?Bala shark
A pair of bala sharks in a freshwater aquarium
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Actinopterygii Order: Cypriniformes Family: Cyprinidae Genus: Balantiocheilus Species: B. melanopterus
Binomial name
Balantiocheilus melanopterus

The Bala shark (Balantiocheilus melanopterus), also known as the Tricolor Shark, Silver Shark, or Shark Minnow, is a schooling community fish of family Cyprinidae. This species is not a true shark, but is commonly called a "shark" because of its torpedo-shaped body and large fins. Image File history File links Bala_shark_04. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is how biologists group and categorize extinct and living species of organisms. ... Phyla Subregnum Parazoa Porifera (sponges) Subregnum Agnotozoa Placozoa (trichoplax) Orthonectida (orthonectids) Rhombozoa (dicyemids) Subregnum Eumetazoa Radiata (unranked) (radial symmetry) Ctenophora (comb jellies) Cnidaria (coral, jellyfish, anemones) Bilateria (unranked) (bilateral symmetry) Acoelomorpha (basal) Myxozoa (slime animals) Superphylum Deuterostomia (blastopore becomes anus) Chordata (vertebrates, etc. ... Typical Classes Subphylum Urochordata - Tunicatas Ascidiacea Thaliacea Larvacea Subphylum Cephalochordata - Lancelets Subphylum Myxini - Hagfishes Subphylum Vertebrata - Vertebrates Petromyzontida - Lampreys Placodermi (extinct) Chondrichthyes - Cartilaginous fishes Acanthodii (extinct) Actinopterygii - Ray-finned fishes Actinistia - Coelacanths Dipnoi - Lungfishes Amphibia - Amphibians Reptilia - Reptiles Aves - Birds Mammalia - Mammals Chordates (phylum Chordata) include the vertebrates, together with... Orders See text The Actinopterygii are the ray-finned fish. ... Families Suborder Cobitoidea     Balitoridae (hillstream loaches)     Catostomidae (suckers)     Cobitidae (loaches)     Gyrinocheilidae (algae eaters) Suborder Cyprinoidea     Cyprinidae (carps and minnows) The Cypriniformes are an order of ray-finned fish, including the minnows and some related families. ... Genera (many, see text) The family Cyprinidae, named after the Greek word for goldfish, consists of the carps and minnows. ... In biology, binomial nomenclature is the formal method of naming species. ... The Guppy, also known as guppie (Poecilia reticulata) is one of the most popular freshwater aquarium fish species in the world. ... Genera (many, see text) The family Cyprinidae, named after the Greek word for goldfish, consists of the carps and minnows. ... Orders Carcharhiniformes Heterodontiformes Hexanchiformes Lamniformes Orectolobiformes Pristiophoriformes Squaliformes Squatiniformes Sharks are groups (superorder Selachimorpha) of fish, with a full cartilaginous skeleton and a streamlined body. ... A modern torpedo, historically called a locomotive torpedo, is a self-propelled projectile that (after being launched above or below the water surface) operates underwater and is designed to detonate on contact or in proximity to a target. ...

Relationships with other species

Generally peaceful and good companions to many other types of tropical fish, the Bala shark is an omnivore and will eat other animals if they're small enough to fit in their mouths (including fish and shrimp). Bala sharks are widely available in most pet stores, but aren't marketed well since most aquarists buy them before knowing that a bala shark with a large environment can grow up to 14-16 inches long. Shrimp (grass shrimp, ghost shrimp, etc.) should have adequate hiding places to keep them from getting eaten. Tropical fish includes fish found in tropical environments around the world, including both fresh water and salt water species. ... An omnivore (from Latin: omne all, everything; vorare to devour) is an animal that eats both plants and meat. ... Superfamilies and Families Thalassinoidea Thalassinidae Callianassoidea Callianassidae Callianideidae Ctenochelidae Laomediidae Thomassiniidae Upogebiidae Axioidea Axiidae Calocarididae Micheleidae Strahlaxiidae Thalassinidea is an infraorder of decapod crustaceans that live in burrows in muddy bottoms of the worlds oceans. ...

Tank preferences

The Bala shark prefers to be grouped in 3-6 specimens (although they can survive alone). They're hardy fish that will tolerate temperature changes, pH changes, and other factors to which other fish may be sensitive. pH is a measure of the acidity of a solution in terms of activity of hydrogen ions (H+). For dilute solutions, however, it is convenient to substitute the activity of the hydrogen ions with the molarity (mol/L) of the hydrogen ions (however, this is not necessarily accurate at higher...

Bala sharks can survive in aquariums even smaller than 10 gallons. However, once they begin to grow larger, they can become injured by accidentally swimming into the sides of smaller aquariums, especially if the other fish are more aggressive and chase them. Therefore, an aquarium 55 gallons is ideal, however aquarists commonly keep them in less.

The water pH should be 5.8 to 7.8. The preferable water hardness for this species is soft to medium (5.0-15.0 dGH). Water temperature should be kept between 72 degrees Fahrenheit and 84 degrees Fahrenheit (22 degrees Celsius to 29 degrees Celsius). pH is a measure of the acidity of a solution in terms of activity of hydrogen ions (H+). For dilute solutions, however, it is convenient to substitute the activity of the hydrogen ions with the molarity (mol/L) of the hydrogen ions (however, this is not necessarily accurate at higher... Hard water is water that has a high mineral content. ... The title given to this article is incorrect due to technical limitations. ... Fahrenheit is a temperature scale named after the German physicist Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736), who proposed it in 1724. ... The Celsius scale is a temperature scale named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius (1701 â€“ 1744), who first proposed a similar system two years before his death. ...

Native habitat

The Bala shark's native habitats include streams and rivers in Southeast Asia (Sumatra, Thailand, Borneo, Malaysia, etc.) Location of Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is a subregion of Asia. ... Sumatra (also spelled Sumatara and Sumatera) is the sixth largest island of the world (approximately 470,000 km²) and is the third largest island of Indonesia after Borneo (of which Kalimantan belongs to Indonesia) and New Guinea. ... Borneo (left) and Sulawesi. ...

References

• Aquahobby: Bala Shark
• Badman's Tropical Fish Profile: Bala Shark
• Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2006. FishBase, version (06/2006). [1]

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Freshwater aquarium fishes