Sharks and Rays in Aquariums Gaining an understanding of how to keep these fishes in captive saltwater systems    New Print and eBook on Amazon   by Robert (Bob) Fenner

Getting Back Into the Game; Bamboo Shark Care  -- 05/03/07 Dear Crew, <Hello Bill'¦> Thanks for the wonderful site you have put together. <You are welcome and thank you.> I've been reading all the FAQ's (its taken me several days- not a joke) and I just wanted to say a few things. <Be my guest.> I was surprised at the redundancy of a lot of questions. Do people not read FAQ's before they send in questions? <Sadly, no'¦> Wow- READ UP FIRST PEOPLE!! <Agreed.> Anyway, I had a few of my own.... <No problem.> In a couple of questions, Bob had recommended adding vitamin solutions to food offerings for sharks. Makes sense. He had also said to add Iodide supplements as well, but in a previous question, I think it was MikeD who had said not to do this, as it could prove fatal. Which is it? <Over dosing iodine is indeed something the aquarist should be aware of'¦though through a disciplined practice it should not be an issue.  The occasional dosing is necessary (happens anyway with water changes)'¦it is also recommended that you soak the food in an iodine solution on occasion to prevent goiter.> I'm confused, is it only certain species or an age range that is the key factor? <See above; also if you want more detail I would look into Scott Michaels book; 'Sharks and Rays.'> Also, I know most sharks are nocturnal, <Most of the benthic species we keep in the 'average' aquaria; yes.> and therefore spend most of the day "sleeping." As I work late at night this is fine. My question is if I come home at maybe 11 to midnight, the shark should be active, but would prefer the tank lights to be off. So are there any lights that would allow me to watch him at night without interfering with his natural clock? <Low watt L.E.D. lighting or a red incandescent bulb.> Like "safe lights" used in photo darkrooms (deep red lights that wont exposed normal light sensitive photo paper)? Or possibly "black lights"? <No not black-lights. See above.> And should I just have my regular tank lights kick off at sunset-ish and just use the "spying" lights afterwards? <Yes use a normal lighting cycle; and then as you put it the 'spy' lights to view the animal later.> Anyway. I found you site while trying to research shark aquarium keeping and have been hooked ever since. When I was living at home with my parents, my step father (who probably knows more marine biology than most biologists) had a banded bamboo. We never really had a problem with him, not till he got big enough to try to eat a bird wrasse (my moms favorite) and a spiny puffer (the other favorite). I believe he was a good two to three foot at the time. Anyway, my mom made us get rid of him (he went to a trusted LFS who specialized in exotics). Ever since then, I've wanted to get another one. After being on my own for several years, I came across an aquarium setup (at a garage sale) that I couldn't pass up. I set it up with the idea of getting a banded bamboo once again. Though he might be the only thing in there besides "live in food" (e.g.. ghost shrimp, etc. ). <I would recommend a VERY large/oversized protein skimmer.> Which brings me to my last question, How can I encourage "natural" hunting behaviors? <In young specimens; ghost shrimp (like you mentioned above) and fiddler crabs.  Having said that I'm not really a fan of live-foods. I prefer varied captive fair; mussels, scallops, squid, krill; etc. . Soaked in iodine now and then and vitamin supplements like Selcon.> What edibles can I keep in the tank for him to hunt, as enrichment (sorry, zoo term)? <See above.> Thanks for your time. I will reference your site for all my future questions. Keep up the great work. <Thanks.> Bill <Adam J.>

Sharks and red light - 11/24/03 I have a 120 gallon tank with an eel and a baby bamboo shark, I would like to put a red light in the tank hood for night viewing as I have been told most fish can not see red light and seems both these fish are nocturnal <Not sure about your inquiry here. Firstly, I would like to say that your tank is not of suitable size for this shark (or any mixture of animals together in one tank) in the long term. I would like to hear that you are planning a tank of a much larger width and length. Height is of a lesser concern.  So, about the lighting, these guys usually come from a darker area on the reef, so light is not of too much concern overall. I would think that a regular fluorescent fixture would produce enough light for viewing these animals without disturbing their natural abilities in their environment. Maybe even just an actinic would be useful. In any event, I need to ask our shark expert at the Aquarium I work at, and I will let you know. I will get the answer from a PHD'ed curator of our various shark exhibits. I just need a week or two as I don't see him all the time. If you don't hear from me by December 5th please send another inquiry directly to me.> I thought this may work, <Work?? What is not working?? Are there problems???> what is the best type of light to use (if any) and do you know if it is possible to buy fluorescent tubes in red. <Do a search or call your favorite supplier for red tubes but again, I am not sure that red lighting is really necessary here. I am relatively sure somewhere, out there, there is something that will suffice, though. Again, maybe just an actinic and or an additional 6500K NO fluorescent fixture will look good and not be invasive and overpowering. I will try to get an answer, though.> Any help would be appreciated <Just give me a little time and I will get some additional thoughts from our shark curator. Peace ~Paul > If you have any queries please do not hesitate to contact me.

Brownbanded Bamboo Shark I currently have a newly hatched specimen (not eating yet but it has been less than a week) as well as an egg case waiting to hatch. Is a 125 large enough if I only keep one and trade in the other at the LFS? <For maybe six months to a year or so yes> Should I upgrade tank size?  <Absolutely> What size would you recommend if I kept both?  <At least a "standard" shape 240, 8'X2'X2'... better, bigger> Will the other inhabitants cause trouble in the future? <Perhaps... Large Angels, Triggers, Puffers et al. might bite your sharks... Basses, other eager eaters consume all their foods...> Currently I have minimal decor (I have recently removed some LR to make room for the shark(s) to move freely about) but there are caves and ledges made from LR to make the pup feel secure. <Sounds good> There are also some hard and soft corals.  <Keep these up and away from the bottom... and your eyes on them... would leave some "outside light on" for the shark to navigate at night times> The tank was 2 years old before introducing the egg(s). The other inhabitants are a snowflake moray, a purple tang, a bicolor angel, a flame angel, an ocellaris clown, and a Foxface. All of these except for the clown and the flame have been in the tank since it cycled. The clown and flame were added about 2 months ago. I use an oversize skimmer as well as mechanical filtration. The water parameters are SG 1.024, pH 8.3, cal 450ppm, ammo 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 20ppm, temp 80. Sorry for all the questions but I want to ensure I provide the correct environment for the sharks now and thru maturity. Thank you.  Steve  <Thank you for being concerned enough to seek others opinions. Do keep reading, perhaps writing about your shark experiences for others benefit. A very popular area of interest for hobby magazines, the Net... Bob Fenner>

Lighting (a shark tank) Bob, Me again (included the old thread, to refresh your memory about inhabitants and equipment). As predicted, your book has prompted a question. Reading your section on lighting... Currently, I have two 65-watt actinics, two 65-watt Smart Lamps (Custom Sealife) and two 175-watt metal halides. When assembling the tank, I built a custom hood and used a 60" Custom Sealife metal halide retrofit kit, which included the 2 actinics, the metal halide lamps, ballasts and a metal reflector. On that unit, I screwed on the two additional Smart Lamps. All are set on timers as follows: 1. Ambient light enters the room from a large window about 20' away. No direct light, but it wakes the fish up around 7:30 in the summer and 9:00 in the winter. Also algae grows a bit better on the side that faces the window -- not much, but a little. 2. Actinic lights turn on from noon to 9:30 p.m. 3. Smart Lamps (combo actinic/full spectrum white) from 10:30 to 8:30 4. Metal Halide #1 (easternmost) from 1 to 5 5. Metal Halide #2 (westernmost) from 2 to 6 <So far, I'm with you> First of all, any suggested improvements to this regimen (other than you believe it a bit much for the shark, but there is a concentration of live rock dead center of the tank that needs light)? <Should be no trouble> But the main question from reading your book is: Do I need a UV screen? <No... the book is "out of date" with current technology. UV screens no longer needed for aquarium MH lamps> Right now, the lights are shining inside the canopy with no UV screen (the canopy acts as the fixture for the lights). The tank is completely covered with 3/8" acrylic (or more where there are cross members), except for the occasional 2" diameter air hole. No heat worries as the lamps are well ventilated (highest daytime temperature inside the canopy with all lights on is 95 degrees). Water is kept cool by a chiller (turns on at 73.7 and cools down to 72). P.S. I'd like to send you a check for the postage on the draft copy of Aquarium Sharks & Rays, but I lost your address. <No worries. A few dollars will not break me... I hope!> P.S.S. My REAL copy of Aquarium Sharks and Rays will be here Monday. For everyone on the site, barnesandnoble.com has it IN STOCK! Ships in 2 days. <Ah, great. Thanks for this news. Will post> P.S.S.S. Have taken your advice and increased water circulation to 6x/hour, which is as high as I can go without adding powerheads in the tanks, which I'm hesitant to do, as I don't want anything else in there for the shark to run into. <Sounds good> Once again, thanks for everything!! J.D. Hill <You're welcome. Be chatting, Bob Fenner>

Horn Shark Update Hey Bob welcome back! Two months after purchase the Horn Shark I put in my 800 gallon tank is doing way better than expected. The little guy is still about 1'6" still, which is a good size he looks really small in the tank so I know he's got room. How big should I expect him to grow? I figured about 3-4' at most at least that's what I have been reading. <Yes, but likely two and a half foot maximum in your care> Probably less than that though in a captive situation right? Any way he has not been to fond of the lights which are reef intensity from my previous tanks. I lowered the amounts of light considerably, however he continued to hide in the giant cave I built for him in the far left of the tank. I visually reduced the size of the tank by adding a removable panel that matches the wall. This way he can have privacy and when I need to awe some viewers I can take it off and show the entire tank. This has been a great success as he now spends most of his time fishing through the sand or swimming open water. The teeth I can see when I look close appear to be purplish. Is this from the occasional urchin I feed him?  <Likely, yes> I'm guessing so, I usually feed him mostly muscles and shrimps and once a week an urchin but lately he's been getting spoiled more like 4 urchins per week. Its hard to tell just how he is getting at the soft body inside he does it so fast its mostly a cloud of sand. Any help on how he pulls this off?  <Crushing in mouth, inhaling most all that is edible, blowing rest by gill slits, otherwise passing through spiral intestine...> The water temp now is about 60 which is just about right I think. He had some sort of a corrosion on his tail fin when I got him however it has disappeared and the tail is fully grown again. Any other help/ info on this guy would be appreciated. Thanks Again! <You likely know more than I... should write a husbandry article on this groups (heterodontids) captive care, your experiences, speculations. Bob Fenner>

Shark lighting question Steven, Thanks for the quick reply.  <Anthony Calfo in your service today> Yet another quick question. Exactly how sensitive are bamboo sharks to light?  <they naturally feed at night and hatched juveniles will not feed for a month or more in daylight in captivity. Best fed with lights off for some weeks if and until they acclimate> I am in the process of ordering my tank, and currently it just has two 72' fluorescent bulbs. I am asking because, I am unable to find any 72' red bulbs, and would like to avoid this at all costs. If maybe I got an extremely low power bulb, or maybe only used on bulb (at night) would this at all effect the animals sleep pattern? Or do you just recommend maybe getting a hood with 3 or 4 bulb sockets, and using one red if I can find one) at night?  <not that big of a concern. A double bulb standard daylight fixture will be fine. Another single bulb red light for night viewing would be cool as well. For red, there are colored plastic sleeves for fluorescent lamps or you could just buy an incandescent "party" colored bulb> Are there any other colors its not sensitive to? I have my heart set on a brown banded bamboo, as they are so incredible but are there any other species that are not as sensitive to light, or not nocturnal?  <most if not all of the smallest bamboo, cat, epaulette species feed at night when crustaceans are active...yummy> I am a night person, so it should go hand in hand, but I would enjoy being able to see it awake. Also, would the light from my room also contribute to this? Do I need my room to be completely dark at night as well?  <again...they are not at all so sensitive... just don't get too crazy with extreme bright or darkness> I have two very low power desk lamps that I use at night, and the room itself is quite dark, aside maybe from the TV. Thanks-- Bob Benson- <do run enough daylight lamps to enjoy the sight of the creature...even if it is sleeping by day. Research on sexing them (it is easy)...perhaps you can buy a pair with the hopes of breeding later. Search for articles on the Web to this effect> P.S. just curious, does 1 foot at 6 months to one year sound about right for bamboo's? <sounds to be in the ballpark... Anthony>

Sharks and Rays in Aquariums Gaining an understanding of how to keep these fishes in captive saltwater systems    New Print and eBook on Amazon   by Robert (Bob) Fenner