Setting Up 240 Need Help. Please Advise

[deuce biggalow]

I am in the process of cycling a 240 gallon tank. It will all be top of the line, uv, protein skimmer, wet dry, you name it.
I plan on keeping the following fish in the tank. Please advise which ones you don't think will work, and which to introduce first and last.
Leapard Shark
Blue Spotted Stingray,
Panda Puffer,
Porcupine Puffer,
Show Clown Trigger,
Yellow Banded Sweetlips,
Blue Line Grouper,
Emporer Angelfish,
Banana Wrasse,
A couple different Triggers
A powder blue tank, Naso Tang, Atlantic blue tang.
And any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Justin

 

[swtanks]

First of all a 240 is too small for a leopard shark and secondly, they are not tropical sharks. You really should have a chiller and a 500 gallon tank minimum for one of these.
Do not try to keep multiple triggers with a "showsize" clown. A disaster waiting to happen. The other fish may not be safe either.
What is the scientific name of the ray? There are 2 types I have seen sold as blue dots. One is very delicate and the other is much more suited for captivity. However, no triggers or puffers if you get a ray.
Sweetlips get HUGE and IMO ugly when they are adults.
Skip the PBT. Most are really tough to keep. Every once in a while you get a really hardy one but that is not the norm.
If it was me, I would get a niger trigger, the emperor angel, the blue line grouper, and a naso tang. That's it. All these fish get extremely large.
Go with the grouper first.

 

[deuce biggalow]

I do not know the scientific name of the blue spotted ray that is well suited for captivity. Please let me know which one it is. Thank you.

 

[jim27]

The two kinds of blue spotted rays are the blue spotted ribbon tail(flattened tail) ray and the masked ray(black patch over eyes). If I were you I would stay away from the ribbon tail ray untill you get more experience woth saltwater. They are very difficult to keep alive and even minor fluxuations in salinity, ammonia, etc can kill them. If your getting a ray get the masked ray.

 

[risc]

Either way you look at that setup... Unless you have an additional 240 gallon tank filtering with live rock, caulpera, bioballs, and maybe even miracle mud at the same time. Your tank will be WAY overstocked. I count approximately 13 fish in your tank not including the shark. If you stick a leopard shark in with any fish they will pick on him and eventually he will eat all your fish. Triggers included. Leopard sharks are about the only really nasty smouthhound shark when they are provoked. I have taken food away from my leopard sharks and they have latched on to my arms and biten me. They also contract bacterial infections very easily compared to other sharks because their skin is much thinner. They are best suited in a tank with other sharks and no fish.
Jim

 

[risc]

Just for the sake of saying. Leopard sharks do not need chillers. They live most of their lives in lagoons and can be adapted very well to live in 72-82F water. All of my leopards live in 75 degree water right now. They are best suited for small shark aquariums when they are young... approx 540 to 840 gallon systems. They will learn who you are as a person and their feeding times. They exhibit specific behavior during feeding times. If you have large territorial tankmates they will cause a lot of problems. One of the only really good tankmates for a leopard shark are volitans. Once a Leopard shark reaches about 2 years old he will then have to be transferred to a tank thats around 5,000 gallons. Something in the area of about 28x5x4 would be acceptable. That is 4,200 gallons. However I would look at something more like 28x10x4.
Jim

 

[deuce biggalow]

Thanks for all of your help guys. The Ray I am interested in is the Taeniura lymna. If you do not think I should get the leopard I will not get it. I am planning on getting most of this fish as juveniles. Are there any other sharks that you think could work well. I will really have a great filtration set up on the tank. Thanks.....

 

[deuce biggalow]

Oh I forgot to mention the leapord shark that I can put inside is small, it is about 12 inches I believe. I really want it, but if you guys say not to, I won't do it. Thanks Again

 

[risc]

I would definately forget the shark. You may also want to think about getting rid of the emperor angelfish idea too. Angelfish need better than perfect conditions for survival. Having an angelfish in an aggressive tank with that many fish creating excess waste and making a mess of the water while consuming their food could lead to ammonia or nitrate/nitrite death of the angelfish.
Jim

 

[deuce biggalow]

Thanks for the info, I was looking at your website, which sharks are they??? I will forget about the emporer. What about the bamboo sharks, or any other smaller species.. Justin

 

[risc]

You can't get a shark because you want to put triggers in your tank. Triggers are very aggressive and very mean towards sharks. Most sharks have the ability to fight back and inevitably eat the triggers. However the sharks you have to consider for a tank your size and bio-load... you just won't be able to handle it.
You could get banded bamboo sharks with your setup as long as you got rid of the potential harrassing fish (triggers mostly). Clowns are mean... you may want to look at replacing your anglefish and leopard shark idea with maybe a Hawaian Dragon Eel. I say this because they are very beautiful animals and it looks like you have the money to spend. However the dragon eel may eat your banana wrasse.
Jim

 

[risc]

The sharks in the web site are wobbegongs, brownbanded bamboos, nurse sharks, horn sharks, and leopard sharks. I currenly only have two of them still today. The female nurse shark at the end and the bamboo shark at the end. The others have been sold or eaten.
Jim

 

[deuce biggalow]

Thank you so much for the advice, I really appreciate it. What about just getting a couple of rays, what types of rays would you recommend, would they be able to go with the clown trigger and possibly an eel. Justin

 

[deuce biggalow]

Alright this is it, what can you tell me about the following sharks: Brown-spotted Cat Shark, Grey Smooth Hound Shark/Cat Shark. The bottom line is that I could do without getting the triggers in the tank, I would rather have the sharks, but Can I put more peacefull fish such as naso tangs etc. Thanks, Justin

 

[swtanks]

Do you have the scientific names for the cat sharks? So many are named catsharks by stores when they aren't.
As far as the "brown-spotted catshark" goes, I am going to take a guess and say you are talking about either the marbled catshark (Atelomycterus macleayi) or the coral catshark (Atelomycterus marmoratus). Both are good choices for a 240. They stay relatively small (3 feet or less) and are not really active like a leopard would be. The gray smoothound (Mustelus californicus) is in the same family as the leopard. Stays smaller than the leopard but the captive requirements are the same. Not a good choice for a 240.
Not sure what the generic "catshark" you mentioned is so can't help with that one.
You could try the easy to get a hold of brownbanded bamboo shark (Chiloscyllium punctatum) or the little tougher to come by whitespotted bamboo shark (Chiloscyllium plagiosum). Both of these would work in a 240. You may even want to consider an epaulette shark (Hemiscyllium ocellatus) which would be good in a 240.
There are quite a few to choose from. I would just stay away from the smoothounds, horn sharks, nurse sharks and any of the requim species sometimes available.
Hope this helps.

 

[swtanks]

Couple more things to keep in mind if you get a shark.
1. Sharks jump so make sure you have a cover on your tank. Don't leave it as an open top tank like some reef tanks are.
2. Sharks dig so make sure the rockwork is secure or they will dig under it and possibly get crushed if it collapses on top of them.
Good luck.

 

[deuce biggalow]

What do you think of adding an eel to the mix then, either the Tessalata Eel, or the zebra moray. What are the positives and negatives to these. Would they attack the ray. I found the names of both types of blue spotted rays. They are the TAENIURA LYMMA - Blue Spotted ray and AMPHOTISTIUS KUHLII - Blue spotted stingray. Which ray do you not recommend having. Thanks guys, without you my tank would be a disaster. Justin

 

[swtanks]

I would go with the zebra. The tessy would be way too agressive and most likely eat the shark and any other fish in there. Plus they have been known to bite their owners. Look at the teeth. Long pointed ones (tessy's) mean it's a fish eater. Not good to add with a shark as docile as the types you might add. The blunt tooth ones (zebras) are more of a crustacean eater and would be a lot safer to add with the sharks. I know a guy who has a 2 foot marbled cat with a HUGE zebra. The zebra has to be pushing 4 feet and man is the body thick on it. He has never had a problem with these. If you add a ray, then go with the zebra to avoid having the ray potentially being bitten.
Risc or someone else will have to help with the ray. I have experience with the sharks and eels but have never personnaly kept a ray.
FWIW, I think you should go with the whitespotted bamboo shark. Nice pattern and it doesn't turn all brown and dull when it is an adult like the brownbandeds do. Plus they are hardy and act like a puppy begging when you go near the tank. They recognize who feeds them.

 

[deuce biggalow]

I can not find anybody that can get this shark, the whitespotted.. Any ideas

 

[swtanks]

IME they are very tough to get but it can be done. I was able to get the LFS to get mine but I had to wait months for it to come in. Try the LFS and go there with a pic of one and the scientific name. They should be able to track one down for you that way.