have a shark question......

[mattiej]

A black tip shark in anything less then 10000 gallons is not going to cut it. A two foot shark in a tank that is four foot long is cruel, period. There is also the issue of the waste that such an animal will put off in such a small volume of water. I am surprised at the lack of commitment people have towards the proper care of animals in their aquariums. I have one question unless you are posting from overseas, then I assume the black tip in question is the Atlantic species, Carcharhinus limbatus? If so then you are trying to do something that even public aquariums have trouble doing, keep these sharks in captivity. They can be kept but losses due to stress are very, very high. Unlike the Pacific black tip, the Atlantic species averages over 7 feet and do not do well in confined aquaria. Just by the fact that it already has an injured nose, I can safely say that this animal will not last much longer in your under-sized tank! Once the nose is damaged there is little yo can do to save the animal. I realize you are going to point out that it is feeding well now but it will not last long. I know this from my years at a public aquarium. I have personally cared for several limbatus and even with the space and resources of the aquarium I could only manage a survival rate of about 30%. If you take anything away from this posting please understand that this is not a personal attack, it is only an attempt to share my knowledge and experience in an attempt to prevent the unneccessary waste of such beautiful animals. In the future please do some research BEFORE you take an animal home.

 

[hardasaroc]

the tank is 5' long and you can tell that his nose is starting to heal up some. i caught him so if he dies i didnt waste my money on him.

 

[sharkguy1]

You waste a life it is worse than money.

 

[hardasaroc]

theres so many blacktips were i live its rediculous. people just kill them for fun so in a way im doin him a favor.

 

[fshhub]

Originally posted by hardasaroc
the tank is 5' long and you can tell that his nose is starting to heal up some. i caught him so if he dies i didnt waste my money on him.
stillnot big enough.
what kind of 75 do you have that is 5 ft long anyway?? what are teh dimensions and how much did it cost?
and where can i get one at? (tank that is)

 

[requiem]

HELLO I am hoping so very much that you are kidding because of the pain staking time and effort that I give to these sharks keeping one alive (a requiem shark) this is a shark that swims continually . for all that do not know these shark consists of silvertip sharks (Carcharhinus albimarginatus), Graceful shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchoides),Grey reef shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos), Pigeye Shark (Carcharhinus amboinensis), Blacktail reef shark (Carcharhinus wheeleri), black tipped reef shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus), Tiger shark ( Galeocerdo cuvieri), and the black tip shark (Carcharhinus limbatus) I could go on for hours but I shall not most of these sharks should not be kept in home aquariums.
By an earlier post of mattiej a member that I respect for his knowledge in the failed of sharks. He clearly stated that the shark that you have is one of the more difficult sharks to keep alive. I know this from experience in the field that this shark most of the time can’t be even kept alive through transportation on average only 45% of the sharks live.
I am now starting think that you may not even have a shark let alone that it may be a black tipped shark (Carcharhinus limbatus) for obesely reasons of the sharks health and several rate of the spices. If the shark is truly a black tip. Which I would need a picture idea of the animal to identify it to be a black tip (Carcharhinus limbatus) I would strongly urge you that you talk to your local aquarium for I would see if they would take it. although they will not take the animal up to 90 % of the time. Also I strongly recommend you that you do not try to release the animal into the wild for it may now be a carrier for a new disease to the area examples (flukes, bacteria, protozoans, flatworms, ext) in that area I would say that your best beet would be to set up a small pool NO smaller then 25 ft in diameter and not less then 4 ½ ft tall and for you this Is probably not an option the best beet for you would be to find a friend or some one you know that has a large aquarium over 16000 gallons or over 25 ft long and 19 ft deep or an aquarium over 25 ft in diameter. One more option and should be your last would be to unitize the shark. I know this may sound cruel but it is better then the shark being kept in an confined spaces till he dies a slow death.
If the shark dies in your aquarium I strongly recommend you that you do not go and run of to the beach and get another shark and kill it, If you care for sharks.
also to all, sharks are not something to keep in small aquariums. I would not keep a full grown black tipped reef shark of nearly 65" (Carcharhinus melanopterus) in an aquarium less then an diameter of 15 ft and I would not keep a full grown black tip shark of 7'(Carcharhinus limbatus) in an aquarium less then 25ft in diameter both of these sharks do better in large circle aquariums or in oval aquariums.
If an one should want to keep one of these sharks or any type of free swimming shark they should have an aquarium large enough for shark and or have a home for the shark in the future I know that Novice150 has a black tip and even before it was bought it was set up so that he could give it to the public aquarium in the future
and one more thing “hardasaroc" please do some more reach before the next time you get a shark.
Thanks requiem
One more thing if you do build a pool I gave some grate ideas on who to do at this address
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/131439/need-help-buying-a-pond
Or do a search under “need help buying a pound”
ps mattiej
you worked at the NJ aquarium for some time do you know Robert fournier and Brian duvau.