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  #1  
Old 06/03/2007, 02:38 PM
Titus77 Titus77 is offline
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Question Shark!!!

I was wondering if I would be able to hatch a Banded Cat shark egg and keep it healthy in my 60 gallon tank. If so, how do I raise/feed it. Will it eat my 2 clowns. (male: 2.5 inces, female: 3-3.5 inches)
  #2  
Old 06/03/2007, 04:11 PM
flfirefighter13 flfirefighter13 is offline
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sure itll hatch, 60 is no where near big enough for it. Ive never had one but from what ive read minimum is 180g and above. lastly its a shark, your clowns wont have much of a chance.
  #3  
Old 06/03/2007, 05:33 PM
Titus77 Titus77 is offline
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OK, thanks flfirefighter13
  #4  
Old 06/03/2007, 08:14 PM
PLNelson PLNelson is offline
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Banded cat sharks eat crustations (sp.), Chances are that they wont eat any fish, but, hey, it's a shark. You should be ok keeping the baby for a few months. Feed it white feeder shrimp, brine shrimp, or meaty foods. Look at them on live aquaria, in the description they say more about them. I'm planning on getting one for my 46 gallon. They are relatively small when they hatch, I'll keep it for a few months, then sell it to the LFS.
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  #5  
Old 06/03/2007, 09:07 PM
flfirefighter13 flfirefighter13 is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by PLNelson
I'll keep it for a few months, then sell it to the LFS.
Best to line up something with the store before buying the critter, a lot of stores have problems turning over certain fish and wont buy them back. I always make it a point to only buy fish I know I will be able to provide a suitable tank for life.
  #6  
Old 06/03/2007, 10:44 PM
PLNelson PLNelson is offline
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One of the LFS's will take anything salt. They have a tank especially for rays and sharks.
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  #7  
Old 06/04/2007, 05:08 PM
Titus77 Titus77 is offline
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how long do you think I would be able to keep it for?
  #8  
Old 06/05/2007, 01:22 AM
PLNelson PLNelson is offline
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I don't know. It depends on how fast the little guy grows. I'm tentatively planning on moving it once I start missing some snails and hermits, or if my tank is just to small for it. I might only have it for a couple of weeks, or up to a few months after it hatches.
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  #9  
Old 06/05/2007, 10:03 AM
datablitz datablitz is offline
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you can raise baby bambo sharks in a smaller tank ~50 gallons, but only for a few months, and you will probably want to do more than normal water changes as you will see your nitrates spike after a bit. also, squid is a good food for them.
  #10  
Old 06/05/2007, 01:40 PM
Titus77 Titus77 is offline
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How much sand do I need to house a California Stingray, or whatever they call the greyish brownish one?
  #11  
Old 06/05/2007, 02:20 PM
PLNelson PLNelson is offline
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Thanks blitz.
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  #12  
Old 06/05/2007, 09:01 PM
datablitz datablitz is offline
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for a shark or a ray, you need to have small grain sand, so they do not scratch themself on the grains, and become infected. you just need enough for them to bury themselfs, probably 1"-1.5" make sure what species of ray you are looking at, as many are cold water species. also most rays need at least a 180 when adult as well.
  #13  
Old 06/06/2007, 12:28 AM
old salty old salty is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by Titus77
how long do you think I would be able to keep it for?


Until it dies.



Ok, being serious here, you really should, at least temporarily, ditch the idea of getting a shark. They require an extraordinary amount of care and you are not educated in this area. I'm not in any way stating you don't have the ability to eventually keep one. I'm trying to prevent the death of a shark due to an inexperienced hobbyist. If you don't know what to feed it (as your post indicated), you probably don't know much else. That's OK though; you're attempting research and this is a good start. Read as much as you can on them, talk to owners (not those that owned one for a few months before taking it back.) Find out how long they live, what they eat, what irritates them, what diseases they are prone to, how to treat any of these diseases (hyposalinity and sharks don't mix), what type of water conditions they require, how much to feed them, etc, etc, etc...

I spent almost an hour trying to talk a friend of mine from buying her son a black tip reef shark. I don't think I got anywhere with her, so she'll just have to find out the hard way.
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  #14  
Old 06/06/2007, 03:37 PM
PLNelson PLNelson is offline
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Actually, I've never owned one. Just been looking into it. Just out of curiosity, have you kept any?
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  #15  
Old 06/06/2007, 04:26 PM
old salty old salty is offline
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That's great that you are looking into it. You have already shown a mature respect for these creatures; much more so than the people that go out and buy one, then make posts like, "I just bought a bamboo shark, what does it eat??"

I have never attempted to keep a shark. I do not have the facilities to properly care for such an animal over the course of it's natural life expectancy. Not to mention, you can't frag a shark.
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  #16  
Old 06/06/2007, 04:44 PM
AnimaliA AnimaliA is offline
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The issue with keeping a shark or ray, even a small one like an epaulette, bamboo or cat can be boiled down to one question: Are you interested in having the shark sustain, survive or thrive?

If you want it to thrive, at least 500g or 250 (oval/circle) and HEAVY filtration is needed. I know people say all you need is a 75 or larger, but that is simply not the case for these animals to be happy.

If you want it to survive, at least a 180g, preferably with rounded corners and an unobstructed sand track (place rocks in the middle) will be ok...but still HEAVY filtration is crucial. A large sump or fuge would be of tremendous value as it would help stabilize the water parameters.

If you want it to sustain until it dies (months/one-two years)50-180g aquarium would do. Skimming or filtration is no longer a primary concern, but still important.

I do not mean to discourage you but I need to emphasize sharks and rays are fundamentally different than bony fish. We tend to learn about damselfish, tangs, angels and other common bony reef fish and try to apply that knowledge to sharks and/or rays. While there are some similarities, there are important differences in the animals needs and anatomy that must be considered when deciding wether or not to host them in your aquarium.

I do not mean to sound harsh, you are doing the right thing by asking advice and having a plan to give the shark to your local LFS when it is too large for your tank. I just wanted to point out a few things. Just for the record, I have managed tanks for various shark species (from cat sharks to hammerheads).

Understanding them is critical to achieving your goals in experiencing and caring for them. A good source for some basic rules is http://www.wetwebmedia.com/sharks.htm

Best of luck
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  #17  
Old 06/06/2007, 04:47 PM
PLNelson PLNelson is offline
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Thanks for the advise/info.
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  #18  
Old 06/06/2007, 05:02 PM
AnimaliA AnimaliA is offline
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Sheesh...I sounded far too arrogant in my post...my apologies for that :/
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  #19  
Old 06/06/2007, 06:06 PM
datablitz datablitz is offline
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you would want a super large skimmer for the tank if you wanted to keep one, like a 12" 36" tall skimmer.
  #20  
Old 06/07/2007, 02:34 PM
MrSpiffy MrSpiffy is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by AnimaliA
Sheesh...I sounded far too arrogant in my post...my apologies for that :/
I didn't think it sounded arrogant at all! I found it pretty informative, really.
  #21  
Old 06/07/2007, 02:43 PM
PLNelson PLNelson is offline
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Me too.
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  #22  
Old 06/07/2007, 02:58 PM
JRaquatics JRaquatics is offline
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AnimaliA, you were not arrogant at all. Very informative nad correct. I have owned and taken care of a few different sharks sp. To say the least owning a shark to thrive is very costly. For bamboo/banded sharks, you can get away with an extra wide tank or square do to it being a bottom dwelling sp. Lepards, bonnets/hammer H., black/white reef tips etc. need round oval or round tanks or ponds unless you can provide 2,000 gal+.

An Ideal tank would be 500+ gal wide tank with a large sump for extra water volume. There are many ways you can filter a tank this size and cheap, except for the protein skimmer. Large and effective skimmer is required. These are messy feeders and produce alot of waste.

The cheapest way to house sharks for optimal captive living is to build an indoor pond, create your own filter, use farmer troughs for sumps " this is were I would place the live rock", correct size UV and oversized skimmer is were the $ comes in.
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  #23  
Old 06/08/2007, 11:55 AM
PLNelson PLNelson is offline
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The idea of an indoor pond just made me drool. That would be incredible, and may have to consider that in the future. Something that I've been thinking about. For one small shark, many hundreds of gallons is required, how about two or three? How much of an increase is needed with each additional animal?
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  #24  
Old 06/08/2007, 01:28 PM
JRaquatics JRaquatics is offline
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You can place a # of sharks and rays together in a pond. It all depends on the size. Filtration just needs to be up to par.
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  #25  
Old 06/08/2007, 01:47 PM
reef165 reef165 is offline
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I had one in a 50 gal from hatch to abought a foot long and felt so bad for it sitting there so i to gave it to a LFS and i say gave it to because they only pay like 25.oo for them so. and you hear shark and think cool something to watch, WRONG 95% of the time they are sleeping! not moving at all. You know what babies do right? Eat, Sleep, and Sh*#. Not quite as exciting as one would think.
 


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