Epaulette shark in reef tank
- Thread starter Matt B.
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GK3
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We you’ll have very little cleanup crew, but other than that I don’t see why it can’t work. 180 is too small though.
ichthyogeek
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I think it depends mostly on the dimensions of the tank. I got super interested into shorttail nurse sharks, which max out at around 30" (Epaulettes max out at around 35") a while back. After doing some hunting around for information, I learned that shorttails need around a 96"x48" footprint (and at 30" tall, equates to 600 gallons). As a larger shark, Epaulettes would most likely need a larger footprint tank as adults.
Now...could you keep an epaulette shark in a 185 while it was still growing out a bit? Definitely. But the problem begins when the fish just gets too big and you need to relocated it to a bigger tank.
There's also the matter of feeding, filtration, acquisition, and disease management...None of which are "budget"
Now...could you keep an epaulette shark in a 185 while it was still growing out a bit? Definitely. But the problem begins when the fish just gets too big and you need to relocated it to a bigger tank.
There's also the matter of feeding, filtration, acquisition, and disease management...None of which are "budget"
Mastiffsrule
Where ever you go, there you are, so be nice 2 you
Hi, hope all is well.
I would say not to do this. It will not be an ideal environment to put it simply. There are many reasons from size, filtration, feeding, etc.
I would say not to do this. It will not be an ideal environment to put it simply. There are many reasons from size, filtration, feeding, etc.
ScottR
Surfing....
They are nocturnal animals. I’ve seen them in 150ish gallon tanks and there’s not much to enjoy. They’ll mostly just stay in one place all day.
Mareshow
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Thread resurrection! just wondering if there's any other reason not to keep an epaulette in a larger reef tank besides losing some crabs and snails? I have a 750 gallon thats 120x48x30 tall, my snails actually reproduce like crazy and something roaming around keeping their numbers down wouldn't hurt my feelings
Krj-2501
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Okay, first - Short tail Nurse sharks are built very different from Epaulettes. Short tail Nurse are wide bodied sharks which swim a lot more than most epaulettes do. Second - a 30"epaulette has about half the girth of a 30" Short tail Nurse, and therefor is much better a moving thru tight spaces than a Short tail Nurse is.
Epaulettes(Hemiscyllium) are a genus of 9 species (at present). Which range in size from less than 2 feet to 3.5 feet. Most species max out between 27-32". Only the Ocellated Epaulette (Hemiscyllium ocellatum), which is the most common species in home aquaria, exceeds 3 feet .
A single Papuan Epaulette(H. hallstromi) or Speckled Epaulette(H. trispeculare) which are roughly 30" could easily be kept in a 360 gallon tank (8' long x 3' wide x 2' tall) for life. A single average adult (36") Ocellated Epaulette could be kept in a 600 gallon tank(10' long x 4' wide x 2' tall) or pond (7' in diameter x 2' deep).
In my option - either a single Papuan Epaulette or Speckled Epaulette/Carpetshark would be good choice. Other species of "reef safe" sharks would the Atelomycterus catsharks - like the Coral Catshark(Atelomycterus marmoratus). In a 750 gallon you could easily keep a trio of the catsharks for life.
