jumpinjoker May 14, 2012 Share May 14, 2012 Does anyone here keep sharks? I would appreciate any tips you have on keeping one. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan May 14, 2012 Share May 14, 2012 Just the two legged ones . Does anyone here keep sharks? I would appreciate any tips you have on keeping one. thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marinebiologist May 14, 2012 Share May 14, 2012 Get a very large and I mean very large tank ~5000 galon. and then you may be able to keep one and not be totally curel to it. But in general it all depends on what type of shark you want to keep as to how and what you need to do to keep them and keep them safe and healthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunWyrm May 14, 2012 Share May 14, 2012 I think 5000 is a tad bit excessive, as long as he doesn't intend to keep black tips or anything crazy. I think a 6-8'L would be nice for a pair of bamboo sharks. Sand space seems to be what's most important. I thought the "pond in the garage" idea was pretty cool too. http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=15+41+3115&pcatid=3115 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S May 14, 2012 Share May 14, 2012 Well, I challenge you both. I have one of those bamboo sharks in my 29g biocube. No rocks, just some sandbed for him to rub his belly on. According to the 1"/gallon rule, his maximum size of 24" is less than my tank can hold. So I might get another 5" fish to put in there with him. Definitely don't need a 5,000 gallon tank! Can you imagine a 5,000" shark??? That's like 417 feet long!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunWyrm May 14, 2012 Share May 14, 2012 Yes, but how big is he now? I see nothing wrong with keeping a baby in a smaller tank, I'd just want to have space for him to move around as he gets longer, (and I'd want more than one ). Also the 1" rule is for intended freshwater, and I think is more a bioload rule rather than swim space. I've heard 3-5" for saltwater, but that was from the petco/petsmart girls, and don't think this takes into consideration more "dirty" livestock like eels, and other predators (no idea how sharks are). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extreme_tooth_decay May 14, 2012 Share May 14, 2012 (edited) I've kept sharks. Large tank not required. Recommend a shark type that is more slow moving, and likes to rest on the sand most of the time. Interesting and beautiful. I got rid of mine when I decided to go more for corals. Sharks kept knocking them over. Edited May 14, 2012 by extreme_tooth_decay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SunWyrm May 14, 2012 Share May 14, 2012 What kind did you keep, and how were they with other tank mates (if they had any)? Someone stop me, I'm getting too interested in sharks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan May 14, 2012 Share May 14, 2012 I dunno I'd take the advice of a Marine Biologist over anyone other than another Marine biologist with a real good explanation. Sharks need a lot of room. We buy little fish not anticipating them getting bigger and then we're stuck trying to sell them or give them away. A huge waste of money and it's cruel to the fish. Somethings don't belong in home aquarium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extreme_tooth_decay May 14, 2012 Share May 14, 2012 (edited) What kind did you keep, and how were they with other tank mates (if they had any)? Someone stop me, I'm getting too interested in sharks! I had a marbled (coral) cat shark for a long time that was the most interesting one. Although he had a 6' tank, he moved less than any other fish. He mostly hung out on the bottom, or under his rock, and would get active usually only during feeding. He would forage around at night, slowly, on the bottom. He would have had had plenty of room in a smaller tank. I rarely saw him in the "right half" of mine. Before that, I had another type of cat shark, I think, cannot recall what type it was. It had similar habits. They were both very beautiful and interesting. Easy to keep, and always the first thing people noticed. They had many other tank mates, and did not have problems. I would feed the shark a couple or 3 times a week with a feeding prong or my hand. I recall seeing my cleaner shrimp inside his mouth cleaning him more than one time, which is impressive given that I mostly fed him chunks of shrimp. Edited May 14, 2012 by extreme_tooth_decay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leishman May 14, 2012 Share May 14, 2012 I drove by roosens on sat, they had 6 sharks in a 20g. Not joking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
epleeds May 14, 2012 Share May 14, 2012 I drove by roosens on sat, they had 6 sharks in a 20g. Not joking. darn..then get one and put him in your's. they would have way more room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k May 14, 2012 Share May 14, 2012 I took a 24" cat shark out of a 375g tank and dropped it off in one of the tubs at Justins'. It loves having a 5'x8' bottom to swim around in. If you have a shark this size in anything less, you're being cruel to the animal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S May 14, 2012 Share May 14, 2012 Yes, but how big is he now? I see nothing wrong with keeping a baby in a smaller tank, I'd just want to have space for him to move around as he gets longer, (and I'd want more than one ). Also the 1" rule is for intended freshwater, and I think is more a bioload rule rather than swim space. I've heard 3-5" for saltwater, but that was from the petco/petsmart girls, and don't think this takes into consideration more "dirty" livestock like eels, and other predators (no idea how sharks are). he is max size, 24". loves my biocube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan May 14, 2012 Share May 14, 2012 You're just stirring the pot, right, Ryan? he is max size, 24". loves my biocube. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Mann May 14, 2012 Share May 14, 2012 I drove by roosens on sat, they had 6 sharks in a 20g. Not joking. those old guys are crazy. they tell you anything you want to hear to sell you something. i can never tell if they know what they are doing or full of shat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jan May 14, 2012 Share May 14, 2012 (edited) they are notcrazy. They know more than many. It's up to the buyer to know just as much if not more with Roozens. I don't agree with the way they keep their tanks so packed but there is no question about them knowing all about their livestock.They have very unique items. those old guys are crazy. they tell you anything you want to hear to sell you something. i can never tell if they know what they are doing or full of shat Edited May 14, 2012 by Jan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ryan S May 15, 2012 Share May 15, 2012 You're just stirring the pot, right, Ryan? what!? i couldnt have a 24" shark in my 29 gallon biocube? WTH! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coral Hind May 15, 2012 Share May 15, 2012 What happened to guy that bought the pair of sharks off of diver's den and had then in a pond liner in his garage? We never heard an update on that story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GraffitiSpotCorals May 15, 2012 Share May 15, 2012 I think he broke the 4 by 4 tank down which I thought he kept them in, I am not sure if he still has his 50 dollar sharks or not, I talked to him a few months ago. Really nice dude. We were sharing stories of getting over on places like mcdonalds, like they gave me to much change back and I got a meal for a dollar and was so excited, then he chimed in with his "well I got a pair of thousand dollar sharks for 50 bucks" and nobody had any stories after that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trockafella May 15, 2012 Share May 15, 2012 What happened to the OP.? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
extreme_tooth_decay May 15, 2012 Share May 15, 2012 What happened to the OP.? He is probably at Roozen's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Ivers May 15, 2012 Share May 15, 2012 I took a 24" cat shark out of a 375g tank and dropped it off in one of the tubs at Justins'. It loves having a 5'x8' bottom to swim around in. If you have a shark this size in anything less, you're being cruel to the animal. (This post is directed towards the OP) I take care of this guy every week. He's incredibly happy and fat. But realize that the skimmer at Justin's is 8.5 feet tall and 2' wide and has a hammerhead NW pump. I feed the shark 2 cocktail shrimp whenever I am over (at least 2x a week) and I know that Justin feeds him other times throughout the week. Long story short is to keep in mind that you need to have the filtration to keep up with an animal that eats more than just pellets and mysis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
davelin315 May 17, 2012 Share May 17, 2012 Tim, you had an epaulette shark - very cool guy that I was going to put into school until I got negged on that. Lots of people spout about what they know about keeping sharks but the reality is is that some sharks are more suitable for more confined spaces. Some species swim less than the average fish does and actually does not need as much room, more that it needs more water volume that is kept clean because they are very dirty since they eat a lot and their waste is not quite as easy to deal with as regular fish poop. I have had more sharks than I should have due to not being knowledgeable about them in the past and having a store that regularly imported them - I have had leopard sharks, cat/bamboo sharks, nurse sharks, a wobbegong shark, and even a bat ray in the past. Very few of these were suitable for what I kept them in and the bottom line was that only the cat/bamboo sharks were really all that suitable for an aquarist because they stayed smaller in size and are very sedentary. The nurse sharks and wobbegongs were very cool and didn't move around a whole lot but they inevitably would have grown too large for the tanks if not for some bad fish they ate that killed them. My "dream" shark tank was going to go into my old basement and was going to house bonnethead sharks and some bat rays (really wanted a black tip but knew it would get far too large for my going to be built system). It was going to be a 3' deep lagoon in my basement that was going to be about 12' x 20' or so. Luckily for my home value I never did get a chance to complete building it, although I did move enough cinder blocks into my basement to build it (wow, was that ever fun moving that many blocks by hand down some narrow basement stairs). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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