wow thats crazy. i was just at the shedd the other day (i got four or five times a year) and i saw a couple bonnetheads in the main display tank when you first come in. they look awesome and although im in no shape to house one, i was curious as to how big they got and how much room they need. seems like a cool pet to have if you can do it.
I found a new fish store and it has my fish
- Thread starter ITHURTZ
- Start date
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when i worked at petsmart this old couple would come in and look at fish. i guess they used to have a TON of tanks and giant ponds on their property when they lived in florida and weather permitted. they said they had a nurse shark for a really long time and theyd feed it by hand (kinda...theyd drop food in and it would come right up to them to take it). it shows that some people can house stuff like that when theyre willing to do it the right way.
Wolf3101;834549; said:
Probably a bonnethead shark. Their claim of 4 ft would be accurate in that case.
Wow - it still amazes me how stupid some LFS owners can be.
IMO -The Lemon sharks has to be the absolute worst and most ill-suited shark available to private Aquarists. For the following reasons.
1.) they get Huge - at least 9-10', and weight 300-400lbs. Also very active & require lots of swimming room - at least 50,000 gallons (at least 1,000-1,200 sq ft) for an average sized adult. and very large food bill to maintain an adult.
2.) They are very aggressive, and potential dangerous to the keeper - rated number 10, on the International Shark Attack Files with over 2 dozen unprevoked attacks on humans.
3.) This is a species in which maybe 1 out of every 100,000 private aquarists, might have the room, resources & experience to be handle this shark. For most shark aquarists - buying a Lemon is similar to a cat fancier going out an buying a "pet' Lion or Tiger.
Truth I hate the idea of seeing any unsuitable species of shark on display in LFS - Bonnetheads, Nurse sharks, Whitetip reefs, Blacktip reefs, or Lemons. Because it tend to give their customers the wrong idea - that it perfectly acceptable to keep these species. And that they in relatively small tanks (from about 500 gallons to a few thousand gallons).
All of these sharks - if kept by a private aquarist(which is debateable), require tanks/ponds of 10's of thousands of gallons.
IMO -The Lemon sharks has to be the absolute worst and most ill-suited shark available to private Aquarists. For the following reasons.
1.) they get Huge - at least 9-10', and weight 300-400lbs. Also very active & require lots of swimming room - at least 50,000 gallons (at least 1,000-1,200 sq ft) for an average sized adult. and very large food bill to maintain an adult.
2.) They are very aggressive, and potential dangerous to the keeper - rated number 10, on the International Shark Attack Files with over 2 dozen unprevoked attacks on humans.
3.) This is a species in which maybe 1 out of every 100,000 private aquarists, might have the room, resources & experience to be handle this shark. For most shark aquarists - buying a Lemon is similar to a cat fancier going out an buying a "pet' Lion or Tiger.
Truth I hate the idea of seeing any unsuitable species of shark on display in LFS - Bonnetheads, Nurse sharks, Whitetip reefs, Blacktip reefs, or Lemons. Because it tend to give their customers the wrong idea - that it perfectly acceptable to keep these species. And that they in relatively small tanks (from about 500 gallons to a few thousand gallons).
All of these sharks - if kept by a private aquarist(which is debateable), require tanks/ponds of 10's of thousands of gallons.
