Shark in a 120 possible?

[crav]

I have an empty tank, 120g. 60''x20''x24''.
I wanted to put a small shark, bamboo species probably. Some corals, not many rocks in order to get more space (bio media in sump), and some fish (ocellaris, tangs). Is it feasible? What species of sharks would be possible?

 

[Wailua Boy]

No, too small of an enclosure. IMO

 

[krichardson]

You could raise a bamboo hatchling in there but you would need to go bigger as the shark grows.

 

[Itsadeepbluesea]

You couldn't keep any for the duration of their life. You could initially as pups but they would eventually out grow your tank.

 

[crav]

What is the minimum tank footprint and volume needed to house one long term?

 

[Itsadeepbluesea]

It depends on which one you want to keep and keeping 1 vs. groups. If you look at the stickies in this section there is one on recommended tank sizes for various sharks. There is also a good guide on sharkraycentral as well.

 

[Aquadog]

This is my current upgraded tank project, 8 x 4 x2, for our Bamboo Shark. They grow really fast. We hatched one Nov 2016 and now he is close to 15" long. He is our second hatched Bamboo. He is currently in a 300g, 8 x 30" x 24", with 2 other Coral Catsharks and I feel the 300g is too small already.

You could probably get away with a baby Coral Catshark in a 300g for its life. Seeing how ours, each about 20", are very active swimmers when the light dims or is off, they need a larger tank.

The Bamboo is truly an awesome shark. I hand feed ours and he loves getting pet and held inside the tank.

 

[crav]

This is my current upgraded tank project, 8 x 4 x2, for our Bamboo Shark. They grow really fast. We hatched one Nov 2016 and now he is close to 15" long. He is our second hatched Bamboo. He is currently in a 300g, 8 x 30" x 24", with 2 other Coral Catsharks and I feel the 300g is too small already.

You could probably get away with a baby Coral Catshark in a 300g for its life. Seeing how ours, each about 20", are very active swimmers when the light dims or is off, they need a larger tank.

The Bamboo is truly an awesome shark. I hand feed ours and he loves getting pet and held inside the tank.

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View attachment 1290299

Very nice tank!

My idea was to keep only one, not a group. Adult coral catsharks are smaller than bamboos? I wanted one of those "less demanding" ones, such as these, because of the resources needed. Where I live my limitation is money, not so much space. I could fit here (outside, on my backyard) something like 15'x6'x5', but it would be extremely costly to do so.
Right now I have a 120 (5'x20''x24'') that I could use to house a baby one.

 

[Aquadog]

Most info says the Coral Cats only get to around 24" and a Bamboo almost 40". The growth rate of a Bamboo is much faster than the Coral Cats too. Our current Bamboo, nicknamed "Sharkee" loves to swim all hours of the day, has jumped out of the tank twice and when younger road the overflow to the sump. True escape artist. Lids with weight are key! You should also supplement their diet with vitamins that you can order on the net. If not, you can bet your shark will develop and goiter that impedes their ability to eat. I have to trick the sharks into keeping the vitamins down, otherwise they filter them out thinking they are rocks.

 

[krj-1168]

Well - a 60"x20"x24" tank is technical a 125 gallon, not a 120.

In terms of sharks - it would large enough to keep a bamboo shark(18-20") until for the first year, or a coral catshark in until it is about 2 years old.