Tank Size Recommendations

[FLESHY]

Hey guys, Im throwing this thread up so that we can get a detailed discussion going on tank size recommendations.

I think that we should break this down into different kind of sharks so that it is easily usable for hobbyists of all sorts; from those who want to keep basic bottom dwelling sharks or those who want to keep open water sharks.

Hopefully we can get some good discussion going here, and if the information is backed up credibly it will be a source of information worth stickying...

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Editing in various sharks by species as the list/conversation moves forward:

Ginglymostoma cirratum: Common Nurse Shark

Depth: 5' minimum (For top bottom movement in water column without having to break surface)

Footprint:

- Rectangular: 20'x40' +
- Circular: 40' dia. +

[Zoodiver]

I can't wait for this to get going.
I will say these are the 5 factors I look at when going for tank foot print and volume (both need to be considered).

- Biological load of the animal (waste production)
- Amount of swimming space needed for the current physical size of the animal
- Amount of time the particular animal spends moving
- Shape of the pool to allow proper swimming / glide patterns
- Purpose of the pool that animal is in (Quar vs grow out vs life time)


And one thing I'll toss in as a discussion point right off the bat is something I think tends to get over looked - and that is even bottom dwelling (carpet) sharks need to get up and swim, and they all need enough space to swim and glide. Just enough room to turn around isn't enough. Many of the sharks we see as carpet sharks are swimmers / gliders during the night, and we need to account for that.

[krj-1168]

And one thing I'll toss in as a discussion point right off the bat is something I think tends to get over looked - and that is even bottom dwelling (carpet) sharks need to get up and swim, and they all need enough space to swim and glide. Just enough room to turn around isn't enough. Many of the sharks we see as carpet sharks are swimmers / gliders during the night, and we need to account for that.

Agreed.

Most sources (from "Aquarium Sharks and Rays" to "Elasmobranch Husbandry Manual") tend to lump all species of benthic sharks together.

From what I've found in my research there should be at least 3 types of Benthic Sharks.

Inactive Benthics - most notably the wobbegongs - which are basically classified by long periods (12 hrs+) of inactivity and are only active for brief periods each day (up to 2 hrs)

Walking Benthics - most notably Eppies & bamboos. This group basically gets around by mostly walking on their pectorial fins. But they are also known to ocassionally swimming.

Active Benthics - most notable in this grouping would be Bullheads & Catsharks. This group's primary mode of moving around is by swimming. And they tend to swim more often than the two previous groups. Also I would put Nurse Sharks into this group as well.

[turbo253]

Agreed.

Most sources (from "Aquarium Sharks and Rays" to "Elasmobranch Husbandry Manual") tend to lump all species of benthic sharks together.

From what I've found in my research there should be at least 3 types of Benthic Sharks.

Inactive Benthics - most notably the wobbegongs - which are basically classified by long periods (12 hrs+) of inactivity and are only active for brief periods each day (up to 2 hrs)

Walking Benthics - most notably Eppies & bamboos. This group basically gets around by mostly walking on their pectorial fins. But they are also known to ocassionally swimming.

Active Benthics - most notable in this grouping would be Bullheads & Catsharks. This group's primary mode of moving around is by swimming. And they tend to swim more often than the two previous groups. Also I would put Nurse Sharks into this group as well.

I can agree with that also. I am thinking that we should come up with a list of sharks to tackle first. so I am going toss out this list to get started.

Benthic sharks

Brown banded bamboo
cali horn
coral cat
nurse

Swimming sharks

Black tip reef
gray smooth hound
atlantic smooth hound
white tip reef
bonnet
atlantic sharpnose

I think these are the most commonly asked about sharks on here and when we nail these down we can move on to other more advanced and rare sharks

[turbo253]

As KRJ did with benthic sharks, I'll split these swimming sharks up into categories

I am going to use the categories the elasmobranch husbandry manual uses

Semi Pelagic Free swimming species. Periodically rest on the bottom. Able to actively ventilate.

Gray smooth hound
Atlantic Smooth hound
White tip reef

Pelagic ORV- Swims constantly to create hydrodynamic lift, aid respiration and circulate body fluids

Black tip reef
bonnet
Atlantic sharpnose

Once we look into other sharks a little closer I think everyone will agree that categories over lap a little. For example sharks like lemons. The guys I listed are pretty clear cut.

[krj-1168]

Actually - since this is more about what is available to private aquarist - I think the benthic list should be expanded - to at least include an Epaulette, and small wobbie.

But on the subject of swimming sharks - the Elasmobranch Husbandry manual is the closest to being correct -IMO.

They seperate the swimming sharks into the following groups - Semi pelagic, Pelagic (non-ORV), and Pelagic (ORV).

I personally prefer the following grouping for swimming sharks available to Private Aquarists.

Swimming, non-ORV: - which includes smoothhounds, Whitetip Reefs & Lemon Sharks. These sharks are active swimmers, but do not need to swim contantly in order to breath.

Reef ORV Swimming: - which includes Blacktip reefs. Sharks which require contant motion in order to breath, but are highly flexible or turn quickly because of their habitat. As such they can be kept in tanks/ponds with a modest amount of decor.

Coastal ORV Swimming: - Which includes coastal requiem sharks like Atlantic Sharpnose, & Finetooths. These sharks are ORV that require lots of open space and little or no tank decor.

[jayfb]

Willl this thread just address tank size recommendations or other things that are required in shark systems as well. I ask this because I would like to know if other things such as temp and oxygen levels also affect required aquarium size. One example of this would be my smoothies seem to be much more active at 72 degrees then at 68, but I don’t know if the lower temps and higher Ox levels would influence the activity enough to affect required aquarium size? I am sure there are other things that influence animal activity and would like to learn more about those things from others with more experience then my self. I would also like to know about how activity effects the health quality of different animals.

[turbo253]

Yeah I think husbandry manual is the best too and I didn't want to even get into the pelagic non orv group because they only refer to the sand tiger there. I also think that your categories are more user friendly. I don't have a problem using them. I also think that this shouldn't be limited to the sharks that are available to private aquarists. I would like to see bulls, black tips and sandbars talked about and feel it would be really interesting to compare them to sharks like BTR's. Honestly I think anything that a member has worked with is fair game.

As for the first swimming shark to start with, I think the black tip reef is a good start since they are easy to get and are super easy to keep.

[turbo253]

Willl this thread just address tank size recommendations or other things that are required in shark systems as well. I ask this because I would like to know if other things such as temp and oxygen levels also affect required aquarium size. One example of this would be my smoothies seem to be much more active at 72 degrees then at 68, but I don’t know if the lower temps and higher Ox levels would influence the activity enough to affect required aquarium size? I am sure there are other things that influence animal activity and would like to learn more about those things from others with more experience then my self. I would also like to know about how activity effects the health quality of different animals.

I think this thread should encompass all these topics so we can nail down solid real world profiles of these animals.

Jay I really don't know a whole lot about smooth hounds but have seen the difference in growth between a white tip that wasn't able to freely swim vs one that was. The baby white tip I got last summer was about 23" in june and is now about 3' he is about a year old and has been able to swim as he pleases. On the other hand my big white tip was in a 10'x3' tank for 8 years and was only 37" when I got him. Although he was cramped his health didn't not seem to be impacted by the small tank. The most interesting thing was that when he got to my pool he started to grow again and is now 4'. So in the case of the white tip reef I feel they are really hardy sharks that could have their growth slowed down (with in reason) to get some extra time out of a tank without any major ill effects on the shark.

[krj-1168]

Well - I don't we need to include sharks like Sand Tigers, Tigers, Great Hammerheads,Whale Sharks and Great Whites - since these sharks are completely unrealistic for any Private Aquarists to keep.

However we can push the limit to the likes of Bulls, Lemons & Sandbars. But then the Elasmobranch Husbandry Manual gives a base line tank length for Bulls, Lemons, Sandbars, and Blacktips.

Also I think that tank size recommenadations should be more about actual shape, dimensions and water depth - instead of just the tank volume.