Sharks?

[Funky_Fish14]

- Just cause you 'can', doesnt mean ya should.
People keep motoros, leopoldi, teacups even.... arowanas, even ID sharks and goldfish, in tanks much too small all the time. Sure they do 'just fine', but it doesnt mean its happy.

- Fish grow to XX size in the wild.
Yeah, and some grow to full size in captivity under crappy conditions, but fish should never be limited in their ability to develop and grow to a full size just because of 'captive conditions'.


So I know you said no flaming (and dont worry, im not doing so)... I used to want a shark a long time ago, but when I did the reasearch, I found it just isnt convenient to have an appropriately sized tank.
From what I recall, the animal needs 5x (the fish's full size) for the length of the tank, and 2.5x (it's full size) for the width. Now doing the math, lets say... even just a 3 foot shark. The tank is:

15ft long
7.5ft wide.

Even at... 36" tall for the tank (which... I dont know but I think thats rather low for a big tank, and a big fish)...

180"x90"x36" (all divided by 231 to get US gallons) = 2524 Gallons.

I even read arguement of 3 times length x 2 times width (again, of body length) (but jeepers thats friggen small for such a big fish)

So we are still talking 9 feet x 6ft and say 36" deep again.

108"x72"x36" (all divided by 231) = 1211 gallons.
And thats a little tank for a big fish.

I just dont think its convenient for the average hobbiest to keep such a 'large' fish.

There is also a difference in water quality requirements, where saltwater fish are much less tolerant of the nutrient buildup rates that freshwater fish can handle. If you think about it, it makes sense, freshwater ecosystems will ALWAYS be smaller than the ocean, and nutrients do not achieve high rates of buildup, or high levels, in the ocean, thus the organisms are not as tolerant of them.

If your willing to go the mile and get a huge tank then Giv'r! But if its not tottaly reasonable for someone, I would suggest different fish. There are a ton of cool critters that can be more interesting to keep than a shark!


Just my 2 cents.

Cheers,

Chris