i need some help guys

andy_

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Jul 18, 2014
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hi guys im andy from Philippines im planing to keep a shark in a aquarium. i dont have any exp with sharks yet but i want to have one at home. i have some question can i have bull shark in aquarium? is it possible to have one? what size of the tank needed to keep one and dimension of the tank required to have? how big is this baby can grow? and the maintenance for like for the food that i have to feed him how Lbs/kilos of meet per meal. and lastly what filtration do i need for him to sustain all he needs?

i appreciate if someone could help me with this.

thanks you guys,
 

Zoodiver

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Aug 22, 2005
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In all seriousness, I have kept bulls.
You will be looking at close to a million dollars (US) set up for it to be done properly if you have nothing in place right now. Out of all of my years working with sharks, I've only ever suggest a bull to one private owner, and that was after months of working together to make sure he was up to the task. Even if you were ready to spend the money, a bull is NOT the shark to start with. Start smaller and work your way up.

Even as a pup, they will require a lot of food to keep them growing. As an adult, you are looking at a shark that will be over 10 feet long and several hundred lbs in weight. The smallest pool I've ever seen them kept in successfully was 300,000 gallons. Filtration was all commercial size and requires a staff of multiple people to maintain it 24 hours a day. I would suggest something closer to 500,000 gallons - assuming it was built correctly.
 

andy_

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Jul 18, 2014
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Davao city Philippines
ok... thanks... which sharks do you suggest i start with? coz i like the bull's appearance and his aggressiveness. is their a shark the same with the bull shark attitude and appearance?
 

Zoodiver

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Not really. I would start with the smaller tropical benthic sharks (Bamboo sharks, Epaulette sharks and similar species). Sharks you can keep in a few hundred gallons worth of pond. Learn how to operate and maintain the systems at the size and get comfortable with the monthly cost. From there you can step up to sharks like the white tip reef shark. They are more active and more "shark looking" (for what the general public thinks sharks should look like).

Large bodied sharks are best left to the professionals (Bulls, Sandbar, Sandtiger etc....).
 

Yoimbrian

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Feb 11, 2013
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What general size tank are you thinking, what is your budget? I know in your part of the world labor is cheap so a built in tank wouldn't be that bad, but the monthly electric and food bill is huge. A 500 gallon tank for a small shark ( like Bamboo or epaullete ) is $150+ usd / month for electric and food and salt.

My plan is build somewhere between 500 and 1000 gallon tank next year (when my wife and I build / buy our house) and put a small shark in it. If 20 years from now I end up rich then I'd love a white tip reef shark in a few thousand gallon tank, but even with two good salaries and no kids I know it's unrealistic right now. You should consider a similar path.


Sent from my iPhone using MonsterAquariaNetwork app
 

Chub_by

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Jan 30, 2012
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Out of all of my years working with sharks, I've only ever suggest a bull to one private owner, and that was after months of working together to make sure he was up to the task.
Hey Matt,
Out of curiosity, did this individual ever acquire a bull or another very large sp. of shark?

Also, how big would you reckon are the biggest bull sharks kept in public aquaria? I've only ever seen smaller ones (6' or so)
 

krichardson

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Yes,I'm also really curious about this private individual and how things turned out.
 

Zoodiver

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Hey Matt,
Out of curiosity, did this individual ever acquire a bull or another very large sp. of shark?
Yes,I'm also really curious about this private individual and how things turned out.
I haven't talk to him in awhile. I know other things came up in life that took priority over the shark display. I believe he had a bull in with his lemon and other smaller sharks for awhile. I need to touch base with him and find out what the plan is now.


Also, how big would you reckon are the biggest bull sharks kept in public aquaria? I've only ever seen smaller ones (6' or so)
Oklahoma Aquarium has some pretty big ones (8ft) in their 500,000 gallon shark dome exhibit. Dallas World has some big ones a few years back.
http://www.okaquarium.org/about-us/exhibits/
 
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