Post from a non-shark forum (exp. of poster unknown)
- Thread starter Reefmike
- Start date
Most of it is uneducated ranting. Where did you find it? It would be nice to educate the poster of this information.
The truth is found in the tech talk about how they can sense magnetic fields.
However, the rest is more or less not. A LOT of shark species do very well in captivity. 95% of the sharks species in the world aren't the giants we all picture with the word "SHARK". They are smaller animals that hide all day and hunt small inverts. The comment about 99.99999% die do bleh bleh bleh - FALSE. Keeping them in the basement to avoid electrical current... wrong. You have electric in the basement to. Closer to Earth? 8 feet won't matter. That guy is on crack. If you want to get technical with that - all sharks live below sea level in the wild -or at least I would hope so. So why are they found doing well in aquariums in places like Denver and Saltlake City? Oops. Made up facts again. Dim lighting? What does that have to do with the amount of electrical feild in the water? Made up facts yet again. I keep some shark tanks very well lit. Some not so much. A GOOD tank will have bright areas and dim areas for the animals. The part about having a sense like sonar is very false. Marine mammals use something similar to that - NOT sharks.
Some of it sound like a person who watched too much Animal Plant and thinks he/she is an expert now. They took facts and linked them together incorrectly with an end result of very bad info.
The truth is found in the tech talk about how they can sense magnetic fields.
However, the rest is more or less not. A LOT of shark species do very well in captivity. 95% of the sharks species in the world aren't the giants we all picture with the word "SHARK". They are smaller animals that hide all day and hunt small inverts. The comment about 99.99999% die do bleh bleh bleh - FALSE. Keeping them in the basement to avoid electrical current... wrong. You have electric in the basement to. Closer to Earth? 8 feet won't matter. That guy is on crack. If you want to get technical with that - all sharks live below sea level in the wild -or at least I would hope so. So why are they found doing well in aquariums in places like Denver and Saltlake City? Oops. Made up facts again. Dim lighting? What does that have to do with the amount of electrical feild in the water? Made up facts yet again. I keep some shark tanks very well lit. Some not so much. A GOOD tank will have bright areas and dim areas for the animals. The part about having a sense like sonar is very false. Marine mammals use something similar to that - NOT sharks.
Some of it sound like a person who watched too much Animal Plant and thinks he/she is an expert now. They took facts and linked them together incorrectly with an end result of very bad info.
I do not know who posted this, but my guess would be that either this person has never actually kept a shark or had a bad experience and is now totally turned off. Way too much emphasis is placed on their sensitivity to electrical fields and metals in and around the tank. I have kept many different species of sharks over the last 20 years in a variety of different aquaria. I've never had sharks go insane or have equilibrium problems because of electrical currents or metal in or around the tank. I've even had electric heaters break under water and dump lots of voltage into the water and the sharks were fine (doing alot better than me when I stuck my hand in the water). I've also had above ground pools with metal walls and/or metal frames and none of the sharks have ever had any difficulty nor did they behave abnormally. The times that I have lost sharks the causes were pretty clear (aggression, internal injury, equipment failure, etc.) and I can honestly say that the aquaria itself were not to blame. I have had some sharks for over three years before they outgrew my facilities and were given away or sold to larger aquariums. I would think that if what this person was saying were true then none of my sharks would have made it past a week. In fact, I would say that my success and failure rate at keeping sharks is no different than would be expected when one keeps regular fish. You'll win some and lose some. The only thing you can do is set up something as well as you can and take good care of your sharks. There are some good sources out there regarding the keeping of sharks and rays in captivity. I have found "The Elasmobranch Husbandry Manual" a very good source of info (a little technical for a novice) or you can get some really good info from others here on MFK and at Shark and Ray Central. If you're considering keeping a species of pelagic in captivity (great white, mako, blue, etc.) then I would say "Don't do it!"
well i think i read some where that bullsharks have been found like400 m abouvesea level in rivers?
I pretty well figured it was BS/un-educated ranting as I have been doing tons of research leading up to eventually raising a shark and have run across very little even close to any of what was said. I just had to throw it out there and see.
Here is the forum/thread it was quoted from.
Thanks y'all.
Here is the forum/thread it was quoted from.
Thanks y'all.
Quote:
99.99999% of these animals die in captivity
That is hilarious! So far, 100% of the fish that have died under my care have died in captivity. Must be my wrist watch in the water causing electrical disturbances
99.99999% of these animals die in captivity
That is hilarious! So far, 100% of the fish that have died under my care have died in captivity. Must be my wrist watch in the water causing electrical disturbances
Personally - I tend to agree with Matt & Sharkdealer's Statements on this.
I know of dozens of private aquarists that have successfully kept and in few cases even breed sharks and rays in private home aquaria. Many do this even without have a degree in Marine Biology. But they all tend to be experienced private marine aquarists.
Naturally the species of sharks that they seem to keep are the "aquaria friendly" species such as Bamboos, Eppies, Catsharks, & Horn sharks.
I know of dozens of private aquarists that have successfully kept and in few cases even breed sharks and rays in private home aquaria. Many do this even without have a degree in Marine Biology. But they all tend to be experienced private marine aquarists.
Naturally the species of sharks that they seem to keep are the "aquaria friendly" species such as Bamboos, Eppies, Catsharks, & Horn sharks.
krj-1168;1578378; said:
I agree with you on the degree. Marine Biology and Aquarium Science are related, but very different. Someone could have a degree in Marine Biology and multiple PhDs but that doesn't mean they know crap about how to keep sharks alive in a tank. Some of the people that have taught me the most about animal care don't have one. IMO, experience means more than a degree.