Tank Size Recommendations

[turbo253]

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.

Right, I don't think we need to really get into talks about white sharks but its important to put down some info on some of these public aquarium level sharks because as pups they are really similar to their smaller cousins. I have read some articles by Forest Young that state how similar it is to handle silky's to blacknose and juvi hammers to large bonnets. And I can tell you for instance that having worked with a baby bull, once settled in its striking how similar it swims to a BTR. Plus once I save up the cash I will have something like a scalloped hammer, sandbar, or galapagos brought in.

As far as tank shape goes, oval is the best in my opinion because it gives the shark a long recovery path and its very practical to built for the private aquarist vs going something like the dumb bell shape. I have seen lot of problems with my round setup.

I can't wait to see how my new pool is going to work because the long sides are scalloped and I think it will help cut down on wall riding.

[krj-1168]

I agree that the Oval design is one of the best for keeping sharks. It's better than rounds, and much much better than a rectangular aquarium. Most custom built home aquariums are actually poor designed for keeping sharks.

[Jabba954]

Didn't Em try to start this thread a while ago, and it barely went anywhere? It also doubles a lot of the info Ken's put together on SRC.

That said, any chance we can bring over Ken's work from SRC here? I find myself, and others, posting here a lot more.

[turbo253]

Didn't Em try to start this thread a while ago, and it barely went anywhere? It also doubles a lot of the info Ken's put together on SRC.

That said, any chance we can bring over Ken's work from SRC here? I find myself, and others, posting here a lot more.

Yeah maybe thats the best thing to do. This is going to turn into a waste of time. I was hoping some people with first hand experience would be able to add to some of the stuff ken has put together on SRC because there's no first hand experience in those profiles. Its info from books already out there.

[FLESHY]

Wow, lots of input already.

Id like to give a +1 to what zoo said about a lot of sharks that rest on the bottom during the day being active hunters by night.

Lets try to keep this as scientific as possible...there is a lot of common name issues with sharks, so when you are attempting to be specific, try to go scientific. There are also places where common names will take you into multiple familes etc that may or may not have different care requirements. Every specie is different (to one extent or another).

Pardon my shark ignorance, but what is SRC?

[yogurt_21]

any chance we culd get a table, excel file etc. style for this. then it could list the type of shark, tank size by age, best tank shape/dimensions and some sort of rating for bio load for designing filtration setups?

[bamato]

Us newbs will enjoy this thread. Subscribing

[Zoodiver]

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.

To a certain point, higher temps increase metabolism, so they become more active. Warmer water also means the need for more food as well. Once you reach the top end, you'll see activity drop off and they start to lose signs of life. Sharks can be a lot like people: low activity and over fed leads to fat animals that die early from heath complications (fatty liver disease being one fo them, renal failure/blood poisoning/brown blood disease being another).

[krj-1168]

Pardon my shark ignorance, but what is SRC?

Shark & Ray Central(SRC) is a small specialized forum which exclusively deals with sharks, and rays.

Didn't Em try to start this thread a while ago, and it barely went anywhere? It also doubles a lot of the info Ken's put together on SRC.

Yes, Em is working on a Species Profile database - but she's a busy lady - so the thread is very slow in developing. And while the basic information maybe very similar to my work on SRC - the format is different.

That said, any chance we can bring over Ken's work from SRC here? I find myself, and others, posting here a lot more.

Bring the actual profiles on SRC to MFK? - not a chance. The Care, & Species Profiles are an SRC exclusive. But since this thread is about Tank sizes Recommendations - I could use the formulas, and basic tank size recommendations from the SRC profiles.

[FLESHY]

I think it would be good for you guys, and this site if we could make our own similar set of data. I know there is a small group of die hards in this section, but there are also a lot of people passing through.

This may be the single most important thread in the whole section. Making that information available here would go a long way to helping lots of our fellow MFK'ers and armchair shark keepers.