Shark tank question PLEASE?

C

carrithersm

New member
Hello, I have been in saltwater aquariums for 14 years of my life and my father neither all his life. We have been through many tanks and fish. Have had sharks ( bamboo, zebras, etc.) My wife and I are building a house soon and want a shark tank. We live in Tennessee and are like the idea of bringing in "baby" sharks and donating them yearly?

Also, we are looking at doing an open water shark tank this time. I'm sure many of you are more experienced than myself with sharks of this size. We are wanting to add extra structure to the house to have capable support for the tank.

My biggest question of all is .... what species of open water shark is the best???? I'm looking for something that is very active (dream is a black tip) but not a black tip (white tip...sharp nose??) Do not want another bottom dweller. I have looked towards a smooth hound shark, but need something more aggressive looking. I am thinking between a 900g-1700g tank. Is that something decent?

Please help if you have experience,
MIKE
 
AND... I've seen post and online aquarium owners getting sharks and 6 months to 1 year later, donating to places. Does anyone know a contact or have information on this? I would love to be apart of an organization like that!!!
 
I'm not sure about the donations, but I would assume they would go to a local public aquarium... I'd give them a call if you have any in your area.
 
I think you are assuming a lot to deliberately bring in an animal you can't possibly hope to keep for very long and then expect to dump it on some local public aquarium as if they were funded and equipped to take on your pet at a moment's notice. I think you should go around to some of these aquariums ahead of time and ask them what they think of your plan.

As to the size of an aquarium for an open water species of shark I think you would be looking at a minimum of 10K gallons. See this build thread here on RC for someone who is currently working on a 22K gallon shark tank.

There is another forum called monster tanks which the moderators here will throw a fit about if I give you the link but you should be able to find them easily with Google.

Dave.M
 
Please don't take this wrong, you can have a wonderful slice of the ocean,with out sharks. You'll both be happier if you leave them in the ocean.Spend you're time and treasurer on animals you can keep for years.IMHO you will enjoy the hobby a lot more with a FOWLR. I know the sharks would.
 
First I want to reiterate Dave.M's comments. Before you get livestock you know will outgrow your system make sure you know you can find a home for it. I do not know what size tank you are thinking of but Atlantic Sharpnose sharks only get about 3' long and have a better "shark" look than houndsharks but the one place I know collects them for sale will want verification you have a system something like 8' x 20'.
 
public aquariums accept "donations" like that to save the shark. they don't actually want it (except maybe in rare cases). getting a shark with the intent of dumping it off like that is a pretty crappy thing to do, especially if you plan to do it regularly.
 
Think a 1700g sump!! No you need a minimum of 10,000g for a open water shark. Think a nice big round above ground pool with a viewing windows in it! You would want a huge rounded pool with some serious pumps for circulation
 
More and more that I research, I'm leaning towards the hound. I can't find really good information like other species. Thanks for you guys replys!
 
Also, I'm finding it hard to find aquariums of this size. Do you guys recommend anywhere or are people with these size tanks building themselves?
 
The biggest out of the box prefabed tank you can purchase is around 720g out of glass, and acrylic will be a custom job of anything over 500g or so. I can pm you a few places to look, since I'm unable to mention them here
 
A smooth hound shark can grow to over 5' so like others have said you need 10K+ gallons for open water sharks.

canyousee said:
Please don't take this wrong, you can have a wonderful slice of the ocean,with out sharks. You'll both be happier if you leave them in the ocean.Spend you're time and treasurer on animals you can keep for years.IMHO you will enjoy the hobby a lot more with a FOWLR. I know the sharks would.
Click to expand...

+1 on this, only buy animals you can keep for thier lifetime
 
You do need a larger tank than 1700 for an open water shark for life. Also a slight correction here, you do not necessarily need a 10k for a smooth hound shark. They could live in a 1700 gallon for quite some time, but would eventually need a tank a little bigger for life.
 
dave.m said:
i think you are assuming a lot to deliberately bring in an animal you can't possibly hope to keep for very long and then expect to dump it on some local public aquarium as if they were funded and equipped to take on your pet at a moment's notice. I think you should go around to some of these aquariums ahead of time and ask them what they think of your plan.

As to the size of an aquarium for an open water species of shark i think you would be looking at a minimum of 10k gallons. see this build thread here on rc for someone who is currently working on a 22k gallon shark tank.

there is another forum called monster tanks which the moderators here will throw a fit about if i give you the link but you should be able to find them easily with google.

Dave.m
Click to expand...

+1
 
rwb500 said:
public aquariums accept "donations" like that to save the shark. They don't actually want it (except maybe in rare cases). Getting a shark with the intent of dumping it off like that is a pretty crappy thing to do, especially if you plan to do it regularly.
Click to expand...

+1
 
My biggest question of all is .... what species of open water shark is the best???? I'm looking for something that is very active (dream is a black tip) but not a black tip (white tip...sharp nose??)
Click to expand...

I realize this is an older topic. But I think a few things need to answered.

In terms of swimming sharks for private aquarists - the non-ORV sharks like the Smooth Hounds, Leopards, and Whitetip Reef are better choices than ORV (Obligated Ram Ventilator) sharks like Blacktip Reef, Sharpnoses, and Bonnetheads. The reason is because non-ORV sharks don't have to constantly swim in order to breath, while the ORV sharks do.

Bonnetheads and Atlantic Sharpnose sharks both need a pond with a footprint of at least 490 sq. feet and a volume of at least 15,000 gallons to live for their natural lives. Blacktip Reefs need a pond with a footprint of at least 700 sq.feet and a volume of at least 20,000 gallons.

In comparison the smaller Smooth hounds(3-4 foot) can thrive in ponds with a footprint of at least 79-113 sq.feet, and a volume of 1,700-3,000 gallons.
And the larger Smoothhounds, Leopards, and Whitetip Reef can thrive in ponds with a footprint of 177-254 sq.feet, and a volume of 4.600-7,600 gallons.
 
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