Wobbegong and Morays?

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When my ornate wobbegong is hunting, it's very active, and it's a VERY unique looking shark. But 23 hours a day, it's just chilling on a rock. He's taken down several large, aggressive groupers that cohabitated fine with nurse sharks, white tips, and black tips.
 
Comatose;5010924; said:
I'm curious about actual experience as well... I've never personally kept a wobbie, and from what I understand they don't make splendid tank mates with anything. Is there a particular reason you want one over an eppie? I've had a few of them and they're splendid. IMHO a 240 is fine for either epaulette species for life provided filtration is spectacular.

Also, if you're dragon is aggressive towards other fish of equal size (not sure if you said it was or not), then I wouldn't keep it with anything.

First off where the heck are you finding some of those Morays in your sig? :nilly: Seems you have some pretty hard to find ones. I'm in the middle of nowhere and actually had to order in a Tessy cause I'm unaware of any shops in my area capable of getting something that common.

My Dragon eats fish. Believe it or not it's actually been housed with eels as small as 18 inches and the girth of a nickel with the only issue being a half swallowed Whitemouth during a feeding frenzy, but after a couple taps with a piece of PVC thew Whitemouth was quickly spit out. The wounds were minor and healed quickly.

The Dragon was housed with a stonefish (FW Lion) since day one. The Stony was only about 5-6 inches at the time. No issues with "Nibbles" and "Bits" whatsoever.

I think my Dragon's a pushover as long as it's not fish. Hell the Tessy pesters him at times and the Dragon lets it fly.

The Wobby I was curious about simply cause there's one near me that needs a new home. Had no idea they were the "Aimara" of the smaller shark world, I just looked at it as a fish Nibbles couldn't/wouldn't eat, and I'd be giving it a better home that it has now with the possibilities of being housed for life at my place. I'd be giving it a home and finally finding a fish that could live with eels, but I'm also now aware that my eels would be in jeopardy and will likely opt for a more suitable for my situation kind of shark.

I HATE trying to sell hobby related things so I figured after my rays outgrow thier tanks I could just use them for salt rather then trying to sell them.
 
DB junkie;5011041; said:
First off where the heck are you finding some of those Morays in your sig? :nilly: Seems you have some pretty hard to find ones. I'm in the middle of nowhere and actually had to order in a Tessy cause I'm unaware of any shops in my area capable of getting something that common.

My Dragon eats fish. Believe it or not it's actually been housed with eels as small as 18 inches and the girth of a nickel with the only issue being a half swallowed Whitemouth during a feeding frenzy, but after a couple taps with a piece of PVC thew Whitemouth was quickly spit out. The wounds were minor and healed quickly.

The Dragon was housed with a stonefish (FW Lion) since day one. The Stony was only about 5-6 inches at the time. No issues with "Nibbles" and "Bits" whatsoever.

I think my Dragon's a pushover as long as it's not fish. Hell the Tessy pesters him at times and the Dragon lets it fly.

The Wobby I was curious about simply cause there's one near me that needs a new home. Had no idea they were the "Aimara" of the smaller shark world, I just looked at it as a fish Nibbles couldn't/wouldn't eat, and I'd be giving it a better home that it has now with the possibilities of being housed for life at my place. I'd be giving it a home and finally finding a fish that could live with eels, but I'm also now aware that my eels would be in jeopardy and will likely opt for a more suitable for my situation kind of shark.

I HATE trying to sell hobby related things so I figured after my rays outgrow thier tanks I could just use them for salt rather then trying to sell them.
Shopping at the House of Fins perhaps???...Money no object the most intense salt collection i have ever seen.
 
Chefken;5011101; said:
Shopping at the House of Fins perhaps???...Money no object the most intense salt collection i have ever seen.


You referring to the guy in this thread with the morays in the sig?

What is house of fins?

I've asked numerous times where to find nice eels and have yet to track down one decent source. Just dead ends and empty promises for 3-4 years now.
 
DB junkie;5011359; said:
You referring to the guy in this thread with the morays in the sig?

What is house of fins?

I've asked numerous times where to find nice eels and have yet to track down one decent source. Just dead ends and empty promises for 3-4 years now.

You where just trying to sell your morays a little while back weren't you?
 
DB junkie;5008869; said:
800 gallons for an ambush predator that tops out at 41 inches on a good day eh?


That's actually an accurate number - assuming it's the right foot print.
 
Canadian;5010704; said:
krj-1168
08-25-2006, 7:45 PM
Well - there are actually 3 members of this genus of sharks that are commonly seen in the U.S.A.

These are -

The Brownbanded Bamboo - AKA the Banded Catshark(note - it's not a true catshark), or banded Bamboo. The Brownbanded is a very hardy species, and the largest member of it's genus. While they can reach up to 40 inches in length(not 4ft), the rarely get above 3ft in length. It also should be noted that the adults lose than banded stripes, and actually look more like a small(3 ft long), tan colored, nurse shark.
Yes, the 180 gallons is the minimum tank size for this shark recommended by in Scott Micheal's book. But the really do better in a custom build 240 gallon(7ft long x 3 ft wide x 1.5ft high) or even a 300 tank.

The Whitespotted Bamboo - AKA the Marbled Cat shark(not to be confused with A. macleayi - which is the Marbled Catshark). The Whitespotted Bamboo can grow to about 3 ft in length, but usually averages about 30-32 inches in length. While they can live in tanks as small as a 150 gallon, they will do better in a 180 to 240 gallon tank.

The Grey Bamboo is the smallest of the group - with a maximum adult size of just 30 inches, and usually average about 26-27 inches. So these little guys can be kept in a 140 gallon tank. Also they are usually a bit rarer(and harder to find) than the Brownbanded or Whitespotted, but are still priced less than 150 bucks.

But the truth is for aquarium sharks - it kind of hard to beat the Bamboo sharks. All three are wonderful little sharks.

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Also shark and Ray forum you have a write up that is suggesting 750+ for a brown banded but when a guy comments and asks what he can get away with cause he really wants it you suggest a 450-500 and say it will work for life. I know the one above is old but the shark and ray is more recent.

So, does a shark that sits around all day really require more water than a brown banded? If so, then why?

In your experience how did your sharks do in the 240, and smaller tank sizes?

Did they get to big and then you realized that was to small?


I am not disagreeing with giving the fish the best you can, I am just trying to understand where people can stop dreaming and start owning.

IMG - talking about some old posts. Your going back to Aug of 2006 - there. And the quote from SRC is from Aug of 2007 (nearly 1 year later).

The Fact is in both cases - it's a matter of what sources I was quoting at the time. In Aug 2006 the figures were based of Scott Michael's book "Aquarium Sharks & Rays". In Aug 2007 - the figures were based off - Jeffrey Anderson's article "Shark Aquarium Ethics" in the Oct. 2005 issue of TFH magazine. Since that time - I've become much more knowledgeable about keeping sharks - and have come to realize that both authors underestimated the true minimum tank sizes needed to keep a specific species of shark for life. And virtually none of these authors - specify any differences between inactive benthic species(like wobbegongs) and active benthic species (like Coral cats or Horn Sharks). But there is a noticeable difference.

As for why a wobbie needs room to swim. Basically Jabba, has a good point. While wobbies may sit around the vast majority of time - but at feeding time they become quite active and animated. And it's those moments that the wobbies need the extra room.

Remember - in the case of most benthic sharks - if they are well cared for they can live to be 20 years old or more. Which is longer than the average pet dog or cat usually lives. But unlike your dog or cat - you can't let the shark out of it's tank/pond to get some extra exercise. So why not plan to give your shark the best home that you can.
 
Canadian;5011452; said:
You where just trying to sell your morays a little while back weren't you?

Yup. Had to move. No one wanted Nibblez and the current lady friend grew fond of it so I got a bigger tank and a few roomates for the unwanted Dragon. Really enjoying the cohab so likely get an even bigger tank and add some more.
 
I own two species of wobbegong.

Tasseled - Lower temps - 74 degree range - they do not move. I swear they have gone as long as six months without moving more than their tail or lunging at food. I would say that they stayed within a 2 square foot space. Nor did they grow ~ 1 inch in a year. At 82 degrees, (their natural temp) they will swim the tank every night for ~ 1-2 hours or more and they have grown ~ 7 inches in 5 months without a change in diet. These sharks cannot be trusted with any other fish including other sharks. I have a pair, they do not strike at one another. Last, They do not search for food. They have to be target fed. If the menhaden is being waved 4 inches in front of them, they won't move. Think of them as a stone fish or angler.

Northern (she may be the only in the US)- This little gal will swim at the surface during feeding time until she is full. I will also find her swimming in the mid day. I feed at night. Though only 9 inches, she uses the entire 350 gallon pond and requires more space than the tasseled. The cool thing. Once she is full - she cannot move. You can reach in and pick her up, flip her over , take her out, and she doesn't budge. It is like she is in a coma. If I put her back in the pond belly up, she will stay there for hours.
BTW - they are not as docile as described. She often bites other sharks though she is less than 1/2 the size. I had to move my halstromi sharks because of her. The wards has the typical temperament of a wobbe.
 
The adult ornates and spotteds I had would spent time swimming almost every day, but it was in long straight lines until they had an obsticle and had to turn. However, the pups (under 24") would spend 95% of their time on the bottom.

I wonder if what is being demonstrated is young vs adult swimming behaviors.
 
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