New Guy asking for Help with putting together a Shark Tank.
- Thread starter serg141
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sharkboy13
Active Member
coral cat or marbled bamboo, if u want a smaller tank the coral cat, nicer looking shark marbled, i cant say which is more aggressive but id have to go w/ the bamboo. the one i ha ate my 2in panther grouper. the gouper was only $10 but hey, it was cool lookin.
krj-1168
Member
True Bigger is better - especially with sharks.
But a single Coral Catshark can easily get by in a 125 gallon custom.
Still I should have added the words "At Least".
It's the smaller Bamboos like the Grey & Whitespotted that need at least a 180 gallon custom.
Remember with most sharks - standard aquariums won't do. They actually require tanks with a larger foot print. And a tank's depth is the least important of the 3 dimensions.
As for the "home Aquarium" shark basics.
The Coral Cat - is actually kind of a eel-like appearance, but very voracious(more so than the Bamboos).
The Whitespotted is the most aggressive of the Bamboos.
The Brownbanded Bamboo(banded cat shark) is one of the cutest Bamboos - that actually grows up to resemble a mini-Nurse.
The Horn shark is often called a "cool water" shark, but actually does very well in water temps in the lower 70's (normal room temps). They also cute as juveniles, but when grown up they have the cool look of a Prehistoric Shark.
But a single Coral Catshark can easily get by in a 125 gallon custom.
Still I should have added the words "At Least".
It's the smaller Bamboos like the Grey & Whitespotted that need at least a 180 gallon custom.
Remember with most sharks - standard aquariums won't do. They actually require tanks with a larger foot print. And a tank's depth is the least important of the 3 dimensions.
As for the "home Aquarium" shark basics.
The Coral Cat - is actually kind of a eel-like appearance, but very voracious(more so than the Bamboos).
The Whitespotted is the most aggressive of the Bamboos.
The Brownbanded Bamboo(banded cat shark) is one of the cutest Bamboos - that actually grows up to resemble a mini-Nurse.
The Horn shark is often called a "cool water" shark, but actually does very well in water temps in the lower 70's (normal room temps). They also cute as juveniles, but when grown up they have the cool look of a Prehistoric Shark.
psusocr1
Active Member
no shark should ever go in evan a custom 125 coral cats need 180 minimum and IMO thats evan too small
also how can you say a whitespotted need a 180?? thats crazy whitspotted get huge! as far as the bamboo family goes. the grey and the whitespot cant evan be compared as the grey stays a whole foot + shorter!
also how can you say a whitespotted need a 180?? thats crazy whitspotted get huge! as far as the bamboo family goes. the grey and the whitespot cant evan be compared as the grey stays a whole foot + shorter!
krj-1168
Member
First off - when I comes to keeping sharks in home aquariums - the tanks footprint is more important that amount of gallons it will hold.
And any standand size tank - generally make poor sharks tanks.
That said a Standard 180 gallon is roughly 6' long x 2' wide x 2' deep. Yes - that's a good length for a Coral Catshark - but the width is a bit too narrow(although not by Scott Micheal's figures).
Now remember - Coral Catsharks (A. marmoratus) - max out at 27inches .
Now if you use Jeffrey Anderson's figures from the Shark Aquarium Ethics article in the Oct. 2005 issue of "Tropical Fish Hobbists Magazine".
Then the tank should be at least 60 inches long x at least 32 inches wide x 10 inches deep.
The only problem I see with that tank is the depth - yes Coral cats are tidal pool sharks - but they still should have at least a foot deep - with about 15 inches recommended.
So now you would have a custom built tank that's - 5ft long, x 2.667 ft wide x 1.25 ft deep - or about 125 gallons.
Now why is the custom 125 better than a standard 180 - well just figure the surface area.
The 125 has a surface area(or footprint) of 13.33 sq.ft. While, the 180 has a surface area of just 12 sq.ft.
And since surface area(or footprint size is key) - then that means the 125 wins.
Okay, I will agree with you, psusocr1 - about the whitespotted bamboo. The whitespotted Bamboos grow to about 3' long - while the Grey Bamboos max out at 2.5'.
So a Grey Bamboo needs a custom built 180 gallon(with a 6'x 3' footprint). And the Whitespotted needs at least a custom 240 (w/a 7'x 3.5' footprint).
And any standand size tank - generally make poor sharks tanks.
That said a Standard 180 gallon is roughly 6' long x 2' wide x 2' deep. Yes - that's a good length for a Coral Catshark - but the width is a bit too narrow(although not by Scott Micheal's figures).
Now remember - Coral Catsharks (A. marmoratus) - max out at 27inches .
Now if you use Jeffrey Anderson's figures from the Shark Aquarium Ethics article in the Oct. 2005 issue of "Tropical Fish Hobbists Magazine".
Then the tank should be at least 60 inches long x at least 32 inches wide x 10 inches deep.
The only problem I see with that tank is the depth - yes Coral cats are tidal pool sharks - but they still should have at least a foot deep - with about 15 inches recommended.
So now you would have a custom built tank that's - 5ft long, x 2.667 ft wide x 1.25 ft deep - or about 125 gallons.
Now why is the custom 125 better than a standard 180 - well just figure the surface area.
The 125 has a surface area(or footprint) of 13.33 sq.ft. While, the 180 has a surface area of just 12 sq.ft.
And since surface area(or footprint size is key) - then that means the 125 wins.
Okay, I will agree with you, psusocr1 - about the whitespotted bamboo. The whitespotted Bamboos grow to about 3' long - while the Grey Bamboos max out at 2.5'.
So a Grey Bamboo needs a custom built 180 gallon(with a 6'x 3' footprint). And the Whitespotted needs at least a custom 240 (w/a 7'x 3.5' footprint).
krj-1168
Member
I'll agree - with you on that - psusocr1.
So I'll offer these help tips to remember for any one new keeping sharks.
1.) Never buy a shark(or egg case) on impulse.
2.) Always do research on any shark species before you buy one - A good start is get a copy of Scott Michael's Book - Aquariums Sharks & Rays - it's basically Shark/Ray Keeping 101.
3.) Select the species - you plan on keeping first - then get or have built a tank or pool at least 25%(although 50-75% is better) larger than Scott Michael's minimum tank size for that species.
4.) Remember - that tank's length & width are more important than depth - especially for the more aquarium friendly species. usually they don't need a tank that's over 2 ft deep.
5.) For novice keepers - Stay Away from the following species - as these guys are experienced keepers only - Nurse, Blacktips, Bonnetheads, Port Jackson's, Sharpnose( Atlantic & Pacific), Smoothhounds(all species, including the Leopard), Wobbegongs(all species) & Whitetips.
6.) For Novice keepers - these are the best sharks to keep - Bamboo Sharks(Brown-banded, grey, or Whitespotted), Catsharks(Coral or Marbled), or the Horn shark
So I'll offer these help tips to remember for any one new keeping sharks.
1.) Never buy a shark(or egg case) on impulse.
2.) Always do research on any shark species before you buy one - A good start is get a copy of Scott Michael's Book - Aquariums Sharks & Rays - it's basically Shark/Ray Keeping 101.
3.) Select the species - you plan on keeping first - then get or have built a tank or pool at least 25%(although 50-75% is better) larger than Scott Michael's minimum tank size for that species.
4.) Remember - that tank's length & width are more important than depth - especially for the more aquarium friendly species. usually they don't need a tank that's over 2 ft deep.
5.) For novice keepers - Stay Away from the following species - as these guys are experienced keepers only - Nurse, Blacktips, Bonnetheads, Port Jackson's, Sharpnose( Atlantic & Pacific), Smoothhounds(all species, including the Leopard), Wobbegongs(all species) & Whitetips.
6.) For Novice keepers - these are the best sharks to keep - Bamboo Sharks(Brown-banded, grey, or Whitespotted), Catsharks(Coral or Marbled), or the Horn shark
bubbacat
New Member
Sharkboy13 said:well as far as tank siz minimum is 180 for ONE SHARK, no more, maybe 1-3lbs of lr per gallon, becuz sharks r messy eaters and ull need good filtration as well, coral cats and marbled cats r nice and two of the smaller sharks in the trade i no of a place that sells em for $80, pretty cheap compared to some places. as far as tankmates go, u can do anything except triggers, puffers, and large angels. a school of sapphire damsels might look nice, or a trio of sunburst anthias. maybe a tang, ray if u got a bigger tank, a dragon eel would look cool if u have the budget lol. ull want a sump and refugium. diets meaty food like shrimp, fish, squid, octo, ocean nutrition shark formula is a good thing. oh and to get him to start eating soak his food in garlic, kick start his feeding response[/QU
Some puffers are diffrent I have a spotted puffer in with a cat shark and there great together.
psusocr1
Active Member
Some puffers are diffrent I have a spotted puffer in with a cat shark and there great together.
thats the problem they are always great together until that one day when you come home and the eyes on your shakrs head are missing. i dont mean to come down on you but ther are soo manys tories about people doing this. weather it is a shark with a puffer or a tess eel witht ankmates one day youll end up with someone dead, and is irresponsible IMO
thats the problem they are always great together until that one day when you come home and the eyes on your shakrs head are missing. i dont mean to come down on you but ther are soo manys tories about people doing this. weather it is a shark with a puffer or a tess eel witht ankmates one day youll end up with someone dead, and is irresponsible IMO
krj-1168
Member
thats the problem they are always great together until that one day when you come home and the eyes on your shakrs head are missing. i dont mean to come down on you but ther are soo manys tories about people doing this. weather it is a shark with a puffer or a tess eel witht ankmates one day youll end up with someone dead, and is irresponsible IMO
Very True. But also there's the very real possibility that the reverse may happen - the Cat shark kills the Puffer.
This is especially possible if your talking about a coral catshark - which have been known to kill puffers, angels or even eels.
Still I think the point is keeping a puffer and cat shark together is very dangerous for one or both species. It pretty much a given that sooner or later - one of the two will either be seriously injuried or dead.
Very True. But also there's the very real possibility that the reverse may happen - the Cat shark kills the Puffer.
This is especially possible if your talking about a coral catshark - which have been known to kill puffers, angels or even eels.
Still I think the point is keeping a puffer and cat shark together is very dangerous for one or both species. It pretty much a given that sooner or later - one of the two will either be seriously injuried or dead.
seagoblin333
Member
no offense serg141, but shark tanks are really meant for more expierenced hobbiest, not saying that you still cant run a one well.
just my 2 cents
just my 2 cents