae; in the aquarium they can be fed with industrial food (flakes and pellets) supplemented with live worms and snails.
Carefully research the substrate in search of food pieces left over from previous feeding.
Some articles also note that they are consumers of algae and plants and a larger population helps to control the growth of algae.
Appearance Silver Shark
Females have a bulging abdomen and are smaller in size than males; males have more brightly coloured fins.
Features silver Shark
It is a popular aquarium fish; contrary to the name shark, it is a peaceful but very active fish.
It is a card fish being preferred to be kept in groups of at least 3 after some authors, 5 after others; although they can survive and alone become shy and withdrawn, preferring to stay hidden.
It violently attacks invertebrates, like snails and Ghost prawns, because in the natural environment they are part of their diet.
They are not aggressive, while they are small they can be good companions for Danio, guppies, Xipho and Cory, however they should not be kept with fish much smaller in size than them.
Breeding the silver Shark
Unfortunately, the reproduction of this species is not documented; however, they are bred in professional breeders in Asia.
Bala shark is an oviparous species; it spawns and fertilization is done externally. They don't guard their eggs or their young. In the wild they migrate to special places where they lay en masse.
The small shark becomes sexually mature after reaching a minimum length of 10 cm. It is not an easy species to reproduce, in aquariums it rarely reproduces. However, if reproduction is attempted, a few conditions are required.
The breeding aquarium should be about 500L, with the deposition sieve. The breeding ratio is 2 males to one female. The required temperature for deposition is 25-26grc, slightly acidic pH 6.4-7.0 and hardness less than 10dgh. The chicks are fed on nauplii.
