Black Tip Shark

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Zoodiver;628173; said:
Man, you should see the list of stuff that people try to drop off.....A lot of the time, they sneak stuff in and just dump it in a tank.

Most of your 'common' pet shop sharks are things we just laugh at. Black tips, nurse, some wobbs and the like. Most places won't even take bamboo or cat sharks anymore. From our stand point, all we're doing is aiding the bad habits of pet owners who have no clue. Not to mention who knows what types of issues we'd be introducing into our large collections (even after quarantine). The thing is a lot of people see a type of animal at a facility, and they assume that if they buy one, that facility will take it. Usually, we don't. We have our own channels to aquire animals through. It's a detail we look at when opening an exhibit. It's also the biggest reason I don't want to display pacu and oscars. But since we are going to have pacu, I'm going to make a few signs talking about why the public should NOT buy them.

As an example, there was a guy who tried to donate his nurse about a month ago. It was almost three feet....way too big for his home tank, but at three feet would be a snack to the other sharks we house our nurse population with.
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:cheers: Ill drink to that!
 
Zoodiver;628173; said:
Man, you should see the list of stuff that people try to drop off.....A lot of the time, they sneak stuff in and just dump it in a tank.

Most of your 'common' pet shop sharks are things we just laugh at. Black tips, nurse, some wobbs and the like. Most places won't even take bamboo or cat sharks anymore. From our stand point, all we're doing is aiding the bad habits of pet owners who have no clue. Not to mention who knows what types of issues we'd be introducing into our large collections (even after quarantine). The thing is a lot of people see a type of animal at a facility, and they assume that if they buy one, that facility will take it. Usually, we don't. We have our own channels to aquire animals through. It's a detail we look at when opening an exhibit. It's also the biggest reason I don't want to display pacu and oscars. But since we are going to have pacu, I'm going to make a few signs talking about why the public should NOT buy them.

As an example, there was a guy who tried to donate his nurse about a month ago. It was almost three feet....way too big for his home tank, but at three feet would be a snack to the other sharks we house our nurse population with.
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Wow, I didn't even realize that. Dumping it right into the tank? This is with small fish right? One time we found someone's rabbit next to the Siberian Tiger cage, a few more hops and she would have been gone. I guess since I am only p/t I don't get to hear much about it. Always nice to talk to people within the Zoo/Aquarium community.

Happy Holidays Matt and Em,
You friend from the BZ

Radley
 
Yeah, I've found oscars in an African cichlid tank, TONS of stuff in a koi pond (ranging from gourami to small catfish), we had a lady keep trying to release an injured raccoon inside Dallas World Aq, people would drop off fish in boxes at the door over night, and people call all the time trying to 'donate' animals they can't handle. We had a special phone line at Dallas World just for iguanas if that tells you anything.

Sometimes, something can be set up ahead of time for a private party to raise an animal, then bring it in, but it's a rare case. Usually, we aquire animals from approved sources. We deal directly with wholesalers and other insitutions. We also are all interconnected (all over the world) on a single listserve so most aquarists communicate that way. You'd be shocked at how many animals are passed around as "free" that most hobbiest would give an arm for. Two species I ran across just today are adult red tail catfish and pacu.
 
Zoodiver;628265; said:
Yeah, I've found oscars in an African cichlid tank, TONS of stuff in a koi pond (ranging from gourami to small catfish), we had a lady keep trying to release an injured raccoon inside Dallas World Aq, people would drop off fish in boxes at the door over night, and people call all the time trying to 'donate' animals they can't handle. We had a special phone line at Dallas World just for iguanas if that tells you anything.

Sometimes, something can be set up ahead of time for a private party to raise an animal, then bring it in, but it's a rare case. Usually, we aquire animals from approved sources. We deal directly with wholesalers and other insitutions. We also are all interconnected (all over the world) on a single listserve so most aquarists communicate that way. You'd be shocked at how many animals are passed around as "free" that most hobbiest would give an arm for. Two species I ran across just today are adult red tail catfish and pacu.
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I love Iggy, but man, I really wish we wouldn't have taken him. He has had nothing but problems since we got him two years ago.

My zoo is AZA acredited, so I know all about these lists. We have 12 Leopard Tortoises and no place to put them and no one wants them but people will pay 200 dollars for one and then "donate" it to us in a year or two when they can't take care of it. I have been to a rehabber that we got our Oppossum from and she is overwhelmed! We have another rehabber that deals only with water turtles because so many people try to donate them. Sometimes I get mad when I hear about a raid and Philly Zoo (1/2 hour away but a lot bigger) gets all the cool stuff and we aren't allowed to get anything. I guess it is for the best for both us and the animals, but I really wanted those BOAS!

I really wish people would realize that Zoos and Aquariums do not have a lot of money and can not afford to take in animals like that.

Over the summer, I went to Bermuda and got a tour of BAMZ (Bermuda Aquarium, Museum, and Zoo) from their director. He was a really cool guy and they have a really nice reef tank! One of their tanks in the aquarium is all of the lionfish people have caught in Bermuda because people in the US have released them into the water. They have to have signs at every fishing place saying stay away from these fish. The only thing that saves BAMZ money is the fact that they can obtain sea water directy from the bay instead of premixing (with the help of UV and huge storage tanks, of course). Before he moved back to Bermuda, the director of BAMZ was at the Baltimore Aquarium and he said a majority of their operating costs were for salt because they had to purify Chessy water and then mix the salt themselves, and I am sure you have to do this at Underwater Adventure.

Radley

(hopefully I will get to go to Mall of America sometime to see your Aquarium :thumbsup:

Send those RTC down to New Orleans, cuz I just love blackened catfish, :j/k:
 
Yes, we make all of our own salt water. Same as the rest of the land locked places (even Georgia makes there own). Talk about spendy!
(I'm being a post whore tonight. I'm stuck at work and am the only person on site for the next 5 hours.)
 
water_baby83;628626; said:
:p :p neener neener, fresh pumped here, aahahaha!! :headbang2 :ROFL:
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haha Merry Christmas! We don't have an aquarium (unless you count the otter pool) :headbang2
 
Zoodiver;628312; said:
Yes, we make all of our own salt water. Same as the rest of the land locked places (even Georgia makes there own). Talk about spendy!
(I'm being a post whore tonight. I'm stuck at work and am the only person on site for the next 5 hours.)
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Matt, you should have told me, I would have come down to visit. I am sure the scuba gear is not being used...LOL. Only person I have ever seen complain about being stuck with hundreds of thousnads of gallons of fish. Hope you enjoy your christmas anyway.
 
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