Advice on keeping Sharks

[basketballas]

I recently (past 6 months) purchased a 200 gallon aquarium. Now in the tank i have a Banded Shark egg that i've had for a month. Its still moving in the egg so I'm going to assume that it's doing ok. I also have a V.O. something Lion fish. And a few days ago i bought a 12in baby Horn Shark. I do not have a sump on my tank yet, i have 200lbs of live rock in the tank (there is still plenty of room for the shark and lion fish) I plan in the next 6 months or so to set up a sump as the sharks grow to give them more swimming room. I have 3in of sand. The tank is circulating 4 1/2 times an hour, i plan in the next few weeks to bump that up to at least 6 times an hour.
Does any one have any advice for me? It would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Alex

 

[jp30338]

Well first off your tank is WAY too small for 2 sharks longterm. Do you plan on upgrading to a larger tank before they get too big?

 

[basketballas]

No I had not planned on a new tank. Before purchasing these sharks I did alot of research and planning. I had talked to quite a few people about the sharks that i bought and i concluded that 200 would work. The two types of shark i have (Banded Cat, Horn Shark) are very inactive. They are still young I have a Banded Cat egg, and the Horn Shark is less than a year old, but once they mature and i see the tank as to small to properly house them i will find them a proper home.
Thank you for your advice

 

[crimzy]

How large is the volitan lion? These fish can easily swallow a newborn shark pup. If he's larger than 3-4 inches I'd probably get rid of him. Aside from that, I think that your tank will be fine for quite some time. What are the exact dimensions of the tank?
You will want to feed the pup with a feeder stick until it learns to compete with the others for food. Tankmates should be nonaggressive fish... not large enough to eat your sharks but large enough not to get eaten either. No nippers (triggers, puffers, angels, wrasses). I've had several sharks and would be happy to offer any advice you may need. Good luck.

 

[basketballas]

My lion fish is about 4-5 inches. I really doubt that it could or would attempt to eat the baby shark when it hatches. Or at least i hope not; I am a little worried about my horn shark. The horn shark is 12Inches but isnt very aggressive at all, and its never been fed anything living only silversides. My tank is 7X2X2ft. How many time an hour should i have it circulating? Its a little over 4 and a half time an hour, im putting in a order for 2 more power heads that should put it to 6 times an hour. I was wondering for the sharks in order for them to breath more easily, should they have more circulation? My horn shark seems to breath a little heavy but im not sure whats really normal i just bought it.

 

[crypt keeper]

your tank is about a 3 feet too short and 2 feet not wide enough.

 

[el guapo]

honestly it should be cycling at least 15-20 times per hour .
As others have said it is too small for 2 sharks long term .

 

[basketballas]

Hey thanks for all your advice on the aquarium and proper tank size.
Do any of you know any information about keeping a shark as far as what to feed it and how to care for it? I also have a banded cat shark egg and was wondering if it will hatch on its own i have to tank temperature set at 81 like i read for it to properly hatch. I've heard of people cutting them out of their shell, mine has already used up all its food sack that was in the egg with it?
Thanks
Alex

 

[el guapo]

When it is ready to hatch it will hatch . I would not cut it open as I have never herd of any success when cutting the egg open .
Its tough to get them eating . You can start out with ghost shrimp to get them to eat . But then try to switch over to squid cut into tiny pieces as soon as possible .

 

[basketballas]

Would i just want to throw some live ghost shrimp in the tank and see if it will catch them? I feed my other shark silversides; do you think that i could hand feed the newly hatched shark like i feed the other?

 

[-tara33-]

Originally Posted by basketballas
http:///forum/post/2822551
I recently (past 6 months) purchased a 200 gallon aquarium. Now in the tank i have a Banded Shark egg that i've had for a month. Its still moving in the egg so I'm going to assume that it's doing ok. I also have a V.O. something Lion fish. And a few days ago i bought a 12in baby Horn Shark. I do not have a sump on my tank yet, i have 200lbs of live rock in the tank (there is still plenty of room for the shark and lion fish) I plan in the next 6 months or so to set up a sump as the sharks grow to give them more swimming room. I have 3in of sand. The tank is circulating 4 1/2 times an hour, i plan in the next few weeks to bump that up to at least 6 times an hour.
Does any one have any advice for me? It would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Alex
I dont understand how this will give them more swimming room.
but the lionfish is deffinently capable of eating the banded cat pup. i have heard of it happening, take the lion out to be safe.

 

[basketballas]

i have 200lbs of live rock in my tank. I plan to set up a sump so that i can take the majority of the rock out of the tank and put it in the sump. I really dont think that lionfish could physically fit the Banded shark into his mouth. The lion fish is pretty small and the banded shark is already 4-6 inches. But i might but it in my other tank just to be sure. Does the water need to circulate more for a shark?

 

[-tara33-]

Originally Posted by basketballas
http:///forum/post/2826279
i have 200lbs of live rock in my tank. I plan to set up a sump so that i can take the majority of the rock out of the tank and put it in the sump. I really dont think that lionfish could physically fit the Banded shark into his mouth. The lion fish is pretty small and the banded shark is already 4-6 inches. But i might but it in my other tank just to be sure. Does the water need to circulate more for a shark?
lionfish will attemt something the same size of itself and larger i have had a 5 inch antenna lion eat a 6 inch coris wrasse and the lion was dead the next morning and you dont want to much flow that the shark is fighting a strong currant, but it needs good flow so the particles dont land on the shark and settle.

 

[basketballas]

What do you think a good amount of cycles per hour should be? I just ordered a few new powerheads so that i can bring it up

 

[el guapo]

just through the filtration should be a minimum of 10 times if not more sharks are VERY messy .
Then via close loop or powerheads you should have another 10 times .

 

[krj-1168]

OK - first Sharks & Lion fish are bad tank mates. Lions have been known to sting sharks. And in some cases sharks have been known to attempt to eat the lion.
Also Horn sharks are actually more aggressive feeders than banded bamboos. And they are also more active than banded bamboos.
Also hatching a bamboo shark from the egg isn't easy. Most bamboo pups that do hatch die within a few (2-4) weeks.
And with a Shark tank - filtration is key. High turn over is good, but also important is the filtration systems ability to remove nitrogen-based waste. This should include Protein skimmer, LR, live sand, and a refugiem with macro-algea(Cheato), and live mudd.

 

[basketballas]

What causes Banded sharks to die after being hatched? Is there anything i can do to ensure its survival. My horn shark has very leathery skin, can the lionfish still sting throught it? The sharks swims right into the lionfish all the time and just runs it over. Do you agree with circulating the tank 10 times an hour for the sharks?

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by basketballas
http:///forum/post/2828180
What causes Banded sharks to die after being hatched? Is there anything i can do to ensure its survival. My horn shark has very leathery skin, can the lionfish still sting throught it? The sharks swims right into the lionfish all the time and just runs it over. Do you agree with circulating the tank 10 times an hour for the sharks?
10 times turnover is minimal for an average tank. You want strong filtration without a terribly strong current running through your tank for a shark. Pups are best in a 55 gallon, or so, tank by themselves. They die because they are hard to get feeding, especially with competition in the tank. The horn shark will go for whatever you attempt to offer the pup. The lion will certainly go for whatever food that you put in. Can you move the egg into a large enough tank so it can hatch by itself and learn to feed alone? I don't see him fairing well with the other tank mates until he is eating well on his own.

 

[el guapo]

There are many reasons that banneded sharks do not live . nitrate levels , low oxygen levels, stray voltage, starvation, Really any number of problems .
Even 10 times turnover is very low . You need to have a minimum of 10-15 times turn over just through filtration , in addition you need closed loop water movement . To keep the tank from developing dead spots .
A 200 gallon tank with less than 1000 gph of water movement has a ton of dead spots where detritus can collect , Especially if you have 200 pounds of rock in there . I would hoonestly suggest you have at least 4 power heads down in the bottom of the tank angled so as to keep the water moving .
These sharks hatch in tide pools in the wild . Your not going to have too much flow .
As far as the lion fish goes . They have poisonous spines in their fins for a reason . Your shark might run it over a million times but there will come that time that it catches one of the spines wrong and it gets stung . You have to decide if that's a risk worth taking . Do you really want to gamble with the sharks life ?

 

[krj-1168]

True - there are numerous causes for the reasons that newly hatched sharks have low surivival rates. But starvation seems to be one of the main causes.
Also Very True - that Lionfish have poisonous spines that can & likely will (at some point) kill the shark.
The think about flow rates with shark tanks - is there's no absolute hards numbers that you can use to fit all situations.
Case in point - in major public aquariums the flow rate is usuually about 1-2 times the tank's volume. While large private shark ponds(about 10,000-50,000 gallons) may have a flow rate of about 2-3 times the pond's volume. But generally the smaller the tank the higher the tank's flow rate should be. Tanks that are under 1,000 gallons usually need a flow rate of at least 5 times.
But ultimately it's about detritus & nitrogen-based waste products. You really need a filtration system that is capable of removing all the detritus, & 100% of nitrogen waste. And for that you need a natural biological filtration system.
Remember the world's best filtration system for saltwater - is also found where you find the largest natural areas of saltwater i.e. the oceans.