eels are nice you need plenty of rock work and a secure lid here is some info
eels
Several species of moray eel can be kept in aquariums but it is important to research the particular species you are interested since their requirements and maximal size varies. Moray eels are often portrayed as vicious and overly aggressive, but moray eels are actually fairly shy fishes that prefer to keep to them selves and stay inside their cave. If you attack a moray eel while scuba diving and try to force it out of its cave it can however deliver a serious bite in self-defence, especially if it feels cornered and unable to escape.
When feeding your moray eel it is important to keep in mind that moray eels rely primarily on their sense of smell and cannot see or hear well. If your finger tips smell like fish food, the moray eel might unintentionally bite you since it cannot distinguish the
food from the aquarist.
Some people think the moray eel can deliver a poisonous bite since it has the same body shape as a snake, but this is not true. A moray eel bite can however become really infected since the teeth of the fish are covered in bacteria which are pressed deep into the wound. A skin toxin has also been found in an Indo-Pacific moray eel.
Moray eels are commercially fished, but
eating them can sometimes lead to ciguatera fish poisoning.
Few animals attack adult moray eels, but some do, such as large barracudas and
groupers. Moray eels can also prey on each other.
Taxonomy
There are approximately 200 known species of moray eel in the world, all belong to the family Muraenidae which is divided into 15 different genera:
Anarchias
Channomuraena
Cirrimaxilla
Echidna
Enchelycore
Enchelynassa
Gymnomuraena
Gymnothorax
Monopenchelys
Muraena
Pseudechidna
Rhinomuraena
Scuticaria
Strophidon
Uropterygius
Habitat, habits and geographical range
Moray eels are found worldwide in both tropical, subtropical and temperate seas. The larvae of the fish are widespread in the epipelagic zone (the oceanic zone that extends from the surface to about 200 meters / 650 feet). Adult fish is typically found in shallow waters where there is plenty of rocks and coral head to hide among.
Many species of moray eel are nocturnal and will spend the day resting in a cave or crevice. When hunting, they also like to stay inside a cave or similar and wait until suitable prey ventures close enough. When keeping moray eels in aquariums, it is important to provide them with suitable caves and crevices where they can hide.
Morey eel feeding
The moray will typically hunt during the night, but it can also decide to lunge out and clamp an animal that ventures too close during the day. Moray eels feed chiefly on fishes, molluscs, crustaceans and cephalopods.
All moray eels are predators and equipped with numerous teeth. Most predatory fish species use negative pressure to swallow prey, but the moray eel cannot create negative pressure since its head is too narrow. Instead, the moray eel is equipped with a second set of teethed jaws inside its throat, so called pharyngeal jaws. When feeding, the moray eel will launch these jaws into its mouth where the teeth will grasp the struggling prey that is being held by the outer jaws. The pharyngeal jaws will transport the flesh down the throat and into the belly. The moray eel is actually the only known animal that uses its pharyngeal jaws to actively capture and restrain prey.
Anatomy
The largest species of moray eel is the Slender giant
moray (Strophidon sathete) which can become up to 4 meters (13 feet) long. The typical length of a moray eel is however 150 cm (5 feet).
Just like other eels, the moray eels have a snake-like elongated body. The dorsal fin begins near the gill opening and extends along the back where it joins the caudal and anal fins. In most species, there are no pectoral and pelvic fins. The moray eel is a scaleless fish and the body is often decorated with a camouflaging pattern. The camouflage is actually present not only on the outside of the fish but inside the mouth as well.
The head of the moray eel has 1-3 lateral line pores and a protruding snout with wide jaws. The gill openings are small and round. The eyes are fairly small and the fish has poor eyesight since it relies on smell rather than sight and hearing to locate prey.
SHARKS
This type of shark only
The shark species Chiloscyllium plagiosum is known under several different English common names, including Whitespotted bambooshark, White-spotted bambooshark, White-spotted bamboo shark, and White-spotted catshark.
Chiloscyllium plagiosum has been listed as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species since 2006. More info about its conservational status can be found below.
Geographical range, habitat and habits
The Whitespotted bambooshark lives in the Indo-West Pacific. It has been confirmed in the waters of the following countries: Cambodia, China (mainland, Hong Kong, Macau), India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, the Maldives, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
The Whitespotted bamboo shark is a reef dwelling creature that lives near the bottom in shallow inshore environments. If feeds during the night and rests in reef crevices during the day.
Conservational situation
Chiloscyllium plagiosum has been listed as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species since 2006. Its minimum population doubling time is within the 4.5 - 14 years range, so it is highly vulnerable in this regard.
The major threats are habitat loss, pollution, and hunting. Dynamite fishing and terrestrial runoff are causing problems for the corals within a significant part of its range. The Whitespotted bambooshark is an appreciated food fish within its native range and is also harvested for the aquarium trade. In addition to this, this shark is used in traditional Chinese medicine.
As an aquarist, you can help the remaining populations by purchasing captive reared sharks instead of wild caught specimens.
Size and appearance
The largest scientifically measured Whitespotted bambooshark was a 95 cm (37 in) long female. The largest scientifically measured male was 83 cm (33 in).
Juveniles typically display a satiny black colouration with white or bluish spots. As they grow older, they develop a lighter base colour and become dark to light brown. Both juveniles and adults can be decorated with transverse dark bands.
Whitespotted bambooshark care
A small juvenile Whitespotted bambooshark can be housed in a 30 gallon / 115 L aquarium, but you will have to get a 180 gallon / 680 L aquarium or larger sooner or later. Don’t purchase a Whitespotted bambooshark unless you are prepared to house it when it becomes a large adult. A newborn fish can become over 40 cm (16 in) long before even reaching an age of 6 months. Bottom area is actually more important than the exact volume of the aquarium, so if you are choosing between two similarly sized aquariums, go for the one with the largest bottom area. This shark is a bottom dwelling creature and will rarely swim to the upper parts of the aquarium.
As mentioned above, the White spotted bamboo shark is a night active species that wants to stay hidden in a reef crevice during the day, and it is therefore important to provide it with at least one suitable cave, crevice or similar in the aquarium. This is a burly fish that will search through the substrate every night, so make sure that everything is properly fastened in the aquarium. Heavy objects should be placed directly on the aquarium glass.
Whitespotted bambooshark can be housed with fish that aren’t small enough to be considered food and has for instance been successfully kept with grunts, snappers, jacks,
groupers, and goatfish. Keep an eye on the shark during feeding times because it does not compete well with faster and more assertive species. Do not combine the Whitespotted bambooshark with fish that feed by scraping encrusting invertebrates off the substrate because they are often fond of nipping this shark.
The recommended water temperature is 72-78º F / 22-25.5º C. The specific gravity should be 1.020-1.023 and the pH-value 8.1 to 8.4. Keep the water quality high, i.e. never allow high levels of organic waste to form.
If you take good care of your Whitespotted bambooshark it can reach an age of 25 years in captivity.
Feeding Whitespotted bambooshark
In the wild, the Whitespotted bambooshark feeds on bony fishes and crustaceans. It feeds during the night.
In the aquarium, it is very important to provide the shark with a varied diet and make sure that it actually eats. It does not compete well with faster species and eating when its light is not really natural for it.
You can for instance feed your Whitespotted bambooshark squids, clams, scallops, shrimps, and marine fish. The mouth of this bambooshark is very small, especially in juvenile specimens, and they are not apt chewers so you have to cut up larger animals into suitably sized pieces. Small live animals will also be greatly appreciated, e.g. live ghost
shrimp. By feeding live food you will give your sharks an opportunity to engage in its natural feeding behaviour; they can squeeze themselves into surprisingly small crevices and do all sorts of acrobatic tricks to get close enough to a tasty shrimp.
Training a Whitespotted bambooshark to eat dead food is usually quite easy; you can for instance impale a morsel on a piece of translucent tubing and move it back and forth in front of the shark.
You don’t have to feed your Whitespotted bambooshark every day; feeding it every 2-3 days is usually enough. If the shark seems to be loosing weight, feed it more often or (if it has a hearty appetite) feed larger portions during each feeding session. If it becomes fat and/or grows very fast you can usually cut down on food without problem.
Don’t be surprised if your Whitespotted bambooshark refuses to eat when newly introduced to the aquarium. If well fed when purchased it can usually go a few weeks without food, but you should still try to coax it back to eating as soon as possible. Try enticing it with live food, e.g. live fish (you can use brackish fish such as mollies) and suitably sized live shrimps. Turn off the aquarium light as soon as you have added the live food since the Whitespotted bambooshark is a night feeder.
Breeding Whitespotted bambooshark
The Whitespotted bambooshark is an
egg-laying species. It has been successfully bred in captivity and this is where its reproductive habits have been studied, not in the wild.
Males will normally reach sexual maturity when they are 20-25 in (50-64 cm) in length. The maturity size of females remains unknown.
The female shark will deposit two egg capsules at a time, and normally continue to do so every 6th to 7th day throughout spring and summer or about every 6th day from
winter to spring. The longest laying season that we know of lasted 87 days, with the female depositing 26 eggs.
The eggs will hatch after 110-144 days and the average length at birth for Whitespotted bamboosharks in captivity is almost 17 cm (6.7 in).
Rays
Stingrays and electric rays are found in the superorder Batoidea, which is also home to skates, guitarfishes and sawfishes. Sometimes the term ray is used for all the members of Batoidea, but it is more commonly applied to the members of the order Rajiformes. Rajiformes contains skates, guitarfishes and so called “true rays”.
The rays are found in the following families:
Dasyatidae (stingrays)
Gymnuridae (butterfly rays)
Hexatrygonidae (sixgill stingrays)
Myliobatidae (eagle rays)
Plesiobatidae (deepwater stingrays)
Potamotrygonidae (river stingrays)
Urolophidae (round rays)
Stingrays (Dasyatidae)
Stingrays are probably the most famous of the rays. They inhabit marine and brackish waters along the coasts of the Atlantic, Pacific Ocean
and Indian Ocean. Freshwater species are present in Asia, Africa and North America (Florida). The name stingray is derived from the razor-sharp cartilaginous spine that extends from the tail of the fish. The stingray produces are venom capable of breaking down and killing cells as well as provoke smooth-muscle contractions.
Keeping rays in the aquarium
Most rays are not recommended for aquarists since they grow to large or need the vastness of the ocean to thrive. There are however a few species that have been successfully kept in aquariums, such as Bluespotted stingray (Dasyatis kuhlii) and Bluespotted ribbontail ray (Taeniura lymma). Both are marine species and must be kept in a saltwater aquarium. Dasyatis kuhlii can reach a size of 70 cm (28 inches), while the maximum size for Taeniura lymma is 35 cm (14 inches). As you can see, both will need huge aquariums as they grow older.
If you want to keep rays in your aquarium you must provide them a suitable substrate, such as soft sand, since they like to burrow. Optimal water quality will also be required. When handling your rays you must be careful, since several species can deliver a venomous sting with their tail.
If you need to medicate the aquarium you cannot use copper based medicine because rays are very sensitive to copper. The copper will be absorbed by the cartilage and make the fish sick.
Keeping Bluespotted ribbontail ray (Taeniura lymma)
The Bluespotted ribbontail ray hails from the Indo-Pacific and needs a water temperature of 22-22.5 ºC (72-78 ºF) in the aquarium. The pH-value should be 8.1-8.4 and the specific gravity 1.020-1.025. The species is aggressive and venomous. It will spend most of its time close to the bottom or borrowed in the sand. Never use a coarse substrate in the aquarium because this will injure the ray and the wounds can easily become infected.
The Bluespotted ribbontail ray is known under several different names, including Bluespotted Stingray and Blue Dot Stingray. Its main body colouration is tan and the fish it decorated with beautiful blue dots. Unlike many other rays, this species does not give birth to live young; it is an
egg layer.
The Bluespotted ribbontail ray is a carnivore and can for instance be feed fish, shrimp, scallops and ;">squid in the aquarium. It can be hard to get it to eat when it has been moved to a new aquarium. You will have to be persistent and try to tickle its appetite by offering it freshwater ghost
shrimp or small tidbits of well cleaned squid. It can also be a good idea to ask the previous keeper if your particular specimen has any favourite food. Once your Bluespotted ribbontail ray have started to
eat it cannot be kept in the same aquarium as small fish and invertebrates because it will readily eat them.
Info from-
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/
