Bamboo cat shark aquascaping

[btackerman]

I just purchased a bamboo cat shark for my 400 gallon tank. I have been trying to find good examples but does anyone have any advice on aquascaping for a shark. My current aquascaping is posted but I am just concerned with when he gets larger he may not have enough room to circle around my rocks. He is currently 10”. Should I move them to the back wall and make larger caves on the bottom or should I lay them flat. Thanks in advance!

 

[Lasse]

Bamboo cat sharks are powerful cartepillers - be sure that your rockwork is firmly attached to the bottom of the aquarium and maybe cemented together. They prefer caves 90 % of the time and are not very active swimmers.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Krj-2501]

Bamboo sharks and catsharks are not the same types of sharks. Bamboo sharks are carpetsharks (Hemiscyllidae). Close relatives to the Nurse sharks, the wobbegongs, & the Whale Shark. While true catsharks are Scyliorhinids, which are relatives to Smooth hounds, Carcharhinids, and Hammerheads.

Now that cleared up. Which species of bamboo shark is it? A 400 gallon might be fine for some of the smaller species (Arabian & Grey) or even a male White-spotted. For a Brown banded Bamboo - let just say you will eventually need a bigger tank or pond. Although at 10" that is still likely a couple years away.

 

[btackerman]

Bamboo sharks and catsharks are not the same types of sharks. Bamboo sharks are carpetsharks (Hemiscyllidae). Close relatives to the Nurse sharks, the wobbegongs, & the Whale Shark. While true catsharks are Scyliorhinids, which are relatives to Smooth hounds, Carcharhinids, and Hammerheads.

Now that cleared up. Which species of bamboo shark is it? A 400 gallon might be fine for some of the smaller species (Arabian & Grey) or even a male White-spotted. For a Brown banded Bamboo - let just say you will eventually need a bigger tank or pond. Although at 10" that is still likely a couple years away.

Ok so that may have been a mistake on my part but I have a brown banded shark, I thought those and bamboo are the same.

 

[Krj-2501]

The Brown Banded Bamboo(C. punctatum) is a species within the genus Chiloscyllium (bamboo sharks). They are in fact the largest species of the bamboo sharks.

As adults, Brown banded Bamboos will average about 40-42"(~101-107 cm), but their true maximum length is about 52-56" (132-142 cm). So if well cared, it will eventually out grow your tank. It is not a question of IF it will, it is just a question of when it will. The good news is that with a 400 gallon tank - you will likely have at least 3-4 years before you have to worry about upgrading the shark to a larger tank or pond.

Here is a few of links to help you.

Chiloscyllium punctatum
Brownbanded Bamboo

Moving Bertha

 

[btackerman]

The Brown Banded Bamboo(C. punctatum) is a species within the genus Chiloscyllium (bamboo sharks). They are in fact the largest species of the bamboo sharks.

As adults, Brown banded Bamboos will average about 40-42"(~101-107 cm), but their true maximum length is about 52-56" (132-142 cm). So if well cared, it will eventually out grow your tank. It is not a question of IF it will, it is just a question of when it will. The good news is that with a 400 gallon tank - you will likely have at least 3-4 years before you have to worry about upgrading the shark to a larger tank or pond.

Here is a few of links to help you.

Chiloscyllium punctatum
Brownbanded Bamboo

Moving Bertha

So this is something I am aware of and at the moment looking into possible pond options. She is currently 2 months old so I do know I have time and also know that I will be moving at some point as well. My goal would be to install a pond in my home office and care for her in the office and it comes to worse there is someone local with a very large pond and he cares for larger sharks before they are picked up by aquariums. That is not the goal though.
My only issue now though is by the end of the year when she has some girth how should my aquascaping be?

 

[Krj-2501]

Well the tank looks you should be good for about the next 6 months or so. Still as she grows - the caves that she's resting in will need to grow larger as well. Because as she grows - she will start to become a mini bulldozer, and be quite capable of knocking over unstable live rock. But this will likely become more of problem next year. So you will likely have to move your rock around several times in the next couple of years. The live rock should be bonded (epoxy) or cemented together (but I'm pretty sure you are aware of that).

As for her future pond - there are several good options. 8-9' diameter stock tanks, 8-12' diameter pools, or even some DIY ponds if you want a custom shape.

My saltwater fish & reef shop has a 8 foot diameter pool converted to saltwater pond - which is home to a 36-39" adult Epaulette. The center 5 feet of that pond is a series of live rock caves where the epaulette spends most of his day.

 

[Krj-2501]

Something which I didn't take in consideration earlier was the corals and inverts in your tank. If you want to keep them in the tank and not move them to another tank. Then you may want to consider a raised reef type set up - using shelf dry/live rock. That way you could create multiple cave/overhangs for the shark, and use the top for keeping the corals on.

 

[btackerman]

I do have some softies and inverts all I have are sand sifting stars

 

[btackerman]

Something which I didn't take in consideration earlier was the corals and inverts in your tank. If you want to keep them in the tank and not move them to another tank. Then you may want to consider a raised reef type set up - using shelf dry/live rock. That way you could create multiple cave/overhangs for the shark, and use the top for keeping the corals on.

A thought I had and looking into the build would be a lagoon plywood system. I would not have it on a stand but flat on the floor. Make it a 9x4 with 2 glass panels the height is what I am concerned with, I was thinking a foot to 18” at least 4” higher than my sump. When it comes to sharks though, they do not care as much about height but foot print. I would also get curved sheets of glass for the corners. Would this be sufficient for the shark, also I was looking into the fluval fx 6 canister filter and was concidering that over a sump.
What are your thoughts? This would only be sharks and rays

 

[Krj-2501]

First of all - a 9 foot x 4 foot pond is too small, for an adult Brown banded Bamboo shark. As this shark as an average adult will be 40-42" at least. And it can if well cared for could get to be 4 foot long or more. For a 40-42" bamboo you will need a minimum footprint of 50 sq. feet(8 foot diameter or 10 foot long x 5 foot wide). For a 4 foot bamboo shark - you had best plan for a pond which has a footprint of 78-80 sq. feet (10 foot in diameter, or 14 feet wide x 6 feet wide).

So a better alternative is a 8-10 foot diameter pool (for kids) or similar sized stock tank (for farm animals) often these will be about 2-2.5 feet deep. If you want the plywood frame you can do that - as it will help strength the walls, and give you a place to sit will you feed the shark. But forget the glass/acrylic windows.

 

[btackerman]

First of all - a 9 foot x 4 foot pond is too small, for an adult Brown banded Bamboo shark. As this shark as an average adult will be 40-42" at least. And it can if well cared for could get to be 4 foot long or more. For a 40-42" bamboo you will need a minimum footprint of 50 sq. feet(8 foot diameter or 10 foot long x 5 foot wide). For a 4 foot bamboo shark - you had best plan for a pond which has a footprint of 78-80 sq. feet (10 foot in diameter, or 14 feet wide x 6 feet wide).

So a better alternative is a 8-10 foot diameter pool (for kids) or similar sized stock tank (for farm animals) often these will be about 2-2.5 feet deep. If you want the plywood frame you can do that - as it will help strength the walls, and give you a place to sit will you feed the shark. But forget the glass/acrylic windows.

What about the canister filter and the depth?

 

[Krj-2501]

Okay - while it is completely true that with benthic sharks, that the footprint is more than the depth of the tank/pond. Still the tank's/pond's depth is somewhat important. Ideally you want at least 2 feet in depth or 50% of the shark's maximum length which is greater. For a brown banded bamboo - basically you want the pond/tank's depth to be at least 2-2.5 feet.

As for the canister filter(s) - could possible used as a part of the filtration system in addition to a good size sump and large Protein Skimmer. Keep in mind that for sharks in a 750 gallon pond/tank should have a filtration system which has a flow rate of 3,000-3,750 gallons per hour. The Protein skimmer should be rated for at least 2 times the ponds volume.

 

[btackerman]

Okay - while it is completely true that with benthic sharks, that the footprint is more than the depth of the tank/pond. Still the tank's/pond's depth is somewhat important. Ideally you want at least 2 feet in depth or 50% of the shark's maximum length which is greater. For a brown banded bamboo - basically you want the pond/tank's depth to be at least 2-2.5 feet.

As for the canister filter(s) - could possible used as a part of the filtration system in addition to a good size sump and large Protein Skimmer. Keep in mind that for sharks in a 750 gallon pond/tank should have a filtration system which has a flow rate of 3,000-3,750 gallons per hour. The Protein skimmer should be rated for at least 2 times the ponds volume

Ok and sorry one more question, what about a 6x6 cube, I would house all of the live rock below the tank in a diy sand filter. I was thinking the more in a corner I can keep it the better.

 

[Krj-2501]

If the Tank is a cube - 7'x7'x2.5' would be better.

3.5' Bamboo in a 7'x7' tank

 

[Krj-2501]

Or maybe a pond (stock tank) like this

750 gallon stock tank

 

[btackerman]

Or maybe a pond (stock tank) like this

750 gallon stock tank

So my shark had already grown to 10” in just 1 month, even though she has been a great edition to the tank I had decided it may not be best for me to keep her since I do believe she will be an exception to the rule and get very large. So I was traded a coral cat shark for her because a lfs wants to make her the star attraction in a 1500 gallon system. What is awesome about this though is I am still able to go in and interact with the shark and get to help with the build. I am there almost every week now so I am fine with that. Do you have any tips on raising a coral cat or can I just follow the same method for the banded.

 

[Krj-2501]

Coral Catsharks are a lot more practical than Brown banded Bamboos. They have similar care requirements to bamboos, but coral catsharks seem to be a bit slower growing than bamboo sharks, often growing only 1/2" per month. It is possible to keep or breed adult Coral Catsharks in 300-360 gallon tanks or ponds, if they are species only.

 

[btackerman]

Why species only if you don’t mind me asking

 

[Krj-2501]

Well - Coral Catsharks do best if they are kept in groups(3 or more). So imagine the bioload of 3 adult coral catsharks in 300-400 gallon pond.

You might be able to have a few other smaller fishes, or a small yellow/cortez round stingray or maybe a small eel - if you have a really good filtration system.