Bamboo and others

[cielo]

I was just cruising some sites and came across the following. This was on ***********.com under Bamboo sharks. It is a customers comment, but surely if it wasn't agreed upon by the web site then they wouldn't have posted it. Any comments about the authors comment about the sharks remaining dwarfed?
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Black Banded Cat Sharks have the capability to be in a reef tank. The exception is that the sharks have to be young. When they are introduced young into a reef tank, they will be more interested in climbing through cracks and such. Older sharks are already too big to fit in the tank. The enclosed area will cause the sharks not to grow to their absolute length making a dwarf version. I have two sharks, one about three months old and the other I got when he was six months old and now he is three. He has not grown much and seems to like the cracks to hide from the light. My two sharks are the same size, about 1-1/2'. I love them and they are not temperamental. They are fine for reef tanks when introduced young.
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[conogre]

I suspect that the dwarfing comes as much from underfeeding as from cramped quarters as the amount of food ingested and waste excreted would too much for the average reef tank.

 

[grouperhead]

That is one of the dumbest things I've read lately. What an idiot. Bo

 

[cielo]

Thanks guys...lack of food makes more sense than tank size ( I just never thought about that) for the dwarfing.
By the way does anyone have a bamboo that they have had for a while and how big/fast do they grow approx. I'm trying to decide if it justifies getting a huge tank straight away of to go with a smaller one for a year or so 'til a bigger one is needed.
I was told just yesterday by a so called fish expert that they only grow to be 18 inches long anyway !!!!
Thank goodness I can balance what I'm told by having access to this forum and talking to people who really know what they are talking about.

 

[conogre]

Most can grow to from 3'-4' and my suggestion would be to go to the larger tank straight away.
If you start with a smaller tank, you face the problem of how to cycle the larger tank if you've replaced the samller one with it, and where do you keep your fish while you do?
Additionally, you can select smaller tankmates (cheaper, for starts) that will grow along with your shark and that he'll then be used to.
Growth rate is rapid up to about 18" at which time it slows considerably, a common occurance in many long-lived marine animals.