Bamboo Shark

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ReefGuy

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 11, 2008
5
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Burlington, Ontario
Hello Everyone :)
Just wanted to say hello and ask some advice of the local "Shark Community". 2 days ago I inherited a 10" Bamboo Shark. I migrated him into my tank and he's so far doing ok. This was an unexpected addition to my reef. A friend is moving out of town and was desperate for someone to take the bamboo on.
I was looking for any advice that anyone could offer as far as any tips or tricks for looking after this little guy. Everything that I've read so far leads me to believe they're difficult to get started once moved into a new environment.
Any help anyone could offer would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Seth
 
oh he is a beaut..

unfortunately they aren't really great for your reef tank :(
what size is it?
what's already in there?

that's pretty damn irrisponisble of your 'friend'.. you'd think something this big and important he'd work on before moving.. it's not like you buy a house and move out in a matter of days.. he had months to find a home for this shark...
 
I know.. we've already had words about how this "should have gone down". Alas.. I agreed to take him as I was his last hope.
As for the reef.. It's a 150 gallon. The only other thing inhabiting the tank right now is an eel. They've given each other a good "once over".. and have since ignored each other in passing.
When I first introduced him into the tank, his first order of business was to eat a blood shrimp that happened to be walking by. Since then.. nothing.
I'm reading up on everything I can about these guys... He's been offered food since the blood shrimp.. I've offered ghost shrimp and krell so far. He hasn't touched any of it. My friend said that he was eating ghost shrimp without any trouble.
Can anyone advise what my next steps should be? Everything I've read so far says these guys will often starve themselves and die.
 
i've always wondered about feeding cleaner shrimp to initiate feeding.. i mean spending $30-40 on like 2-3 peppermint shrimp seems more than reasonable to get you shark feeding..

market shrimp and seafood medley seem to be popular.. and im not sure on feeding things like bllodworms but it seems to me you should be trying to play towards his sense of smell to initiate feeding..
about how old is the shark? from his size i would say he's maybe 4-6mo?
the other guy should have been able to wean him off live by then.. so he may be a little spoiled...

there's a bunch of much more experinced shark keepers on here most of them seem to post around 7-9 o'clock central time.. at least while im online anyway...
by tommarow you'll have much better answers than i can afford you..
 
He's about 10 inches.. so I'm guessing 4, maybe 5 months old. To the best of my understanding, he's always eaten live. Although.. when I introduced Ghost Shrimp into the tank yesterday.. he let them run up over his face without flinching and showed no interest in eating.
I understand that it's common for these guys to fast when moved into a new environment.. I'm hoping that's all it is. I'll try anything..
 
live food i would have to think is the best bet.. whenever a fish fasts...

maybe try a few guppies/mollies as well? <-- do NOT quote me on that!!!!
 
yeah I was wondering about that too.. I was considering picking up a medley of live food and seeing if any of it intices him. I'm even considering picking up another blood cleaner shrimp and see if he takes it down the way he grabbed the first one.
Thank you for your advice. As you said, I'm interested to see what the "really experinced shark keepers on here" think. I've read a few posts regarding the bamboo's.. not everyone has had great results.. my nerves are a little shot :nilly:
 
Ok - first - never attempt to feed a marine shark - a fresh water fish - i.e. guppies or mollies. These are like feeding candy to a kid. Filling - Yes. Healthy - No Way.

If you going to go with live food - stick with the shrimp. Or maybe try something different such as brine shrimp or mantis shrimp.

Still based on it's size chances are good the shark will eat when it gets hungry. Also live food may not be the best choice for such a small shark. Your really better of with fresh non-live food. That way it can be cut into bite size for the shark.

At 150 gallons though - you will need a bigger tank, before too much longer. That shark will get over 3 ft long. In fact -it will likely be about 3 ft long in about 3.5 -4 years. At which - time you had best have it in a tank/pond that is at least 4 times that size.
 
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