Baby Bamboo Shark

[britany_shelton]

about a month and a half ago our shark egg hatched and I had a baby female bamboo shark. We have gotten her eating and given her a few Visual exams, EVERYTHING is going great. This is my second shark. I care for 5 at work too. However, my work doesnt seem to understand the concept of varied diet. We feed exclusively squid. I do not want to do this with her and have been feeding her squid and clams. Of course soaking both in ZOE Vitamins first. So my question is Does anyone know anything about keeping her with my corals and the elements I am adding to the tank? Everything tests perfectly however I worry that some of the corals for example the brain, may irritate her underbelly. If anyone knows anything on this subject let me know. All of my other corals are off the ground and supported on a milk-crate type bridge I made so they shouln't really be a problem. For those of you that are curious what kind of setup I have for her let me know and I may post some pics soon.

 

[logiktest]

I would like to see some pictures. A milk-crate bridge sounds cool too.

 

[trillyen]

id love to see pics and love to know about what size tank you got?? i wouldnt think that the shark would irritate the brain lol

id be more worried about the shark irritating the brain, im sure itll work out as far as you feeding the shark vitamins i wouldnt think that the vitamins would effect the corals in any way as far as the brain if the brain is anything like sps it feeds of of calcium levels in your water and some form of photosynethsis i think!!!\

yes pics please as soon as possible

i myself plan on soon getting a shark but i want a spotted leopard shark or a spotted bamboo shark there about the same

what other kind of sharks do you care for???

 

[britany_shelton]

alright I will scrape some algae off the glass to get some good shots. I have only cared for the black and brown banded bamboo sharks and honestly bamboo sharks are the only one I would recommend. they have been awesome aquarium critters for a while and seem to be the hardiest. Scott W. Michael (same guy that does the pocket expert fish and invertebrate ID)wrote a book called sharks and rays. I strongly recommend that if you are thinking about a shark first have at least 180 gallon tank. second research as much as you can. If you are planning on having a reef with the shark there is not very much info on it so good luck. I'm trying it though. When I bought the 180 it came with T-5 lighting there was no way I was just going to put a shark that could live with a flashlight on him and waste the power of the lights. Im sure you all understand that. Pics will be up soon.

 

[britany_shelton]

well the rest of the pics with have to wait. I left the memory card at work. here are some pics that I had on my computer. the one of the tank is the reef only. imagine milk crate underneath the LR and you get the picture. Ill get some though maybe tomorrow.

 

[trillyen]

cool shark!!!

do leopard sharks hatch at about the same size and where the heck do ya buy them????

 

[returnofsid]

Trillyen, the question about corals irritating the belly of a shark is very valid. Sharks have a very soft under-belly. In fact, most shark tanks need a very soft, sandy substrate with no live rock. The belly of a shark can be very easily scratched, which usually leads to deadly infections.

 

[Curtswearing]

Trillyen, the question about corals irritating the belly of a shark is very valid. Sharks have a very soft under-belly. In fact, most shark tanks need a very soft, sandy substrate with no live rock. The belly of a shark can be very easily scratched, which usually leads to deadly infections.

Great post bud!!!

(Caribsea makes a special sugar-fine sand that works well with sharks or other batoids.)

 

[britany_shelton]

I have a 2-3" sugar-sized sand substrate. I couldn't agree with you more. When I feed her I try to get her to come by the glass so I can get a good look at her entire body including her belly to make sure no irritation is occurring. And as for the brain goes. I moved it to a corner in the tank and it seems to be doing well there and she tends to stay away from the corners so just in case it is irritating hopefully she wont go over there. If she does though and irritation occurs then there will be a brain coral posted the next day. LOL

 

[polydactyl]

if i recall right leopard sharks are live-birth...they dont lay eggs......another reason you dont see them often is that they are a temperate species( atleast i hope thats a reason....besides the fact they get far too large for most home aquaria), meaning they like water in the upper 60's. corals can and do irritate sharks. keep in mind too that there are alot of medications that are toxic to sharks.....if there is a problem i hope that you have access to a fish vet.......

 

[britany_shelton]

Leopard Sharks are commonly found in CA which means they are a temperate water shark same with horn sharks. A chiller is required. And as for the medications... Sharks are very intolerant of copper and many parasite medications contain Copper, being a shark owner requires a lot of research that if not done can and will be fatal. You cannot overfeed and at least with bamboo sharks have to really be sure they are properly digesting their food. Everything seems to be going great with the baby girl and she seems to be best friends with my flame angel. More pics coming soon.

 

[Curtswearing]

Awesome posts everyone.

Another thing to remember is that sharks/batoids expell a LOT of urea. (Basically we are talking about Ammonia). You are going to want a lot of surface area for nitrifying bacteria. This can be accomplish by filling a large sump with a lot of live rock, a large wet/dry, bio-ball tower, etc. If you don't do this, you will have outrageous Ammonia levels.

I never cared about sharks until I was charged with maintaining an 800 gallon system with about $4000 worth of sharks. Trust me, that motivates you to do some serious research really quick.