Compatible fishes with Bala Sharks for New Tank

Question
Dear Stephanie,
I have purchased 48*15*15 fish tank and hope to add 6 bala sharks (4 inches). I need to know whether my tank is sufficent for this.secondly, what are the other active fishes I can keep with bala sharks? Please advise.

Regards
Priyal
Sri Lanka

Answer
Hi Priyal

I pulled your question from our Question Pool, I apologize for the delay in getting an answer to you.

I'm not sure what size your aquarium is (in gallons). A 40 gallon long is 48" x 12" x 16"  and a 55 gallon is 48" x 13" x 21". You must have an offsize like a long 46 gallon.

Bala Sharks, although only 4 inches right now, will each grow to be 10 inches long. 6 adults would be 60 inches together. So keeping 6 of them in your size tank would be too many. They are a schooling fish and best in groups, but would be fine in a group of 3. This would allow you just a little room to put some other fish in with them. However you won't be able to put many in with them.

Bala Sharks are peaceful, and will rarely harm smaller fish. However they can intimidate slow moving and shy fish. Good active tankmates for the Bala are Barbs, Gouramis, large Tetras, Mollies, Swordtails, Silver Dollars, and some small Cichlids like the Kribensis Cichlid or Keyhole Cichlid.

Hope this is helpful to you, good luck!

Richard