Description

Their peacefulness, grace, and beauty make them a fantastic choice for a big community tank. Their schooling choreography is as complex as that of danios, but their great size makes the dynamics much more visible–a fascinating thing to watch. Their movements are constant, but jerky, punctuated with quick pauses; they make many changes in orientation and direction, and they move as individuals within the group as much as the group does through the tank.

If you have a large enough aquarium, get at least six of them, preferably more. A single bala is a miserable fish; a small group always seems to be looking for the rest of the school; but a good number of them evolve into a tight-knit society that transcends the individual fishes and takes on an existence of its own.

Like most schooling fishes, balas appreciate some cover–plants or driftwood where they can retreat when startled–but their tank should be mostly open space, as they will spend almost all of their time out in plain sight.

Though, like any fish, they will eat any other fish small enough to swallow, their relatively tiny mouths and totally non-aggressive nature make them ideal candidates for community setups. They are one of the few large fish that can absolutely be trusted with fish even much smaller than they are. They are non-territorial and practice a live-and-let-live philosophy. There is nothing wrong with getting a group of tiny individuals to grace a medium-sized community tank, with the intention of moving them to a larger aquarium as they grow. Make sure, however, that you will have that larger tank, and that it isn't simply one of those things you plan on getting around to.