Banded (Bamboo) cat shark

[fish magnet]

I was thinking of getting a banded cat shark for my 72 bow front FO tank. I have a sand substrate, and a few other fish. How long would a 7-8" shark be alright in this setup?? What do they eat and how often??

 

[scott270]

take this to the aggressive setup forum risc knows alot about shark as for a shark in a 72 you know they need at least 300

 

[swtanks]

They eat fresh squid, shrimp, and flounder. You can also train them to eat frozen shark formula.
Feed it every other day until it is full.
The longest time you could keep one in a 72 would be about 6 months. Since it is about 7-8 inches now, after 6 months it will outgrow your tank.
They are not catsharks. They are bamboo sharks. Catsharks are entirely different. Sorry, this is a pet peeve of mine.
You can expect it to reach a size of just over 3 feet and the bands will disapear with age.
What other fish do you have? They could either kill the shark or become food for the shark.
Don't buy the banded unless you can dedicate a tank much larger than a 72 for it.

 

[fish magnet]

I have a Orbic Batfish, flame hawkfish, firefish goby, and a choc. chip star.

 

[swtanks]

The bat would be fine depending upon how large it is.
The hawk and goby are shark snacks.
The star should be fine. My whitespotted never touched the brittle star. Ate all the hermits and snails though.

 

[risc]

Actually many hawkfish including the flame hawk act as cleaners to sharks. Much like remoras and cleaner wrasse which are more common. The hawkfish would be a beneficial tankmate until the time the bamboo cat was big enough to eat him.
You are going to need a 250-300 for a bamboo cat shark. Unless you plan on getting rid of it after awhile.
Jim