Angled Bala

Question
Okay-  i know my Bala's need at least a 75 gal tank but for right now they are in a 10-  my dad just bought it for my son a week ago and my husband bought home a bala shark for it- it also has 1 rainbow shark and 2black2white2micky mollies-  Our tap water is considered bad so we filled the tank with distilled water and i added one of those tablets for new tanks today (that puts some sort of protective film on fish?)and ick cure the day we filled it.  The bala shark started acting very jumpy over the last few days and hanging out at a constant angle pointed downward near the top of the tank.  My husband thought it was because he was lonely and went and rescued yet ANOTHER Bala today from WALMART of all places (they have them there in tanks that seem smaller than 10)  Is there something seriously wrong with my angled one?  and how long can they stay in this tank B4 i need to upgrade to a mansion? Currently they are aprox 2-3 inch long.  The bala's are already the family favorite please help us save them b4 its too late.

Answer
I know exactly what your are describing. I recently tried to move a bala shark from a 30 gallon to a 20 gallon due to some tank bullies but as soon as I put the bala in the smaller tank it began to spastically swim around and jump up and hit itself on the lid and basically go crazy. Well, I had to move it back to the 30 gallon because it was not calming down and it went back to its normal behavior. Yes, a 10 gallon is way too small for a bala shark of any size. Chances are the bala feels very cramped. You do not need a 75 gallon tank for a 4 inch bala, you dont even need one that size for a 7 inch bala. However, a 10 gallon is alittle too small. The likely reason your fish is behaving this way is due to the tank size and conditions. The size makes the bala feel cramped, the environment is not suiting the bala, and also the stress of the move if causing your bala to act like this. It could also be there is a fish in the tank the bala does not like, possibly the rainbow shark. I am sorry to inform you but you should never have two different types of sharks in the same tank, such as balas and rainbows. The only way to have more than one shark per tank is to stick to types like all balas or all rainbows. This may be the big problem. There is not much you can do to fix this problem except for moving one of the fish to another tank. However, you can wait a few days and see what happens but it may lead to one fish not surviving. Honestly, as soon as possible you should move the balas to a bigger tank. The rainbow sharks should do fine in the 10 gallon for a while but the balas will need more room and chances are this is why they are acting spastic. Now, you really do not need a 75 gallon tank, you dont even need a 50 gallon. The right size would be around a 30-40 gallon tank. This size tank should be able to hold your balas until they are around 6-7 inches, than you should move them to a 50-60 gallon. Sadly enough, there may not be much you can do about the bala's unless you move them to another tank. However, as I mentioned earlier, you could wait a few days and see if they calm down. I hope this helps. Please feel free to let me know if you need anything else or have any more questions.