quick question

[alcohologist]

at six months, roughly how big would a brownbanded bamboo be? let's assume feeding once a day or every other day, and 27-29 deg celsius temp.

why:
on a local reef forum, someone's trying to sell an eight month banded cat shark, half a foot long apparently, lists it as hardy, eats ghost shrimp. nothing on tank sizes, nothing much really. then members rally against me and say stuff like "Human is like this who do reseach then go buy?" and "when adult, then 180 gallons (not 500 gallons[my advice]) is the min." [he's quoting from http://www.marinecenter.com/fish/sharks/bamboocatshark/ ]
shark keeping in singapore is already a touchy subject, this is the first i've seen/heard about private aquarists keeping the animals, and it has to be like this.

 

[alcohologist]

oh, no.

"i dun think i'm ill treating the animal.. i know it grows fast.. but also... fishes will nt grow fast wen they know the area they are in is not very big... i keep my shark in a 3 by 2 ft by 2 long tank.. thus, its so much space for it to swim.. if u can see it, its smiling while swiming.. i know.. cox i can even hand feed it..."

 

[serafino]

Who posted that? They are fairly stupid and arrogant. A shark smiles? Sharks don't use facial muscles to show a mood expression. Wow! I think his mother dropped him on the head when he was young. He is really stunting that sharks growth and will eventually kill it. These kind of people really piss me off.
As for size at 6-8 months I have no idea since I haven't had the pleasure of keeping one and measuring the growth. No scratch that I haven't had the honor to keep one of these magnificent living wonders.
For total tank size the bigger is always better. What is more important is not tank size but the footprint of it. The more floor space and swimming room the better. So gallon size doesn't really work. The rule I use for circular tanks/ponds is more than 3 times the total length of the inhabitants you want to keep.

 

[alcohologist]

The rule I use for circular tanks/ponds is more than 3 times the total length of the inhabitants you want to keep.

that's a good regulation, i like 2X body length for width, and 3 or 4X for length - for benthic sharks. can't find circular pools here, but there are loads of fiberglass ponds made for koi and FW rays

 

[krj-1168]

Ok - first off - at 27-29C (80-84 F) is a bit on the high side for Bamboo sharks. Generally bamboo sharks can grow up to 1" per month. And Brown Banded Bamboos have been know to grow 30 inches in only 4 years.

 

[mudslinger]

your gonna need a big tank for a bammboo shark to be truly happy and show his full potential.

 

[krj-1168]

Yeah - a 500 gallon tank would be absolute bare minimum for a single adult Brown banded Bamboo.

You would reallly be better off figuring at least 600 gallons for an adult - basically a pond that's at least 7-8 ft in diameter.

And a 6 month old Bamboo shark wouldn't be just 6 inches long - especially if kept a water temps above 80F(27C). At those water temps a 6 month old Bamboo would be about 12 inches long. OF course keep a bamboo shark at water temps of 84F (29C) or higher isn't a good idea - since the water O2 levels get much lower with warmer water temps - over 82F(28C).

 

[alcohologist]

yeah, well i see how the guy posts about his shark, and i doubt he has a chiller on a the tank, the temp here has been crazy high lately, 28C at least.
i just hope the animal goes to a good home.

 

[water_baby83]

...on a local reef forum, someone's trying to sell an eight month banded cat shark, half a foot long apparently, lists it as hardy, eats ghost shrimp.

Oh brother, ok ok ok. First off, that sentence says it all and I don't think he even realized it. For one, BBB's are born at "Half a foot long" - being 6", and thats on the runt side to be honest as most are pushin 7" strong when they break a casing. Not to mention that pups - when fed well and kept in the proper conditions, well, they pack on girth and length in the first few years like champs. For that pup to be 8 months old and only 6" or so inches, there is a serious problem going on, and probably not the heartiest of sharks. Second, Ghost Shrimp are fine to initiate hunting and eating in new borns, and as the occasional fun snack for pups, but are virtually nutritionally void, and absolutely cannot under any circumstances provide the necessary nutrients, vitamins and fats that pups need for survival and developing immune systems. If that is all he has been feeding his baby, then I am shocked the little thing is still alive. It probably attacks the food because it is going right through him like water and he is starving to death - litterally!!

His little add should have been more along the lines of this

"Hello, I am an idiot who decided to buy a shark without taking the time to educate myself, or give a crap about what was involved. I have sucessfully tortured this pup, starving him and keeping him hanging on by a thread by feeding him nothing more than Ghost shrimp, and I am proud to say that I have stunted his growth and probably shot his immune system to ****. But now that I am done having my fun, as this wasn't the Jaws I had hoped, I am looking to sell him before he dies on me, and figure the best way to do that is to lie and tell you he is the picture of health. So if you are interested, let me know!"

Invite him to MFK please. I would love to say hello...

 

[alcohologist]

hahaha. i pretty much told him the same thing, but was slightly kinder. [only one local board around]
they closed the thread, though... maybe i should pm him? heh i dont think the other members there are very happy with me.
i linked them to MFK and SRC, we'll see if anything develops