tebstan
New member
Thank you. I saw a California stingray at my lfs today. How big do you need for one? I hear they get 1' max. Please no smart *** answers. Thanks.
The guy made a joke, geez. Start tossing around that kind of language and you're only going to get more people bashing you and calling you an idiot.
As for your original question...
I don't know about angelfish. I do have some experience with a shark. A bamboo shark lived over 8 years in a ~320 (maybe 350g) custom tank. (Maybe 6ft long, 3.5ft wide at it's widest - weird shape.) It was shallow and wide so at 3 ft she had plenty room to turn around.
In my opinion, the tank was still not enough room. She lived a "long" time by some standards. She was cool, of course. I believe she recognized certain people, possibly by their feed techniques. She developed issues when not fed a proper diet. When she did start to go downhill, she couldn't tell us what wrong and there was nothing we could do to help. I cried when she died. In retrospect we saw that something was odd about her behavior, but we wouldn't have been able to help her.
Some fish in a tank are just fish. A shark is a pet. We feel that way about some of our fish, but not all of them. Some exhibit more personality, some remember you. Our shark was around for almost a decade. I'm sure she could have been happier, and that's on us to provide that.
If you aren't prepared for a huge commitment from Day 1, don't bother.
Don't plan to upgrade later, they grow fast.
Don't think you'll stick to a feed regimen if you've never had a high maintenance pet before.
Don't assume you'll enjoy it enough to be worth it - they're a lot of work for very little reward.
Don't get one if you don't have enough experience to know already that your tank is too small.