- Common name
- Bala shark
- Scientific name
- Balantiocheilos melanopterus
- Category
- Freshwater fish
- Group
- Large cyprinids
- Environment
- Freshwater aquarium or indoor pond-scale system
- Origin
- Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo; older Mekong and Chao Phraya records involved confusion with Balantiocheilos ambusticauda
- Care level
- Expert due to adult size and social needs
- Adult size
- Up to about 35 cm standard length
- Expected lifespan
- Long-lived schooling cyprinid; plan for 10–15 years and potentially longer in correctly scaled adult housing.
- Minimum housing
- At least 1,500 L with 240 cm or more of uninterrupted swimming length for a group of five or more; normal home aquariums are inadequate
- Temperature
- 22–28 °C
- pH
- 6.0–8.0
- Hardness / minerals
- 5–12 dGH
- Salinity
- Freshwater; no routine salt addition
- Lighting
- Normal lighting with shaded retreat areas
- Placement / zone
- Open middle water
- Filtration
- Use mature biological filtration sized for the complete adult bala shark group, with guarded intakes and accessible mechanical capture. Keep flow moderate to strong across very long unobstructed swimming lanes where the fish lives, and maintain undetectable ammonia and nitrite.
- Aeration
- Maintain reliable surface agitation and oxygen exchange at all times. Increase aeration during warm weather, medication, transport recovery, heavy feeding or any sign of rapid breathing.
- Maintenance
- Perform regular matched-water changes guided by nitrate and waste, remove uneaten food and trapped detritus, clean mechanical media without disrupting the biofilter, and record feeding, body condition, respiration and aggression.
Identity and search names
Single-species profile for Balantiocheilos melanopterus. It is not a shark, and older northern Indochina records may refer to B. ambusticauda.
Search names: Silver shark, Tricolor sharkminnow, Tricolour sharkminnow
Environment and housing
Very long, securely covered system with strong filtration, high oxygen, broad turning space and minimal obstruction of swimming lanes
Social structure: Keep at least five; a lone fish is not an acceptable permanent plan
Feeding and nutrition
Feeding ecology: Omnivore taking small crustaceans, rotifers, insects and larvae, plankton and plant material
Feeding routine: One or two measured meals daily using varied sinking and suspended foods
Breeding, reproduction or spread
Open-water egg scatterer; routine home-aquarium breeding is not established
Detailed care and app-ready planning
- Identity scope
- Single-species profile for Balantiocheilos melanopterus. It is not a shark, and older northern Indochina records may refer to B. ambusticauda.
- Adult size and space
- Adults reach about 35 cm standard length and need broad turning room. Keep five or more in at least 1,500 L with 240 cm or more of clear swimming length.
- Social structure
- A social group of at least five is required. Solitary or paired fish may remain chronically nervous and collide with the enclosure when startled.
- Swimming zone or placement
- Open middle water in rivers and lakes; do not fill the aquarium with dense décor that destroys turning and schooling space.
- Feeding ecology
- Takes small crustaceans, rotifers, insects and larvae, plankton and plant material rather than functioning as a dedicated algae cleaner.
- Feeding plan
- Use varied quality prepared foods plus crustacean, insect and plant components. Spread food across the long tank so every fish feeds.
- Water stability
- Maintain 22–28 °C, pH 6.0–8.0 and 5–12 dGH with high oxygen and large-system filtration. Sudden noise and maintenance can trigger damaging panic.
- Habitat structure
- Prioritise open length, secure covers, rounded obstacles, strong oxygenation and low-collision retreat zones.
- Compatibility plan
- Keep only with similarly robust, non-predatory large fish. Small fish may be swallowed and slow fish may be overwhelmed by the group’s activity.
- Breeding or reproduction plan
- Do not buy juveniles expecting home breeding or easy sexing. Commercial stock is generally farm produced; preserve welfare rather than attempting amateur spawning.
- Quarantine
- Quarantine in a separate cycled system with dedicated nets and siphons. Match temperature, salinity and mineral chemistry, confirm normal feeding, respiration, skin, fins and waste, and do not pour transport water into established aquariums.
- Welfare checks
- Check schooling, collisions, damaged snouts, respiration, body condition, fin damage and whether the group can turn and accelerate without striking décor.
- Biosecurity and release
- Never release fish, fry, eggs, aquarium water, sediment, plants or live foods into drains, dams or natural waterways. Check the exact accepted scientific name in current BICON and applicable South Australian rules before import, sale or movement; import eligibility does not authorise release or wild collection.
- Main risk
- Juvenile sale size conceals a 35 cm adult schooling requirement that most owners cannot provide.
- Adult projected load
- Project biological load from the full adult bala shark group, adult body mass, feeding pattern, activity and social requirement rather than juvenile sale size. A proper adult school of 35 cm fast-swimming fish creates an extremely high biomass, oxygen and solids load requiring commercial-scale planning.
- Filtration
- Use mature biological filtration sized for the complete adult bala shark group, with guarded intakes and accessible mechanical capture. Keep flow moderate to strong across very long unobstructed swimming lanes where the fish lives, and maintain undetectable ammonia and nitrite.
- Aeration
- Maintain reliable surface agitation and oxygen exchange at all times. Increase aeration during warm weather, medication, transport recovery, heavy feeding or any sign of rapid breathing.
- Maintenance
- Perform regular matched-water changes guided by nitrate and waste, remove uneaten food and trapped detritus, clean mechanical media without disrupting the biofilter, and record feeding, body condition, respiration and aggression.
- Overridable warnings
- Non-overridable: do not accept persistent ammonia or nitrite, oxygen distress, starvation, chronic aggression or inadequate adult space. Different equipment, stocking or maintenance methods may be used only when measured water quality and adult welfare remain equivalent or better. The 1,500 L-class group system and more than two metres of swimming length cannot be overridden by juvenile sale size.
Compatibility, welfare and risk
Compatibility: Only with robust fish too large to swallow and able to tolerate constant fast swimming; avoid small, slow or long-finned tankmates
Welfare: Start with the permanent adult plan. Rehoming after a group outgrows a tank is unreliable and often shifts the welfare problem to someone else.
Main warning: This 35 cm schooling river fish is routinely sold as a tiny “shark.” It is unsuitable for ordinary community aquariums and must not be bought without adult group housing already available.
Biosecurity and release
Never release fish, fry, eggs, aquarium water, sediment, plants or live foods into drains, dams or natural waterways. Check the exact accepted scientific name in current BICON and applicable South Australian rules before import, sale or movement; import eligibility does not authorise release or wild collection.