So you want to buy a shark? (Shark primer)

[B91302]

Will the eel be okay with the sharks? Thanks for the help!!

[alprazo]

Typically yes

[Dmorty217]

Originally Posted by alprazo

Typically yes

Do you personally recommend sand for a Epaulette, even if it's only 1" of sand? I found a CB Epaulette that I'm picking up in March and wanted to ask those in the know. Seem to get conflicting information about it. Tank is 7ftx6ftx2ft

[B91302]

Sounds like a plan. 1 black-banded coral cat shark and 1 marbled cat shark.

[griseum]

Not sure how Alprazo feels about sand, but I try to have at least a shallow sand bed in shark and Ray tanks. The benthic sharks and especially rays hunt for their prey items by rooting around in the sand. They move the sand around to reveal any hidden worms or polychaetes, and other small inverts hidden beneath.
I think it's a matter of comfort more than anything else. I also notice with eppies and bamboos, that when piling atop each other to sleep, an instinctual moving of the sand and/or Live rock is done, to bury their heads and get "cozy".
Bare bottoms, in my experience and in talking with other local shark keepers, have lead to irritation (or just reddening) of the belly. I'm not positive about the cause behind this but it could be bacterial or bacterial slime related.

[Dmorty217]

Originally Posted by griseum

Not sure how Alprazo feels about sand, but I try to have at least a shallow sand bed in shark and Ray tanks. The benthic sharks and especially rays hunt for their prey items by rooting around in the sand. They move the sand around to reveal any hidden worms or polychaetes, and other small inverts hidden beneath.
I think it's a matter of comfort more than anything else. I also notice with eppies and bamboos, that when piling atop each other to sleep, an instinctual moving of the sand and/or Live rock is done, to bury their heads and get "cozy".
Bare bottoms, in my experience and in talking with other local shark keepers, have lead to irritation (or just reddening) of the belly. I'm not positive about the cause behind this but it could be bacterial or bacterial slime related.

Thanks for the reply. Looks like sand will be going in the tank after all. How much do you think is enough? 1" ?

[griseum]

Just about. Maybe a bit less. Just enough to cover the bottom well enough and at the same time not enough for large waste and particulate to get trapped and/or anaerobic zones and hydrogen sulfide to begin forming, which are then easily released.

[Dmorty217]

Thanks Griseum

[alprazo]

I my big tank I have about 2" of river pebbles that range from 1/4 to 3/4 inch stones. Then I have about 1/2 of sand. I have an upflow return in the bed using 1.5 inch pvc. The stone covers the pipe grid.

[natedogg]

Hello all, great thread. Can somebody PM retailers that sale benthic sharks? Thanks!

[jglabman45]

I have a 500 gallon tank with rounded sides and i wan to put a shark in it that will last its whole lifetime, what kind of shark would you buy

[tonysi]

Originally Posted by jglabman45

I have a 500 gallon tank with rounded sides and i wan to put a shark in it that will last its whole lifetime, what kind of shark would you buy

If you post up the dimensions of your tank the pros would be better able to assist you in what species would be best. I had a coral cat shark- Atelomycterus Marmotatus,in a 10 foot long by 3 foot wide by 2 ft tall he was pretty content looking in there but I kind of felt he would have liked some more room.

[alprazo]

I agree dimensions would be helpful.

[LadAShark]

I am looking to get a Leopard catshark, not to be confused with the Leopard shark which is humongous. Does anybody know where I might be able to procure one? These guys don't grow much over 3 feet and they were really the sharks that got me interested in sharkkeeping originally, yet I can't seem to find them for sale anywhere.

[alprazo]

Welcome to the board. Not sure if you are seriously interested because these are now available through a vendor for the first time. Probably looking at $10,000 USD retail for a pair. They come only from a protected habitat so they have been probably poached. They are also temperate so they must be kept at 60F. In buying these you are likely Funding some illicit activity and poaching animals is not the biggest concern. Maybe one day South Africa will release some captive beed cats, but as I understand it, these are not. I could be completely wrong though.

[LadAShark]

Originally Posted by alprazo

Welcome to the board. Not sure if you are seriously interested because these are now available through a vendor for the first time. Probably looking at $10,000 USD retail for a pair. They come only from a protected habitat so they have been probably poached. They are also temperate so they must be kept at 60F. In buying these you are likely Funding some illicit activity and poaching animals is not the biggest concern. Maybe one day South Africa will release some captive beed cats, but as I understand it, these are not. I could be completely wrong though.

I sure do hope you are completely wrong, because considering what you just said, I refuse to buy one if such is really the case.

[griseum]

Most of the cats harks that seem the most interesting and extraordinary are never brought in. On one hand, as Alprazo said, almost all except for the 3 or 4 Atelomycterus cars harks are subtropical to Coldwater animals. The other reason is many are also found in protected areas, to boot! South Africa is home to some of the most interesting smaller sharks. Same goes for Australia and PNG. It's a shame that there aren't more captive breeding projects taking place with these species but even with the hardier, tropical sharks it's not a cost effective endeavor. As a hobbiest it's fantastic to breed sharks (and fish) !

[LadAShark]

Originally Posted by griseum

Most of the cats harks that seem the most interesting and extraordinary are never brought in. On one hand, as Alprazo said, almost all except for the 3 or 4 Atelomycterus cars harks are subtropical to Coldwater animals. The other reason is many are also found in protected areas, to boot! South Africa is home to some of the most interesting smaller sharks. Same goes for Australia and PNG. It's a shame that there aren't more captive breeding projects taking place with these species but even with the hardier, tropical sharks it's not a cost effective endeavor. As a hobbiest it's fantastic to breed sharks (and fish) !

Yeah I've done a lot kore research and found out that South Africa, Australia, and Papua New Guinea has many of cool catsharks under check. And breeding sharks is basically not profitable as they simply don't reproduce fast enough and their offspring aren't worth enough to compensate for their slower reproduction rates. For now I am going to settle for the tropical sharks that I can actually obtain (coral cat, marbled cat, balinese cat, epaulette, and whitespotted bamboo shark).

Truth is, the leopard catshark I was interested in not because I heard it just recently became available, but rather because that was the shark I had heard of several years back that got me interested in shark keeping. That I posted inquiring about them a week after they became available through a vendor is sheer coincidence, I had no idea that they became available or even weren't available beforehand in the first place!

[SueAndHerZoo]

Hi all.
I hatched a shark from the egg and he's now four weeks old. Eating like a pig and growing like a horse. Today I moved him into a larger tank and in there I have a medium-sized serpent star. I'm intrigued/concerned about the relationship...... the starfish and the shark are next to each other, touching, and neither one seems to be moving. Maybe they both like the same hiding spot but I would think one of them would have moved but they star has his tentacles over the shark, one under the shark, etc.

Are either one of them going to hurt the other? I really didn't think there was a compatibility problem with a serpent star and shark but I can't help but wonder why they are hanging together.
Sue

[alprazo]

they should be fine together

[SueAndHerZoo]

Originally Posted by alprazo

they should be fine together

OK, thanks. The shark is very timid and shy today but hopefully it's because he's in a new tank with new tank mates ... lots of new stuff to get acclimated to.
Sue

[alprazo]

It will be more active at night.

[griseum]

Originally Posted by alprazo

I my big tank I have about 2" of river pebbles that range from 1/4 to 3/4 inch stones. Then I have about 1/2 of sand. I have an upflow return in the bed using 1.5 inch pvc. The stone covers the pipe grid.

Does this function similar to a plenum or reverse undergravel filter?
Sounds interesting!

[Taahirs]

Right guys. So I've got an empty tank. Just under 400g excl sump, about 450 incl.

Having done the whole sps thing it's time to go predator. Got a tunze 9430 skimmer rated for 800g. Think this should be good.

Looking at getting one type of shark. Epaulette, coral cat shark or Hasselts bamboo shark (Chiloscyllium hasseltii)

So the plan is to keep the shark with :

Blue spotted ray
Miniatus Grouper
Orange spotted Rabbitfish
Trio of convict tangs
Unicorn tang
Harlequin tusk
Oriental sweetlips

Could someone also advise the compatibility of blue throat triggers, Volitans lionfish, Quoyi Parrot fish and Snowflake eels. Oh, and an emperor angel.

Maybe I could substitute some of those in.

Thanks.

[Taahirs]

Oh. Dimentions are 1.8x1mx80cm
In inches:

72x40x30