Injured mouthes on Bala Sharks

Question
I have noticed over the last week that both of our Bala sharks look as though they have injured their mouths.  One Shark looks as though it scraped the skin off of its nose.  The other one looks as though it got punched in the lower part of its mouth.  And my wife just informed me that the one that looked like it had a fat lip just died.  That happened fast.  I just looked at them both less than an hour ago.  I have noticed that they were occasionally streaking across the tank and would slam into the other side which is why I was thinking injury.  Now I am not so sure.  We have had them both for about 1 year.  They are in a tank with two African spotted leaf fish, one roughly 6 inch plecostamus, and a dinosaur eel.  There was a third leaf fish but it died a few months ago. The fish are not showing any signs of illness... no unusual swimming behavior, they are eating well.  Is there something I can add to the tank to help the shark with the skinned nose and should I be worried about a possible illness with the speed that the other shark just died?

Answer
Dear Jerry,
This "tank ramming" happens alot with many fast swimming fish like Bala sharks, pacus, and tinfoil barbs. The injuries you describe certainly indicate they are the result of the bala sharks charging into the sides or into rough ornaments. I'm pretty sure the one that you  mentioned having a fat lip could have been lost due to a head injury. I once owned several large and beautiful tinfoil barbs whom often spooked and rammed into the sides of the aquarium (75gallon) they often scraped their mouths. And even when I mistakingly tried to keep a rather docile but large severum cichlid, his occasional charges at them sent them into panick and once a Tinfoil barb rammed into the side of the tank in his attempt to escape and hit so hard he must have had a brain injury..He died not long after. :( Tinfoil barbs and cichlids should never be kept together.. :(

You mentioned your other Bala shark looking as though he had been punched in the lower part of his mouth? I have seen this as well before and again, it is related to them slamming into the tank sides when spooked. It's very important to find what is causing them to panick and hit the sides before you end up with a tragedy as I had with one of my Tinfoil barbs. Make sure the African Spotted Leaf fish are not chasing or nipping the Bala sharks and no other fish in the tank are nipping or chasing them. Do you have adequate cover for your Bala sharks? It's best to make sure your aquarium has a dark background, and with spook-prone fish, have plenty of thick and tall plastic plants along the back and the ends of the tank to help prevent them from injuring themselves any further. Make sure your sharks also have plenty of open swimming in the center of the tank so they don't run into any objects as they school and frolick around.

To help the shark with the skinned nose..You can add some Melafix which is a all-natural medication excellent for use when fish have injuries such as your bala sharks do. Remember clean water is also very important for fish to heal any wounds properly. A good quality varied diet helps too.

I really hope this helps!

Best wishes to you and your Bala Sharks,
Karen~