Nemo the Zebra Shark
- Thread starter ToxicWolf666
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If you can ship him i will buy him as soon as he can be shipped and if not i will consider driving from Detroit if he is still avalible in about a month. He will have a 450 gallon quarantine tank and a 120000 gallon pool for a tank.
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I'm not as much about display tanks as I am about the animals themselves and the mechanics behind these systems, so I'm good with pools and smaller viewing windows to save cash rather than spending thousands on glass/acrylic. I have been breeding horseshoe crabs for a few years now, with proper permits to continue my research, so setting up and maintaining systems that total thousands of gallons is not new or unusual for me -- that's why I joined MFK in 2011.
He says this shark is 9 inches. All research about zebra sharks indicate they have slow growth rate, but don't particularly quantify it, so let's compare it to a nurse shark where males mature over 10-15 years and females mature over 15-20 years according to the IUCN Red List. I have an 8-foot diameter round setup today, with a system volume of about 1,500 gallons. Let's say it reaches maturity within 7-10 years (they mature at around 4.5 feet). That means this shark can stay in this growout tank for at least the next 5 years while I set up a much larger enclosure.
As for being able to provide that enclosure, I can't say much about the details, but what I can tell you is that I'm an entrepreneur receiving funding to build out a 100,000+ gallon facility for mating animals for various conservation and biomedical aspects. That facility will be finished within the next 18 months. As I said, I'm on the science and management end of things, but I am also very business-oriented; it was natural to incorporate my passion with my career, especially since I have the network to back up the business end (and billionaire backing to boot) and the passion to drive forward.
And, worst-case-scenario I have a 45,000 gallon swimming pool. I know -- people talk about converting pools all the time but never actually do it. I've converted above-ground pools before, so why not in-ground? And yep -- climate controlled and in-door is part of this consideration. Additionally, I work with scientists at aquariums all over the country, from the National Aquarium in Baltimore to the California Academy of Sciences. Absolute, worst possible outcome is that I either find a collector looking to purchase this shark (people sell fish/sharks all the time, and I have friends who work in aquarium fish management and distribution) or I put my feelers out to various public aquaria and see if anybody is looking for a nearly mature zebra shark (as many aquaria are, especially for captive-raised thanks to new breeding and conservation initiatives). Again, though, this is the absolute, worse-case-scenario if EVERYTHING else fails; it's a complete backup plan, and not one that I intend to use at all.
I have found that age is not much of a factor when it comes to success and achievement, as the defining elements are drive and passion; being 18 does not equate to being unable to care for such a beautiful creature, just as being 30 or 40 of 50 does not equate to being able to keep this shark. And I know that I am the outlier to the rule, as many 18 year olds do not have the experience and resources to be able to handle such an animal, but I assure you that I would never let this shark suffer, ever. I'm well aware of the commitment I am making to this animal by caring for it.
Plus, they can live to an estimated 25-30 years -- who better to take on such a long-living commitment than somebody a little bit younger who has the necessary experience and will be growing alongside the shark?
If you have any more questions, let me know. I appreciate the due-diligence you're taking, TheKid, as it is important to ensure somebody has the right parameters to actually keep something that requires such intense resources.
With shipping it is $350.00 and will be overnight. Or the shark can be picked up. Though I can not be entirely sure that he will still be available in about a month
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