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Agreed, after looking at the markings, that is what it appears to be. These get over 3 feet in length when fully grown so it will definitely need an upgrade from that 200 gallon at some point.
Help with newborn cat shark
- Thread starter martinsp
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Agreed, after looking at the markings, that is what it appears to be. These get over 3 feet in length when fully grown so it will definitely need an upgrade from that 200 gallon at some point.
mike werner
2500 Club Member
don't know nothing about birthing no babies.it is nice however to see some members giving you positive feedback.it sounds like your doing your research and will do what is necessary to keep this creature alive.it's even better you are using r2r to make that possible.i wouldn't consider 200gal a glove box but as you stated your gonna upgrade soon as you can.good luck and please keep us posted on your progress.
Eastlake
Active Member
One thing that some people in my area had done with hatchling cat sharks is keep them in something akin to a 40 breeder until then can get them feeding with gusto, as stated in previous posts high quality seafood and such. Once they were eating without any issue then they would add them to the display where they could then compete for food once they recognized that fresh or prepared seafood was food
DSC reef
Coral wasted
One more thing I'll add is try to get your shark used to getting fed from a feeding stick. I fed the shark in the same corner of the tank every time with a feeding stick. It got to a point when the stick hit the water he would go the corner of the tank. The one time I just put food in the tank a clownfish went for the food and became dinner. I was surprised since I honestly thought the maroon clown was big enough. After that I removed the other and only kept larger fish in the tank until we rehomed the shark.
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Coral cat shark for sure
Care Level: Moderate
Temperament: Semi-Aggressive
Maximum Size: 26"
Minimum Tank Size: 180 gallons
Water Conditions: 72-82° F, dKH 8-12, sg 1.020-1.025, pH 8.1-8.4
Diet: Carnivore
Origin: Indo-Pacific, Western Pacific
Species: Sharks
Aquarium Type: Fish Only
Like other shark species, the Coral Cat shark needs excellent water conditions, no stray electrical currents in the water, a soft sandy substrate, open room to swim and as large of tank as possible. Unlike many other shark species commonly seen within the hobby, Coral Cat sharks are small enough as an adult to be properly housed in a 300 gallon or larger aquarium. It is important to maintain excellent water conditions when keeping Coral Cat sharks, thus aquariums housing this species should have excellent biological filtration, large efficient protein skimmer and a large sump to help augment water volume.
All shark aquariums should be securely covered in order to prevent sharks from jumping out and should be designed with maximum length and width in mind to create the largest possible aquarium footprint providing for maximum swimming area. Tropical sharks like the Coral Cat shark also required very high levels of dissolved oxygen in the water, thus there should be plenty of water surface agitation, additional power heads or air stones to provide as much dissolved oxygen as possible.
Coral Cat sharks can be kept with a wide range of tropical fish species ranging from tangs & angelfish to larger Damsels and clownfish. They should not be kept with aggressive angelfish, puffers or Triggerfish that can nip at their eyes and fins. Aquariums housing Coral Cat sharks should contain a mix of open areas for swimming and rock or coral formations to provide caves and crevices for the shark to explore and seek shelter in when threatened.
Coral Cat sharks can live in very warm waters and will do well in aquariums with stable water temperatures ranging from 78 to 82° F. Coral Cat sharks are an active slow swimming species that will swim about the aquarium moving in and out of the live rock decor, that when properly fed should be docile to all but the most small fish species within the aquarium.
Feeding & Nutrition
Wild Coral Cat sharks spend much of their time foraging amongst tropical reefs and within tidal pools looking for a variety of invertebrates like shrimp, small crabs & clams on which to feed, along with small fish. In the aquarium environment Coral Cat sharks will quickly adjust to eating prepared meaty foods including: fresh or frozen silver sides, clams, shrimp, clam, mussel and pieces of fish flesh. If well fed they tend to leave most other tank mates alone, but there is always the possibility of them consuming small invertebrates or very small fish species.
Care Level: Moderate
Temperament: Semi-Aggressive
Maximum Size: 26"
Minimum Tank Size: 180 gallons
Water Conditions: 72-82° F, dKH 8-12, sg 1.020-1.025, pH 8.1-8.4
Diet: Carnivore
Origin: Indo-Pacific, Western Pacific
Species: Sharks
Aquarium Type: Fish Only
Like other shark species, the Coral Cat shark needs excellent water conditions, no stray electrical currents in the water, a soft sandy substrate, open room to swim and as large of tank as possible. Unlike many other shark species commonly seen within the hobby, Coral Cat sharks are small enough as an adult to be properly housed in a 300 gallon or larger aquarium. It is important to maintain excellent water conditions when keeping Coral Cat sharks, thus aquariums housing this species should have excellent biological filtration, large efficient protein skimmer and a large sump to help augment water volume.
All shark aquariums should be securely covered in order to prevent sharks from jumping out and should be designed with maximum length and width in mind to create the largest possible aquarium footprint providing for maximum swimming area. Tropical sharks like the Coral Cat shark also required very high levels of dissolved oxygen in the water, thus there should be plenty of water surface agitation, additional power heads or air stones to provide as much dissolved oxygen as possible.
Coral Cat sharks can be kept with a wide range of tropical fish species ranging from tangs & angelfish to larger Damsels and clownfish. They should not be kept with aggressive angelfish, puffers or Triggerfish that can nip at their eyes and fins. Aquariums housing Coral Cat sharks should contain a mix of open areas for swimming and rock or coral formations to provide caves and crevices for the shark to explore and seek shelter in when threatened.
Coral Cat sharks can live in very warm waters and will do well in aquariums with stable water temperatures ranging from 78 to 82° F. Coral Cat sharks are an active slow swimming species that will swim about the aquarium moving in and out of the live rock decor, that when properly fed should be docile to all but the most small fish species within the aquarium.
Feeding & Nutrition
Wild Coral Cat sharks spend much of their time foraging amongst tropical reefs and within tidal pools looking for a variety of invertebrates like shrimp, small crabs & clams on which to feed, along with small fish. In the aquarium environment Coral Cat sharks will quickly adjust to eating prepared meaty foods including: fresh or frozen silver sides, clams, shrimp, clam, mussel and pieces of fish flesh. If well fed they tend to leave most other tank mates alone, but there is always the possibility of them consuming small invertebrates or very small fish species.
Oberst Oswald
Active Member
Had a question but answered it myself by reading on the Predatory Fish forum.
Last edited:
Thanks for the ID, that's what I thought. the store could not tell if it was coral or marbled. he started eating live ghost shrimp. and he seems to be doing very well.Coral cat shark for sure
Care Level: Moderate
Temperament: Semi-Aggressive
Maximum Size: 26"
Minimum Tank Size: 180 gallons
Water Conditions: 72-82° F, dKH 8-12, sg 1.020-1.025, pH 8.1-8.4
Diet: Carnivore
Origin: Indo-Pacific, Western Pacific
Species: Sharks
Aquarium Type: Fish Only
Like other shark species, the Coral Cat shark needs excellent water conditions, no stray electrical currents in the water, a soft sandy substrate, open room to swim and as large of tank as possible. Unlike many other shark species commonly seen within the hobby, Coral Cat sharks are small enough as an adult to be properly housed in a 300 gallon or larger aquarium. It is important to maintain excellent water conditions when keeping Coral Cat sharks, thus aquariums housing this species should have excellent biological filtration, large efficient protein skimmer and a large sump to help augment water volume.
All shark aquariums should be securely covered in order to prevent sharks from jumping out and should be designed with maximum length and width in mind to create the largest possible aquarium footprint providing for maximum swimming area. Tropical sharks like the Coral Cat shark also required very high levels of dissolved oxygen in the water, thus there should be plenty of water surface agitation, additional power heads or air stones to provide as much dissolved oxygen as possible.
Coral Cat sharks can be kept with a wide range of tropical fish species ranging from tangs & angelfish to larger Damsels and clownfish. They should not be kept with aggressive angelfish, puffers or Triggerfish that can nip at their eyes and fins. Aquariums housing Coral Cat sharks should contain a mix of open areas for swimming and rock or coral formations to provide caves and crevices for the shark to explore and seek shelter in when threatened.
Coral Cat sharks can live in very warm waters and will do well in aquariums with stable water temperatures ranging from 78 to 82° F. Coral Cat sharks are an active slow swimming species that will swim about the aquarium moving in and out of the live rock decor, that when properly fed should be docile to all but the most small fish species within the aquarium.
Feeding & Nutrition
Wild Coral Cat sharks spend much of their time foraging amongst tropical reefs and within tidal pools looking for a variety of invertebrates like shrimp, small crabs & clams on which to feed, along with small fish. In the aquarium environment Coral Cat sharks will quickly adjust to eating prepared meaty foods including: fresh or frozen silver sides, clams, shrimp, clam, mussel and pieces of fish flesh. If well fed they tend to leave most other tank mates alone, but there is always the possibility of them consuming small invertebrates or very small fish species.
vetteguy53081
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That has to be a troll, right?
Humor me and tell me the species has not evolved that far back into the times of the original elasmobranchii.
RtomKinMad
Well-Known Member
Super cool it’s eating! Yah!
Eastlake
Active Member
When it's feeding time start mixing in frozen/raw(fresh) shrimp or squid with the live food and in time it should start to take the prepared offerings instead of the live. I've read a lot of others people experiences saying that their sharks had a hard time resisting squid.
BluewaterLa
Active Member
Congratulations on getting your little guy to hatch and eat while in your care.
Hand feeding the shark while small is usually the easiest way to get them to eat and ensure they are getting the food and not other tank mates.
When introducing new foods to the small shark it may be hesitant to feed for a few reasons, one being not recognized as food and second is no electrical signal from the ''prey'' item being offered to increase predatory or exploratory bite / feeding response.
If reluctant to feed or accept new food being offered then you can provoke a bite, feeding by hand you would want to Gently rub the food on the mouth and under snout of the shark. Gently is key and usually the shark will bite at the food most times realizing its edible or tasty thus accepting the offering.
You will find that some foods will be accepted quicker than others as each animal is different and has ''favorites''.
Be sure to offer a variety of foods to ensure proper health and you can even soak food in Selcon.
Once the shark is large enough to start accepting small silver sides you can gut load the fish with vitamins or other enriched foods so the shark is getting nutritionally dense foods ensuring a health animal.
I've done this many times with sharks and Rays from different sizes ranging in the new born stages to juvenile not wanting to eat due to stress of transporting and moving tanks. Works well.
Feeding crab, shirmp, clam, fish and such from the local saltwater / ocean or Market is a good idea along with going to the local seafood dock or market and asking for the by catch as this is normally free of charge. Just develop a good relationship with employees and or owners while spending a few bucks on fresh seafood for dinner.
Make sure that any by catch or fresh seafoods are frozen for a 24 hour period or longer before feeding to your shark, other tank mates as well. This will kill off any parasites and bacteria living on / in the critter being used as food.
Small crabs are great too, just remove the top shell (less mess to clean up) crack in half or cut halves into quarters with legs or no legs for small sharks and rays then freeze, defrost and feed, enjoy the show.
They are messy eaters, your other fish and critters will help with the left overs that come out the gills and mouth from the chomping and slurping.
due to this you will need to make sure your mechanical filtration is over sized and efficient along with good flow and filter socks to help remove small uneaten particles of food.
I agree with advise given to feed with a feeder stick once the shark readily takes foods you offer in a strong manner as its easier to feed, less risk of getting blood blisters on your fingers and like mentioned will help train the shark or ray to feed from the stick and not other tank mates.
There is always risk involved with keeping sharks and rays concerning other tank mates, that is just part of the choice.
On a side note I am not sure why someone would start being condescending or rather rude comparing the OP to some other member right off the start merely for asking a question or asking for advice / help/ knowledge. Is this not what we are all part of online communities / reef clubs for in the first place ?
Sure did not think it was decent or normal for folks to immediately judge, insinuate or plain be rude rather than helpful right out the gate.
Any who, Good luck to you in your new adventure
Hope you get to enjoy your shark for a long time to come.
Hand feeding the shark while small is usually the easiest way to get them to eat and ensure they are getting the food and not other tank mates.
When introducing new foods to the small shark it may be hesitant to feed for a few reasons, one being not recognized as food and second is no electrical signal from the ''prey'' item being offered to increase predatory or exploratory bite / feeding response.
If reluctant to feed or accept new food being offered then you can provoke a bite, feeding by hand you would want to Gently rub the food on the mouth and under snout of the shark. Gently is key and usually the shark will bite at the food most times realizing its edible or tasty thus accepting the offering.
You will find that some foods will be accepted quicker than others as each animal is different and has ''favorites''.
Be sure to offer a variety of foods to ensure proper health and you can even soak food in Selcon.
Once the shark is large enough to start accepting small silver sides you can gut load the fish with vitamins or other enriched foods so the shark is getting nutritionally dense foods ensuring a health animal.
I've done this many times with sharks and Rays from different sizes ranging in the new born stages to juvenile not wanting to eat due to stress of transporting and moving tanks. Works well.
Feeding crab, shirmp, clam, fish and such from the local saltwater / ocean or Market is a good idea along with going to the local seafood dock or market and asking for the by catch as this is normally free of charge. Just develop a good relationship with employees and or owners while spending a few bucks on fresh seafood for dinner.
Make sure that any by catch or fresh seafoods are frozen for a 24 hour period or longer before feeding to your shark, other tank mates as well. This will kill off any parasites and bacteria living on / in the critter being used as food.
Small crabs are great too, just remove the top shell (less mess to clean up) crack in half or cut halves into quarters with legs or no legs for small sharks and rays then freeze, defrost and feed, enjoy the show.
They are messy eaters, your other fish and critters will help with the left overs that come out the gills and mouth from the chomping and slurping.
due to this you will need to make sure your mechanical filtration is over sized and efficient along with good flow and filter socks to help remove small uneaten particles of food.
I agree with advise given to feed with a feeder stick once the shark readily takes foods you offer in a strong manner as its easier to feed, less risk of getting blood blisters on your fingers and like mentioned will help train the shark or ray to feed from the stick and not other tank mates.
There is always risk involved with keeping sharks and rays concerning other tank mates, that is just part of the choice.
On a side note I am not sure why someone would start being condescending or rather rude comparing the OP to some other member right off the start merely for asking a question or asking for advice / help/ knowledge. Is this not what we are all part of online communities / reef clubs for in the first place ?
Sure did not think it was decent or normal for folks to immediately judge, insinuate or plain be rude rather than helpful right out the gate.
Any who, Good luck to you in your new adventure
Hope you get to enjoy your shark for a long time to come.
truetricia
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I do not have any experience hand-raising sharks, so I won't offer any specific advice on that front. However, I used to work as a marine animal behavioral specialist (animal trainer), and sharks are very easily trained. Truth be told, most animals are. And sharks are creatures of habit. This affinity for training is quite useful for both feeding and husbandry behaviors. Google aquariums and shark training, and you'll find plenty of information.
Once you set up a feeding ritual using a stick, the shark will likely respond to this method and anticipate the feeding. One earlier post from a member described this behavior saying his shark would go to the corner the instant he heard the feedstick hit the water. You can also train your shark to go to a particular spot in the aquarium or a particular object, say a small red ball on a stick, and then he gets fed whenever he is near that red balled stick. The behavior of training an animal to go to a particular object with the expectation of a reward (food) is known as "targeting." This can be useful for husbandry behaviors. Once your animal is trained to target on an object, they can be observed for signs of disease, malnutrition, injuries, etc.
There are plenty of articles available on the subject, notably an aquarist who taught her crabs to pull a string that rang a bell before receiving food. Sharks in aqariums have been taught to target on particular symbols (star, triangle, etc) no matter where those symbols are in the tank in order to receive food. This allows for decreased food competition between sharks in the same tank, lessens natural predation on tankmates, hubsandry issues, and allows for the sharks to be moved from one area to another without stressing the animal.
Good luck with your sharks and your research. We've all made impulse buys before, or bought something when we thought we were ready, only to find out we weren't or something was slightly different than we anticipated. The important thing is that you're leveraging the R2R community to try to keep your shark alive and healthy.
Best of luck!
Once you set up a feeding ritual using a stick, the shark will likely respond to this method and anticipate the feeding. One earlier post from a member described this behavior saying his shark would go to the corner the instant he heard the feedstick hit the water. You can also train your shark to go to a particular spot in the aquarium or a particular object, say a small red ball on a stick, and then he gets fed whenever he is near that red balled stick. The behavior of training an animal to go to a particular object with the expectation of a reward (food) is known as "targeting." This can be useful for husbandry behaviors. Once your animal is trained to target on an object, they can be observed for signs of disease, malnutrition, injuries, etc.
There are plenty of articles available on the subject, notably an aquarist who taught her crabs to pull a string that rang a bell before receiving food. Sharks in aqariums have been taught to target on particular symbols (star, triangle, etc) no matter where those symbols are in the tank in order to receive food. This allows for decreased food competition between sharks in the same tank, lessens natural predation on tankmates, hubsandry issues, and allows for the sharks to be moved from one area to another without stressing the animal.
Good luck with your sharks and your research. We've all made impulse buys before, or bought something when we thought we were ready, only to find out we weren't or something was slightly different than we anticipated. The important thing is that you're leveraging the R2R community to try to keep your shark alive and healthy.
Best of luck!
Oberst Oswald
Active Member
"On a side note I am not sure why someone would start being condescending or rather rude comparing the OP to some other member right off the start merely for asking a question or asking for advice / help/ knowledge. Is this not what we are all part of online communities / reef clubs for in the first place ?
Sure did not think it was decent or normal for folks to immediately judge, insinuate or plain be rude rather than helpful right out the gate". BluewaterLa
I guess that someone would mean me... I noticed by reading this thread, and others, that the majority agrees that it is OK or "cool" to keep a fish that has the future potential to reach 3 foot plus in a 200 gallon tank. To me this sounds like animal abuse which I used the Doggo the Puffer thread as a perfect example. I was one of the suckers that tried to reason and help the guy who hopefully only turned out to be a troll and was only "putting us on". I shudder to think if Doggo was legit and more fish were doomed. Truthfully I really thought Martinsp was Doggo who reappeared from exile to have fun all over again. But now I know that there are people on this forum who have swimming pools or aquariums that are big enough and can keep fish of this size. Lets keep our fingers crossed that two on this tread will be so lucky.
Sure did not think it was decent or normal for folks to immediately judge, insinuate or plain be rude rather than helpful right out the gate". BluewaterLa
I guess that someone would mean me... I noticed by reading this thread, and others, that the majority agrees that it is OK or "cool" to keep a fish that has the future potential to reach 3 foot plus in a 200 gallon tank. To me this sounds like animal abuse which I used the Doggo the Puffer thread as a perfect example. I was one of the suckers that tried to reason and help the guy who hopefully only turned out to be a troll and was only "putting us on". I shudder to think if Doggo was legit and more fish were doomed. Truthfully I really thought Martinsp was Doggo who reappeared from exile to have fun all over again. But now I know that there are people on this forum who have swimming pools or aquariums that are big enough and can keep fish of this size. Lets keep our fingers crossed that two on this tread will be so lucky.
bluedevils6653
Active Member
Your shark will be fine in that tank initially. I have kept sharks/rays for the past 10 or so years. Wouldnt consider myself an expert but have plenty of experience to go off of. Unfortunately just recently had to downsize and no longer have them but anyways its good you got him eating thats one of the hardest parts initially with a newborn. I agree with everyone saying feed a variety of seafood and enrich it with vitamins. Theres actually specifically shark vitamins out there and you can go that route as well in regards to the vitamins. I believe you have a coral cat shark as well. Its not a brown banded bamboo. As newborns they have very distinctive black and white stripped pattern on them. Coral cats get around the 2 foot mark give or take depending on the individual. A pond would be ideal once he outgrows the 200 but will be comfortable in the 200 for the first part of his life. Id say around 18 months or so and youll wanna get him outta their into something bigger. Which gives you some time to get working on an upgrade for him. If you wanted a tank id say minimum something in the lines of 8 foot by 3 feet wide. Preferably wider but id say those dimensions are the bare minimum for an adult coral cat shark. Please let me know if you have any questions after reading the first half of your thread it looked like you were getting killed with negative posts from ppl when you were just asking for assistance.
Also when you do upgrade and are having success with your shark think about getting a ray. Some of the most personable creatures out there. They would swim up to the glass to greet me everyday and would let me pet them if I wanted and hand feed. Would even splash some water at me every now and then lol.
Also when you do upgrade and are having success with your shark think about getting a ray. Some of the most personable creatures out there. They would swim up to the glass to greet me everyday and would let me pet them if I wanted and hand feed. Would even splash some water at me every now and then lol.
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