Brown and Black Cat Sharks Together?

[mikesbales]

I've got a 300 gallon system I've decided to use as a shark tank. I've got a black cat shark egg that i'm letting hatch in my refugium, and my buddy's got a 11" brown cat shark that hes willing to give me. once the egg hatches can I put them together or will they not get along? Thanks

 

[jp30338]

Am curious, are "cat sharks" the same as "bamboo sharks"?

 

[salt210]

I don't know how reliable my information is but the site that I was on said that they are the same. once again I am not sure about the source, hopefully someone else will chime in here and correct me if neccessary

 

[aquaknight]

Agreed with the above, I believe, your talking about the same fish, Chiloscyllium punctatum. Maybe the Brown Banded is Chiloscyllium plagiosum, instead

?(the correct common-name is Whitespotted Bambooshark for Plagiosum)
To answer your question, they probably will get along for a bit, before becoming aggressive towards each other. Perhaps if one is male, the other is female, a pair could work. However, even with a pair, they will likely be still nippy and bitey towards each other, and the subordinate will need some space to escape to, and as I'm sure your aware, that 300gal isn't the best of homes, long term, for one of these guys, let alone 2.

 

[jp30338]

I was researching this myself last night. Cat sharks are different from bamboo sharks. I noticed that the cat sharks such as the coral cat shark, which is the most common, grow to average length of 27in. while the bamboo sharks grow to avg. 40in.
2 in a tank that small is not a good idea.

 

[jp30338]

I do believe the 2 the OP are talking about are actually bamboo sharks, they are often called one or the other.

 

[krj-1168]

Ok - Black banded, & Brown banded Cat sharks (as the are called in LFS) are the same species - the Brown-banded Bamboo Shark (Chiloscyllium punctatum).
So yes - they can be kept together. However a 300 gallon tank isn't large enough to keep them for life. They will likely reach at least 36 inches in 4 years. And they can get to be more than 40" long. But you could likely keep them both in there for about 12-18 months. After that you really need a pond that is about 750-1,000 gallons and has a foot print of at least 50 sq.ft (8' diameter +).
BTW - C. plagiosum is the White-spotted Bamboo Shark.

 

[aquaknight]

Originally Posted by krj-1168
http:///forum/post/2750983
Ok - Black banded, & Brown banded Cat sharks (as the are called in LFS) are the same species - the Brown-banded Bamboo Shark (Chiloscyllium punctatum).
So yes - they can be kept together. However a 300 gallon tank isn't large enough to keep them for life. They will likely reach at least 36 inches in 4 years. And they can get to be more than 40" long. But you could likely keep them both in there for about 12-18 months. After that you really need a pond that is about 750-1,000 gallons and has a foot print of at least 50 sq.ft (8' diameter +).
BTW - C. plagiosum is the White-spotted Bamboo Shark.
I guess we need pics. I'm just thinking coming from the same person, I bet there either some confusion or at least a visual difference between the two. At 11", I think his buddy's shark is still a pup, and still mostly in juvi coloring. A juvi C. plagiosum (first pic) looks a lot like a C. punctatum (second pic)

 

[krj-1168]

Actually - Both of those photos are of Brown Banded Bamboos (C. punctatum). Just at different stages of growth -the one in the top photo is at least 6 months old, the one in the bottom photo is only about 2 months or less. But they are the same exact species.
The White-spotted Bamboo (C. plagiosum) looks very different. And it has White spots which visible from newly hatch to mature adult.