Doc's Shark Tank

Doc, have you checked out the sharks being bred by Tropicorium. They have some nice pics. I thought you were joking about the hand feeding until I saw the pictures on their site. Different sharks though. I wondered about shark prices. Pretty high prices, but not bad considering the prices on large fish in general. Stopped by Petco last night, they just got two clown Trigger Fish about 2.5 inches long for $129 each. And that is a Petco price. But they wanted $49 each for medium Yellow Tangs so I guess the Clown Triggers are not that expensive comparatively. Now that is what you need for a fish Doc, an 18 inch Clown Trigger Fish. If you ever ran out of food he would probably just eat your live rock.

LOL. I have heard nightmare stories about clown triggers. I know they bite through hoses, and even the electrical wires going into powerheads. They are just plain mean. Pretty though. Around here, a 5 inch clown trigger will usually run about $80.

I have not checked out sharks bred by Tropicorium. I will though. I do like to feed my sharks by hand. It will take me a month or so to get him used to the corner I will feed him from, but I think he will get there. My last one did.

-Doc
 
that's awesome. not surprising though I saw a foot long pinktail in vegas that cruised the tank faster than any other fish in there. at that point I immediately fell in love with triggerfish.

sorry we strayed from your shark doc.

no problem. I love triggers as well. I have had a pink-tail (sorry to bring up painful memories, Biff) and Niger triggers. they have great personalities, but make it tough to keep certain shrimp and corals. If I had more tanks, I would keep a Picasso (they are my favorite trigger) with the shark and have a separate tank for my angelfish.

-Doc
 
I use to watch a large clown tear up oysters like they were donuts or something. It is just a good thing theay ae not glass scrapers or they would probably scratch right through a glass tank wall. At $80 for a Clown Trigger fish in Alaska I would break down and set up a fish only tank. What'd I say?
 
I use to watch a large clown tear up oysters like they were donuts or something. It is just a good thing theay ae not glass scrapers or they would probably scratch right through a glass tank wall. At $80 for a Clown Trigger fish in Alaska I would break down and set up a fish only tank. What'd I say?

LOL. I thought you hated big, messy fish? :mrgreen:

-Doc
 
LOL. I thought you hated big, messy fish? :mrgreen:

-Doc
:bounce:I hate big or little messy fish in with my coral.
I really like predator fish. I hate to see them harvested if they will not breed in captivity, but I have kept them in the past and probably will again in the future, but not in with my corals. I would keep them with most soft corals, but for the last ten years the only times I have kept soft corals were as nutrients exporters. They were set up in trays in a remote tank as part of a system of tanks. After the water left the soft coral tank it again protein skimmed, filtered through carbon then heavily aerated before it went back to the then main LPS/SPS tanks, which had deep sand beds. There was no live rock used. The system worked fine but I decided that throwing a way that much live soft coral was bothering me to much to continue using that method of filtration and nutient exportation.
:^:
 
whoa. Way to complex for me. I love my soft corals in with my angels and shark. All the fish just ignore the coral and it allows me to have the best of both worlds. I guess it is a preference thing. I am not in this hobby for the coral, although it is cool background for my fish. I am a fish guy all the way. That is what makes this hobby so great, there is no "right" way to do a tank. I would love to see someone set up a trigger / predator tank. Moray eel, lionfish, etc. Big aggressive fish are awesome

-Doc
 
if i did a predator tank i would be scared putting an eel in there, i wouldnt be to worried about it drying on the floor and coming to a tank without an eel and a peice of beef jerky on my floor
 
if i did a predator tank i would be scared putting an eel in there, i wouldnt be to worried about it drying on the floor and coming to a tank without an eel and a peice of beef jerky on my floor
After losing several eels at fish stores I decided the inconvience of a full cover of lighting grate was really not such a inconvience, even when just considering the cost of the eels alone.
They usually look even a lot more horrid than a piece of beef jerky. It is amazing how many normally sane people become insane when an eel is flopping around on the floor. It is like the people forget every thing they previously knew and now they think there is a poisonious sea snake out to bite them. I guess it is no worse than creaming and jumping up on a chair when you see a mouse. A lot of people really lose it though.
 
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Eels area great. Worth the investment of a cover on the tank. My personal favorite I have kept was the white-eyed moray. He ate out of my hand as well. He did bite me though as he was blind as a bat....poor bastard.

Speaking of feeding by hand. I successfully fed squishy by hand last night. He perched up on his front fins and allowed me to feed him 5 silversides. It was really cool. I am a fan!!! :^:

-Doc
 
Farm out Doc, see I knew you is crazy. That was my good ole boy immitation. My favorite eel is the Manchurian (dragon) eel. Any HUGE moray eel is nice though. I use to have a snow flake moray that would swim up fast enough to bring his head a good 10 inches out of the water when I fed him shrimp.I would try to throw them in the water in the same place every time. As soon as he saw my hand move he would shoot for that area, about one-fourth the time we were both accurate enough and the shrimp just as it hit the water would fly back into the air and fall back into his mouth just as he was almost fully back in the water. He was at least three foot long but he could propel himself straight up out of a 150 gallon tank. I had him four years or maybe a little more before he escaped. He pushed a hang on back overflow off the tank and apparently left from there. Besides loosing him I also lost 6 big SPS Acro coral colonies at the top of the tank as over two inches of water flowed out before the other overflow quit feeding the sump which back fed the other overflow that was knocked to the floor. the top of the corals cooked under three halides, especially as they were just an inch below the water surface before the water drained. Gee, what are some of the other reasons I have no fish in my tanks. Was the eel a naturally blind eel from deep depths are just a strange capture or something caused by medications, infections?
 
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dragon morays are awesome and at only $1200 they are a real bargin!! LOL. I have tried ribbon eels and a zebra morays (which isnt really a morays). I am sure I will get another one eventually.

-doc
 
I dont like eels ever since i got attacted in Hawaii by one free diving when i was 13.But anyway,love the shark.Cant wait till you get the real tank.
 
dragon morays are awesome and at only $1200 they are a real bargin!! LOL. I have tried ribbon eels and a zebra morays (which isnt really a morays). I am sure I will get another one eventually.

-doc
Wow, the price for them have really gone up. I paid $125 for my last one. I do not think I would pay $1200 for one regardless of the size. It has been at least 7 or eight years since I have seen any morays for sale in Fairbanks, Alaska. I guess now I know why.
 
Awesome build thread Doc.Yeah,I just spent an hour catching up on it.:mrgreen:
Even though you passed on the bigger tank(where I would have moved the whole house to get it in the basement).
Happy to know that you finally got your shark.
 
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here is a math problem for all you smart folk out there. What do you get when you take 2 clown fish, add a shark and subtract an anemone? :shock:

-Doc
 
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