How to Take Care of a Blacktip Shark

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Miguel Rodriguez

Miguel Rodriguez

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You must consider environmental needs such as tank setup. Very fine sand as it will get scratched or injured from sharp sand or crushed coral.
With that, you must consider tank mates if any. There are some fish and creatures the shark just won't go after. It will almost NEVER go after stingrays, damsels, NEVER corals, etc. but corals and rock can have sharp edges- Another caution.
If the tank mate you want always will get eaten, no matter what size it is (eg blue tang or wrasse), You NEED to give it hiding spaces such as Rocks, corals, sand and caves to hide from the shark and they'll be safe but again caution on sharp rocks.
You need to stay on top of nitrogen in tank and Tank size . . . . . You can't keep a 2 foot shark in a 6 foot tank. Even a 3 foot shark when it reaches that size will need something along the lines of a 12 foot round tank at 6 feet deep to meet its' swimming behavior.
Thanks for the advice! I did not consider a hiding space but it makes sense. I've heard how sharks can be anxious. For a fully grown 6 ft reef shark, how big do you think that a cave should be?

Also, I think you might have missed the context of this thread. I'm designing an outdoor pond, as of right now, I've been suggested a minimum of 32,000 gallons (30 feet diameter by 6 feet deep) to 113,000 gallons (40 ft by 12-foot). What's your recommended size for keeping blacktip reef sharks till maturity?
 

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You must consider environmental needs such as tank setup. Very fine sand as it will get scratched or injured from sharp sand or crushed coral.
With that, you must consider tank mates if any. There are some fish and creatures the shark just won't go after. It will almost NEVER go after stingrays, damsels, NEVER corals, etc. but corals and rock can have sharp edges- Another caution.
If the tank mate you want always will get eaten, no matter what size it is (eg blue tang or wrasse), You NEED to give it hiding spaces such as Rocks, corals, sand and caves to hide from the shark and they'll be safe but again caution on sharp rocks.
You need to stay on top of nitrogen in tank and Tank size . . . . . You can't keep a 2 foot shark in a 6 foot tank. Even a 3 foot shark when it reaches that size will need something along the lines of a 12 foot round tank at 6 feet deep to meet its' swimming behavior.
Actually not true on the sand as they do not swim on the bottom and their habitat along the FL coast is coarse sand, not the fine sand. Stingrays are part of their diet as well as any other fish so not sure why your giving bad/false advice.
 

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Actually not true on the sand as they do not swim on the bottom and their habitat along the FL coast is coarse sand, not the fine sand. Stingrays are part of their diet as well as any other fish so not sure why your giving bad/false advice.
he brings up a good point though and that is the question of sand, do I need it? I plan on filtering through bottom drains as this is the best way to collect the worst water preventing a pond cleanout. But because of this, I wouldn't put sand at the bottom. It would just be bare.
 

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Actually not true on the sand as they do not swim on the bottom and their habitat along the FL coast is coarse sand, not the fine sand. Stingrays are part of their diet as well as any other fish so not sure why your giving bad/false advice.
This is not the Ocean but an aquarium we are talking about. I say fine sand ( I dont mean powder either- Just Not crushed coral rock) scratch easy with coarse sand otherwise bare bottom is acceptable.. I sold various sharks in my pet store and learned this from Experience. And they will eat a ray as other fish if it fits in their mouth. A fish in general will eat anything that fits in its mouth whether fresh or Saltwater.
 
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This is not the Ocean but an aquarium we are talking about. I say fine sand ( I dont mean powder either- Just Not crushed coral rock) ch easy with coarse bedding otherwise bare bottom is acceptable. Yes they can eat a ray IF it fits in their mouths.
I'm not worried about tank mates so to have Rays or to not have them isn't a concern right now. Do you know the proper iodine and iron treatment for them?
 

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he brings up a good point though and that is the question of sand, do I need it? I plan on filtering through bottom drains as this is the best way to collect the worst water preventing a pond cleanout. But because of this, I wouldn't put sand at the bottom. It would just be bare.

No need for sand at all. It's a shark, it swims in the water column. If anthing I'd put rock on the bottom.
 

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I'm not worried about tank mates so to have Rays or to not have them isn't a concern right now. Do you know the proper iodine and iron treatment for them?
They are scaleless so i would go easy with iodine additions . You are speaking of a genus of shark that grows large and nutrition will alleviate need for iodine treatment as it can or may slow down its' food intake.
At my pet store, we had cat bamboo, waubie and epaulette sharks. I gradually added iodine over several days until my iodine level was close to the highest acceptable aquarium level. I also provided several additional food options, as well as vitamins, that I had previously not been feeding. Personally I think that the problem has more to do with nutrition than iodine because at the time hey became lazy about feeding with foods such as krill and silversides.
 
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No need for sand at all. It's a shark, it swims in the water column. If anthing I'd put rock on the bottom.
What kind of rocks? I can make it more natural looking if I can cover the entire bottom with rocks and do undergravel filtration.
 
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They are scaleless so i would go easy with iodine additions . You are speaking of a genus of shark that grows large and nutrition will alleviate need for iodine treatment as it can or may slow down its' food intake.
At my pet store, we had cat bamboo, waubie and epaulette sharks. I gradually added iodine over several days until my iodine level was close to the highest acceptable aquarium level. I also provided several additional food options, as well as vitamins, that I had previously not been feeding. Personally I think that the problem has more to do with nutrition than iodine because at the time hey became lazy about feeding with foods such as krill and silversides.
To be honest, I don't know what I'm even talking about. I'm designing a blacktip pond as a pond builder and fish enthusiast. But I must know what is necessary to take care of these animals. Do you have a good educational resource that I can learn from?
 

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Following along. Majestic aqueriums here in Sydney has one but I think the tank is a bit too thin but for tankmates they have two huge eels and another fish I can't name.
And here is a tank for some sharks and rays with similar requirements
 

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Following along. Majestic aqueriums here in Sydney has one but I think the tank is a bit too thin but for tankmates they have two huge eels and another fish I can't name.
And here is a tank for some sharks and rays with similar requirements

That fish is Achilles Tang. Im in Illinois but will grab some info also
 

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You're best bet is to probably find a biologist or someone who works with sharks. If there is an aquarium or sanctuary in your area that have sharks, see if you can set up a meeting with them and get some info.
 
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You're best bet is to probably find a biologist or someone who works with sharks. If there is an aquarium or sanctuary in your area that have sharks, see if you can set up a meeting with them and get some info.
I have the same thoughts too. Luckily, the Baltimore National Aquarium is an hour away. I sent an email ago and a couple after a week ago and I havent heard a reply. But they do have a Blacktip Reef exhibit. Now i just need to get a hold of the Aquarist or curator. Wish me Luck!
 

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To be honest you would be better off askign about this from a large exsibits than from people over here. Almost no one have 1st hand experince reguarding this and they just posting thing they found on internet from a google search or worse yet things they think are right.

Also I highly doubt you would need to do any iron or iodine supplyments considering your estimate of ponds water volume. (This also again liek rest what i feel)
 
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Miguel Rodriguez

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To be honest you would be better off askign about this from a large exsibits than from people over here. Almost no one have 1st hand experince reguarding this and they just posting thing they found on internet from a google search or worse yet things they think are right.

Also I highly doubt you would need to do any iron or iodine supplyments considering your estimate of ponds water volume. (This also again liek rest what i feel)
True, I guess there aren't too many people that have the first-hand experience. But you guys are definitely sending me in the right general direction.
 
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To be honest you would be better off askign about this from a large exsibits than from people over here. Almost no one have 1st hand experince reguarding this and they just posting thing they found on internet from a google search or worse yet things they think are right.

Also I highly doubt you would need to do any iron or iodine supplyments considering your estimate of ponds water volume. (This also again liek rest what i feel)
Also why don't you think I would need Iron and Iodine supplements? What is
True, I guess there aren't too many people that have the first-hand experience. But you guys are definitely sending me in the right general direction.

their purpose anyway? Is it disease prevention like in catsharks? Also why does that change when it's a larger body of water?
 

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You're best bet is to probably find a biologist or someone who works with sharks. If there is an aquarium or sanctuary in your area that have sharks, see if you can set up a meeting with them and get some info.

I did for several years. The biggest issue is that when they get big, the will start to fight, so I would go with one blacktip.
 

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