Epaulette Shark Build...What fish are good tank mates?!

[rbraunberger]

Hello All,

I am planning on changing my tank over when I move in July over to have an epaulette shark as the center piece. I was looking for suggestions on good tank mates. Tank is 150 gallons currently. Will be increasing to 300-500 in 4-5 years, so some room to grow in a few years.

Thanks all!

 

[tehmadreefer]

Just about any fish besides little nano fish are fine. Pick what you like and get em!

 

[Hitman]

Stay away from angels and triggers as they will generally pick on the shark. Otherwise your pretty open.

 

[tehmadreefer]

Stay away from angels and triggers as they will generally pick on the shark. Otherwise your pretty open.

I would disagree as that is really a myth that got started long ago.

 

[Hitman]

I would disagree as that is really a myth that got started long ago.

Not a myth I watched a Emporer Angel and a Clown trigger tear up a 14" horn shark in my buddies tank over Christmas. I now have the Clown trigger and Emporer in my 75 while I'm building my 600 gallon. No way I'm putting them in my established 240!!! Oh and neither one is more then 5"

 

[tehmadreefer]

Not a myth I watched a Emporer Angel and a Clown trigger tear up a 14" horn shark in my buddies tank over Christmas. I now have the Clown trigger and Emporer in my 75 while I'm building my 600 gallon. No way I'm putting them in my established 240!!! Oh and neither one is more then 5"

Well, angels and triggers are natural bullies, especially clown triggers when it comes to territory.

I have yet to actually see one shred of actual evidence of since someone started it on RC or swfish.

Will they bully a shark or any fish when establishing territory? Absolutely. Will they kill a shark , because it’s a shark? No.

Proper thing to do is add the shark first and wait a few months at least before adding an angel or aggressive trigger or even a puffer last.

 

[Hitman]

^^^ Agree!!! I honestly don't know what my buddy had first but they have been in the same tank for the year that I known him and out of nowhere the Poo hit the fan at feeding time.

 

[Howlnsound]

I have had a female Epaulette shark for years, and Hitman is correct, stay away from Triggers, some Butterflyfish, and some Angels. They like to eat cartilage (the skin and eyes of sharks and rays)

One of my LFS just had a ray in one of his tanks. It was temporarily housed with a smaller Butterflyfish. He started to peck two holes on his head, so he moved him to a tank with an Emperor Angel. Within a few hours, the Angel finished the job and the owner couldn't save him.

I kept other sharks, rays and lions and eels with my Epaulette. She was very happy and well fed.

Make sure you have great filtration, I noticed a huge improvement to coloring and activity when I added a UV Sterilizer.

They are pigs! Silversides, Krill, and Clams were their favorites. If you can find one, an Australian Wobbegong is awesome! And does well as long as your tank is big enough. Mine threw me out of the tank one day while I was feeding him. Grabbed my forceps and pushed, man he was strong!

Though they were never my taste, I have seen Groupers and some larger Hogfish housed with sharks. Aside from general guidelines, it's going to come down to how big your tank is, hiding spots, and how well fed they are.

Also, in case you didn't know, you should have a fine sand sandbed. A corse gravel or sand will cut their bellies and can lead to infections. They will spend a lot of time on the bottom and like dimmer light. I ran a lot of 20K blue in mine with a little 10K added in.

Good luck! And send some pics if you go for it!

 

[Howlnsound]

Oh and upgrade as soon as you can, they get big. Mine was about three feet long. And she was a fighter, I had to move my tank more than once when I upgraded and I had to have a buddy net her head while I grabbed and tried to hold on to her body with both arms to move her. She knocked us both around a bit but when we got her in the new tank, was super calm and happy.

 

[MSB123]

I had a 8” coral cat shark in a 180 and it was not happy. Needed more room.

 

[jsvand5]

I had a big pair in a ten foot pond years ago. I kept a lot of large wrasses with them. Broomtail, paddlefin, banana, and coris. They were cool. Just eventually got too expensive to keep running. They were full grown adults but I never got fertile eggs for some reason.

 

[Thomashtom]

Stay away from angels and triggers eventually they will pick on him.

 

[Jesterrace]

I like the suggestion of big wrasses (ie Thalassoma)

 

[rbraunberger]

I have had a female Epaulette shark for years, and Hitman is correct, stay away from Triggers, some Butterflyfish, and some Angels. They like to eat cartilage (the skin and eyes of sharks and rays)

One of my LFS just had a ray in one of his tanks. It was temporarily housed with a smaller Butterflyfish. He started to peck two holes on his head, so he moved him to a tank with an Emperor Angel. Within a few hours, the Angel finished the job and the owner couldn't save him.

I kept other sharks, rays and lions and eels with my Epaulette. She was very happy and well fed.

Make sure you have great filtration, I noticed a huge improvement to coloring and activity when I added a UV Sterilizer.

They are pigs! Silversides, Krill, and Clams were their favorites. If you can find one, an Australian Wobbegong is awesome! And does well as long as your tank is big enough. Mine threw me out of the tank one day while I was feeding him. Grabbed my forceps and pushed, man he was strong!

Though they were never my taste, I have seen Groupers and some larger Hogfish housed with sharks. Aside from general guidelines, it's going to come down to how big your tank is, hiding spots, and how well fed they are.

Also, in case you didn't know, you should have a fine sand sandbed. A corse gravel or sand will cut their bellies and can lead to infections. They will spend a lot of time on the bottom and like dimmer light. I ran a lot of 20K blue in mine with a little 10K added in.

Good luck! And send some pics if you go for it!

Thanks for the info....I have a MASSIVE UV filter on my tank now already. I learned the benefits from them early.