Best shark....is this possible?

[Anonymous]

Hi everybody!
I am just wondering what everybody thinks the best shark for the home aquarium is. There doesnt seem to be many that are good.
Nurse and wobbegongs get to be gigantic. in all my reading it appears that the best one is the bamboo shark? is this true? i noticed a lemon shark and a black tipped reef shark for sale also. Can anybody give me the specs on these types.
I was wondering if in a 300 gallon could you have a bamboo shark (or one of similiar size) and have a mini reef. Would the shark eat every living thing it came across? or would a large enought tank offer enough escape. i thought maybe one side a mini reef an the other lots of open swimming space. Would this work? and can any of the larger fish be housed safely along side a shark?
Thanks for any input,
Jason

 

[Anonymous]

I don't know much about sharks, from reading or first hand experience..

However the LFS here has a 6x2x2 with an Epaulette shark in it (I think thats the same as bamboo)... this guy has a mouth like a catfish and is apparently a scavenger, I've seen him turn over snails but he couldn't actually get at them with his mouth (these are big trochus snails).

He swims a lot and is a GREAT deal of fun to watch swim - especially at feeding time (I spend too much time there

. They have him with a Moray Eel (snowflake I thinK ) sailfin tang, powder blue (both fully grown) and a few butterflies, as well as a large maroon

There is also a lot of live rock and some corals.. offhand I remember two sarcophytons, a heliofungia, a clam and some sinularia.. probably more...

He doesn't seem stressed by the situation nor is he at all aggressive. He has a ton of swimming space in that tank and for awhile they had two - I'm not sure why they removed the other though!

Lisa

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www.lisa-jill.com

 

[Anonymous]

Bad idea!!! Please reconsider...Before you purchase any shark read Scott Michael's article on bamboo sharks in AFM (last year or the year before that)and/or his book on sharks and rays. From what I recall bamboo sharks require dim lighting and would not do very well in a reef. As far as the cat sharks go they prefer colder water temperatures. Above all sharks and rays have specialized requirements with regard to the absence of stray electrical voltage in the water, large swimming areas(keeping a 2ft long wild animal in even a 6ft tank is not good), and absence of internal pumps. In all, it would be cruel to any of these animals if you provide them with anything but their natural environment/parameters and should be left in the wild if you are not prepared to do so over the long term.

 

[Anonymous]

A bamboo shark would work in that size tank for awhile but they get 4 or 5 feet at full size. If you must keep a shark in this small of a aquarium I would go for a Epaulette shark (not sure of the spelling) they have a slow growth rate (they get up to 3 or 4 feet) and are good looking sharks but they are expensive though. Another shark that would be ok for awhile would be a banded cat shark. They wont bother corals or anenmoes but will knock them over if they dont have enough turn around space. Stay away from lemons they get aggresive as they get big (6-8 feet) reef sharks are the same (3-5 feet). Both need more swimming room then you have. All sharks produce a massive amount of ammonia and waste, keeping these at bay without having a nitrate problem would be a chore. I hope this helps. I wouldnt recommend any shark to a tank under 400gal for longterm happines.