How many Leopards?

[daniel411]

Does anyone see a potential problem with having multiple leopard sharks in an aquarium thats 8' long and 4' deep. I have a good place to take them in 2-3 years or so.
Would 2-3, be to much? The leopards would be the staple species, along with some damsels, and possibly a school of five yellow tangs.

 

[daniel411]

Oh, filtration is currently going to be:
2" bed of southdown
built in wet-dry
100-200 lbs. of live rock in a few small piles.
uv sterilizer
a few tunze stream powerheads
skimmer, undecided on which brand
activated carbon ran atleast a few hours a day

 

[tony detroit]

I got a Sohal Tang that will chase your leopards....... want him???

 

[novice150]

Since you already have a future home for them lined up, I see no problem with multiple leopards. 3 sounds like a good number IMO, and depending on their size/how long you keep them, leaves room for others critters. Perhaps other sharks and rays?
Of course heavy skimming, good bio filtration, and excellent circulation is a must, but it sounds like you have a handle on that.

 

[daniel411]

I'm hoping I'll be able to toss a few more in. A bonnet head, a cali ray, maybe even a few cat/horn sharks... will have to wait and see. Next month I'll be moved and able to order the tank!

 

[daniel411]

Originally posted by tony detroit
I got a Sohal Tang that will chase your leopards....... want him???
nah... I've seen that thing chase your ray around...I'd rather keep the leopards alive!

 

[pprize]

Do you have any pics of the sharks, I love to see them. Saltwater and motocycles, what a great way to live. I ride yamaha. 2001 R6.

 

[daniel411]

Originally posted by pprize
Do you have any pics of the sharks, I love to see them. Saltwater and motocycles, what a great way to live. I ride yamaha. 2001 R6.
Don't have the sharks yet, just getting ready to order everything, set it up, and let it run a month or so before I start stocking it. R6, sweet. I'm a bit jealous of next years R1, turning my 02 into a track bike and picking the new one up is tempting

 

[saltfisher]

Originally posted by tony detroit
I got a Sohal Tang that will chase your leopards....... want him???

I'll take that Sohal. You want to get rid of???

 

[tony detroit]

How much you willing to pay???

 

[tony detroit]

Dan is my roomate, I was messing with him, I will sell him though. I will warn you...he chases stingrays

 

[saltfisher]

I'll take it. You let me know how much. I'm not trying to pay retail though. Give me a price with shipping included to Ohio.

 

[tony detroit]

What city are you in?
He's about 5'', maybe a little bit more eats like a horse, been in captivity for 10 months. Beautiful colors, no ich spots or anything. Tank has 36watt UV sterilizer before he was put in. I payed 90 for him, but have seen some his size for $125. If I have to drive three hours each way though, it's not worth my time, sorry. I'm not willing to ship.

 

[bullshark]

I would go with 3. A big grouper. A big Harliquin Tusk. And maybe that Sohal.....
that would be sweet.
(I sell bikes, but not yamaha)

 

[novice150]

I personally would not try a Harlequin Tusk. As cool as they are, I think you'd have the same problems you would with a trigger. I've never done it, fearing they'd nip fins.

 

[daniel411]

Alright, so no one sees any problems with:
3 leopard sharks
5 yellow tangs, all similar size... hoping they school
2 dozen or so damsels, probally replenished as needed.
-potentially a ray, horn/cat/bamboo....bonnethead added over time.
I've often seen damsels in shark tanks, excluding your/Novice's blacktip, with damsels for awhile. Do they just occasionally grab one and leave the rest alone? I wouldn't mind picking up a dozen ever few months to replace, casual losses.
A Harlequin would be sweet, to have that additional color. Don't want to be the first to try them with leopards though. As for the grouper, a small one would be cool. But I really would like to have a bunch of small fish/damsels also. Won't a grouper more aggressively pursue them than a leopard would?
Any other thoughts on what I could add?
Thanks for all the input.

 

[tony detroit]

I'd like a niger in mine, but am still a little shaky to try it.

 

[daniel411]

Originally posted by tony detroit
I'd like a niger in mine, but am still a little shaky to try it.
I'll split it with you if you want to try it in your tank! EDIT: The niger, not any fish it harms...

 

[saltfisher]

That's cool, I'll find one around here. I had a damsel in my shark tank and it was picking the fins of my baby leopard everytime he leopard swam past the place the damsel sat all the time. I noticed it when he had already done much damage to the fins. I pull the damsel out and.........you get the idea. I added a Harlequin tusk and a clown trigger and they are doing well. The tusk hides all the time. At night, he swims, but not much during the day.

 

[daniel411]

SaltFisher, what kind of damsel was it that was attacking the leopards fins?