Species Profile | Images | Breeding Report | Similar Species

back to the cyprinid index

How to look after
Balantiocheilos melanopterus
Silver shark, Bala shark, Tricolor Shark, Tricolor sharkminnow
(Bleeker, 1851)

This species is too big for most home aquariums
more images here

(Other members of the genus Balantiocheilos)

ADULT SIZE: 35 cm

WATER CONDITIONS: Not critical

TEMPERATURE RANGE: 23-27 C

FOOD: Feed Balantiocheilos melanopterus live and dried foods

DISTRIBUTION: This species comes from Borneo, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia

AQUARIUM CARE: A lively shoaling species from Sumatra that does well in large tanks. This species is too large for most home aquariums. In larger quarters, it makes a good tank mate for large catfish, and anabantids. This fish can be startled easily, and may attempt to jump in such cases. Keep tanks covered!

Have you bred Balantiocheilos melanopterus? Why not fill in a breeding questionaire?, or examine existing Balantiocheilos melanopterus breeding reports

Balantiocheilos melanopterus
Silver shark, Bala shark, Tricolor Shark, Tricolor sharkminnow

This species is too big for most home aquariums

These fish are very quick swimmers, coming from fast flowing rivers in South East Asia

The Silver Shark, is also known as the tricolor shark, shark minnow and Bala shark

Balantiocheilos melanopterus
Silver shark, Bala shark, Tricolor Shark, Tricolor sharkminnow
breeding notes

BREEDING:

Have you bred Balantiocheilos melanopterus? Why not fill in a breeding questionaire?

This page summarises breeding reports provided by visitors to this site, along with some statistical analysis. Please feel free to contribute - whatever your experience! 1 breeder has filled in a breeding report, a summary of which is shown in the graphs below. You can read the full reports here. To add details of your experiences of Balantiocheilos melanopterus, why not fill in a Breeding and maintenance Report.
Would Balantiocheilos melanopterus be a good addition to a community tank? Never Doubtful, only with VERY calm fish Only with species of similar size Yes, a good community fish	How would you describe the disposition of Balantiocheilos melanopterus? Very timid Slightly timid Neutral Somewhat aggresive on occasions Very aggressive

Remember, each record represents only one persons experience; if you had different results, or used different methods, please share your experiences