Brown Banded for a Marbled Cat

[FishyMel]

I have a friend who is taking my banded shark, Bambi. Her expected size scares me, and he has a system large enough for her.

Anyway I found a site www.fishselections.com and they have marbeled cat sharks available! I couldn't resist, so I called the guy and he said he has a 13 incher and I bought her. I know I will need to upgrade to a 220 atleast soon but it is alot better than a 500. I will post pics tommorrow when she arrives.

From what I hear marbled cats are more active than brown banded bamboos, am I right? I also hear they average about 18 inches instead of 40 in captivity. I don't know anyone who keeps one, so if there is anyone hear with one speak now! I'd like to know experiences with them and care differences such as feeding.

I am very excited, Marbled cats are such beautiful animals and their eyes are captivating:eek2:

 

[FishyMel]

Here is her page he said it is for sure a marble not a coral, he also said despite what his page says there was only one available so none for you!

http://www.fishselections.com/p-1052-marbled-cat.aspx

He says he can get more in if you find it inresistable too.

 

[krj-1168]

Yeah - that's looks like a Marbled Cat (Atelomycterus macleayi) to me.

Personal for an adult Marbled Cat - I would suggest a tank that is at least 6'L x 2.5'W (about 225 gallons).

The Marbled Cat is presently the smallest available shark to the average SW aquarist. Slightly smaller than the more active, more colorful, & more popular Coral Cat (which gets 27-28" long).

BTW- don't feed it every day - good way to kill it. Instead it's best to feed it about 3 times per week(once every 2-3 days).

But as rule - Marbled & Coral Cats tend to be more active than most bamboos do.

 

[TheSaltwaterGuy]

Can't wait to see it!

 

[reefergeorge]

Great site, but why do they say to feed sharks twice a day, and all the puffers no less than three times a day?

 

[FishyMel]

Well she came. It is a girl and she is in excellent condition, she also is a marble for sure. The dealer says she came from Bali.

She is a little stressed though, I acclimated her pretty quickly considering her ammonia was 3 mg/l in the bag. She is still breathing hard, I will post pics when she settles.

 

[TheSaltwaterGuy]

Great to hear she looks good. Can't wait to see those pics!

 

[FishyMel]

I got some quick pics of her but they aren't very good I didn't want to stress her out.

 

[FishyMel]

She is about 18 inches long

 

[TheSaltwaterGuy]

She looks good! Now its time to fatten her up!

 

[TheSaltwaterGuy]

Have you ever thought about changing your 200g into a shark tank? And your 150g into the FOWLR?

 

[FishyMel]

Yes, but my 200 is a very stable system and messing could mess up the balance it has. I've put too much money into that system to risk it.

Her breathing is normal now though, I was getting worried the high ammonia burned her gills. After about 6 hours she is behaving more nomal, when first introduced her behavior was quite erratic, and involved charging into the side of the tank and breathing really hard breathing.

Is $97 a good deal for a marbled? I've only seen one for sale before and he was about 6 inches for $90. I also don't see them on the internet, I see lots of coral cats.

 

[TheSaltwaterGuy]

I think so, especially for the size that you got. Most of the time, an 18" Marbled Cat, I would imagine, would normally run around $120-150.

 

[joeyt66]

Looks like a Coral Cat to me. But they are quite similar. I have a male and female coral cat. Very nice looking specimen none the less. Good luck!

 

[FishyMel]

This guy came from Bali confirming his marbled cat identity. I've heard the difference is marbles have white spots? Correct me if I'm wrong. Can someone else tell me if it is coral or marbled?

 

[joeyt66]

Heres a few pics of mine
Coral Cat Sharks

I would pm krj-1168 he really knows his stuff and would likely be able to tell you for sure

 

[FishyMel]

How active is your coral cat?
How much do feed him?
What do you feed him?

I haven't feed mine yet, I'm having an ammonia spike and going to let it settle out before adding food to the tank.

 

[joeyt66]

quite active, mostly at nights and the day of feeding
feed him every 3 days
they eat all sorts squid ,silversides, salmon (his fav) ,shrimp
Mine seem to take to the squid before any of the others. I think it has a more powerful odur that attracts to them.

If your amon. is spiking i would do lots of water changes to try to keep it down as the sharks dont tollerate poor water quality..