How to Breed Silver Shark Tropical Fish

The silver, or bala shark is not a true shark species and was so named because of the shape of its body and dorsal fin. These active fresh water fish can be considered for community tanks, despite their large size of 14 inches. The silver shark is not an aggressive fish, but adults may eat tiny tank mates such as tetras. Aquarists who plan to breed silver sharks will need a large aquarium of over 150 gallons.

Things You'll Need

  • Aquarium with canopy, at least 150 gallon capacity
  • Aquarium heater
  • General hardness test kit
  • Aquarium general hardness buffer agent
  • Test kit to measure the pH of water
  • Aquarium pH buffer agent
  • Power head
  • Aquarium net
  • Hatching and rearing aquarium, 5-gallon capacity
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Instructions

    • 1

      Purchase six individuals silver sharks to ensure that you have at least one male and one female.

    • 2

      Set the thermostat on your aquarium heater to the 72 to 84 degrees F range. Silver sharks prefer warm water and are more likely to spawn at this temperature.

    • 3

      Use a general hardness test kit to measure the hardness of the aquarium water.

    • 4

      Use a commercial buffer agent to bring the level of hardness to between 5 to15 German degrees of hardness. Silver sharks prefer this hardness level.

    • 5

      Use a pH test kit to measure the level of the water parameter.

    • 6

      Use a commercial buffer agent to lower the pH to below 7. Lower the pH to as close to 5.7 as possible. Silver sharks prefer soft water and will be more inclined to spawn in soft water.

    • 7

      Remove the other tank mates, once the silver sharks reach a length of nine inches. They are now sexually mature and may become aggressive to smaller fish species in the confines of an aquarium.

    • 8

      Place a power head on one of the side glass panes of the aquarium. Use the adhesive suction cups to secure the submersible pump to the glass. Point the exhaust nozzle down the length of the aquarium. The male fish will eject his milt or sperm after the female has dropped her eggs into the water column and you must ensure that there is sufficient current to carry the milt to the eggs.

    • 9

      Use a net to immediately remove the eggs to a 5 gallon aquarium with identical water condition as the breeding tank. Other fish species can be housed with the silver sharks, once the eggs have been removed.