SwampyBill
New member
Please leave the rays & sharks for a public aquarium or 'Thunderball' & other James Bond movies...
Metal halides, "thriving LTA" anda new Yellow Anemone
- Thread starter jacobzking
- Start date
jeffreylesser
New member
I would gather from observation, and the recommendation from the CMA that the tank would need to be a minimum of 3 feet deep for comfortable turning. An 8ft 240 gallon tank, is probably 8x2x2, but I could be wrong. Another quote:
"The practical implications of the sharks' mode of transport are that they need a lot of room, they can't change direction or level easily, and the "hate" square-system corners".
IMO, I don't think standard systems that hobbyists employ are really sufficient for these animals. Have you ever seen sharks or rays kept well/long term in a square or rectangular shaped aquarium? I have not. Not to say it can't be done, I am not an expert, but nearly all enclosures I have seen of the volume you are even remotely capable of providing are almost always constructed of concrete. The tanks are set up like pools, shallow and wide. They meander and have a very organic shape that conforms to the way sharks and rays turn. They are nothing like a small rectangle. A Circle would probably be the most suitable standard small shape, but again, I am not an expert.
Finally even though the CMA has some information on sharks, it is a whopping 8 pages long, and although Bob Fenner seems knowledgeable on the subject I doubt even he would want you to use his book as a guide to keeping sharks and rays. I quote from here as I own 17 reek keeping books, only one has any information on sharks/rays. It is a specialized topic for sure. You will need some real information on keeping sharks and rays, and most likely a custom tank to house them I would think. There are some books out there, but as I have never read them, or kept sharks or rays I can't reasonably recommend one.
This is off topic from LTAs and anemones but as I am not tracking your posts elsewhere I don't know if you are asking the right questions to the right people. Unfortunately I am not the right person, I can only tell you what is in one book I own.
On the positive side you have made improvements to your current setup, by adding sand, and appropriate lighting. You are on your way to having a decent "reef" setup. Certainly one capable of maintaining a LTA and clownfish. Back on topic, I would think for your current tank aside from your disease/fish compatibility issues, your filtration/flow would be the next thing to look at.
SkullV
They Got My Number
Keep in mind that fish like sharks and rays are extremly hard to treat for Crypt since they do not respond well to Copper or Hypo. Unless you treat your current stock with copper/hypo and leave the tank fallow for a couple months it is likely that the cycle will just start again.
Good job with the nem though, looks great!
jacobzking
New member
i don't think that shark and rays are really susceptible to crypto. am I wrong?
SwampyBill
New member
Seriously, open your mind & absorb some of the excellent advice you've been given here on the multitude of reasons why sharks & rays should be housed only in huge, public aquariums & not in our private reef tanks (& particularly NOT by someone who's only had salty hands for a few months...). :hammer:
Virtuoso
New member
There's a lot of nice people on this forum with lots of patience, but I do not think I have been around long enough for it to rub off so I'll just get it out.
What people are saying here is STOP ADDING THINGS TO YOUR TANK. SLOW DOWN AND READ.
Every living thing you go to the store and buy, your tangs, your anemones, all of it, YOU ARE KILLING by putting them in that tank.
At this point it seems like it is too late for everything already in there, except maybe the anemones, but you need to do less "how do I fix this?" and more "why am I in this situation?"
What people are saying here is STOP ADDING THINGS TO YOUR TANK. SLOW DOWN AND READ.
Every living thing you go to the store and buy, your tangs, your anemones, all of it, YOU ARE KILLING by putting them in that tank.
At this point it seems like it is too late for everything already in there, except maybe the anemones, but you need to do less "how do I fix this?" and more "why am I in this situation?"
SwampyBill
New member
Well put, & still kinder than what some of us are thinking...:thumbsup:
SkullV
They Got My Number
Yes they are, the Crypt goes straight for the gills. If I were you I would get all the fish out of the tank. Return the tangs and put your clown in a hospital tank with copper/hypo for 8 weeks (10 gallon is fine for the clown). Once you have ALL the ich out of tank in 8 weeks put the clown back in. Then you can use that 10 gallon (or get something larger) to QT ONE TANG AT A TIME in copper or hypo if you absolutely must have tangs in the tank. This way your tank will not only have a couple more months to mature, but you will make sure the fish are healthy and disease free.
