I going to do it the right way!(shark question)

A

angler_kid

Guest
this summer i will be getting $900 and i'm going to buy a 150gal and the only fish that will be in the tank is a banded cat shark or coral cat shark and a cortez ray. I need all the advice i can get and i'm looking forward to this. I wanna surprise my dad and my mom. The tank will go in the living room
 
cubfan

cubfan

Member
IMO, 150 gallons is way too small for even the smallest shark. So, I would rule out sharks. However, you have a great sized tank and you can put all sorts of cool stuff in it. I love volitan lions, so you could put 1, even 2 in a 150. Do some research on other fish and I'm sure you'll find something. Good luck.
 
psusocr

psusocr

Member
no sharks in less than a 180.. but i agree with a lion maybe a ray and an eel...Still a cool tank!!
 
cbshark

cbshark

Member
Why is it that everyone has this idea that a 30 gallon difference is going to make the shark any happier? No matter what size tank a shark should be in, people are going to do what they want and they will be flamed. Advice, if you are a newbie and you refuse to take the advice of others, just lie and say you have the shark in a 180! It is very irritating to read shark posts and most of the comments being about how so and so "is an idiot for even thinking about putting a shark in a 150 when he clearly should know that he should be in a 180". If someone has bought a shark to put in a 150, he obviously doesn't care. He did it, now help the guy with what he needs or leave it alone. No body is going in three years or whatever, uprade from a 150 to a 180. And realistically, most people physically can't have bigger than a 150 or so. I had a banded cat in a 125 for 2-1/2 years and he was fine. He got big, but I got tired of him and got rid of him. How many of you guys are really going to keep a shark for it's entire life anyways. Unless you have a dedicated HUGE tank, i'd say very few. I made the mistake of a shark, but not due to its size or whatever, because they are boring and you get tired of them doing nothing but laying around all day taking up your huge tank all by themselves. If you want to give good advice, tell them not to get a shark ever, they are a complete waste of money. $3000+ on a large tank and you have nothing in it but this $100 shark and whatever fish it didn't eat.
 
gasguzzler

gasguzzler

Active Member
I think you need to go to the LFS and measure a standard 150, 125 and 180. The difference between a 125 and 180 is only 6 inches of width, while the changes between a 150 and 180 are much different. Its not the volume of water with these animals, its the footprint of the tank. Height is pretty much irreleavent. Now you can go ahead and flame me for, once again, stating the obvious.
 
cbshark

cbshark

Member
125:72X18X22. 150: 72X18X28. 180:72X24X24. I am just stating the obvious. Going by your logic, i'd be no different with a 125 or 150. Or even a 75 with the same footprint. Would a shark be happier in a 180 or in the ocean. I learned from my mistake and I think no one else here does. Sharks belong in the ocean or a public aquarium. Regardless. Does 6 inches of width really make that much of a difference? When the average person buys a shark egg, baby, whatever. They are excited, wow, I got a 180 gallon and a cool shark. Then a year later, "i'm bored, this thing just sits there, and I just keep feeding him, and he keeps geting bigger. I wasted all this money on the tank for this?" Then the 24" shark ends up in a 30 gallon holding tank at an lfs where it mystriously dies. Then the owner says, gosh, now what am i going to do with this huge tank I was told to get? It's too big to cost effectively make it into a reef way too big to stock with pricey marine fish. Damn, I should have gone with the 75 gallon i was going to get and was talked out of. Mind you, this isn't always the case, but it is the norm. I guarantee you.
 
cbshark

cbshark

Member
Or maybe a 45 gallon with a 72x24x24 footprint? Water volume and footprint are equally relevant and not many home aquarists have the room or true interest to make the investment need to responsibly house a shark. I am guilty and only wish to preserve the shark, not the irresponsible behaviour of so many so-called aquarists. When i had my shark, I was uninformed and regret my choice. That is the point of this site and people are going to do what they want. So insted of giving them this idea that, well, my tank is close to a 180 so I should be ok, we should steer them away from sharks in general.
 
tankedup

tankedup

New Member
you guys are way too serious or extremely passionate .Either way , as a general rule sharks dont belong in the home aquarium , they get too big and they do best in a round tank ,which generally only pulic aquariums have .You are limited to very little rockwork on the bottom of the tank ,and that goes especially for rays .There are alot better things you can do with a nice 150.Like the one guy said try a nice lion , maybe a lunare wrasse, something that is active.Tanks are alot nicer to look at when the fish are actually swimming around.Shark tanks are only cool to tell your friends about ,then once they see it the initial thrill is over ,meanwhile the shark still layes there.I have 2 240 gal tanks and have tried the shark thing, it was only cool til i woke up the next morning and realized that he had eaten some of my more expensive fish.Do yourself a favor and give up the shark idea.Good luck.
 
gasguzzler

gasguzzler

Active Member
What are you talking about? A 45 with a 72x24x24? Remember, Im on your side trying to talk him out of it also.
I understand that water volume and footprint are important. Youre preaching to the choir. Ive been involved with these animals for close to 8 years. Ive bred rays and sharks alike to try and aleviate the strain on wild populations. Quite successfully also. Most people are horribly misinformed about these animals and if it were up to me, as much as I love them, no one would own them.
 
harlequin

harlequin

Member
This is funny. We are all on the same side here. That side is against keeping a shark. The starter of the thread has already ceded the shark issue and wants to know other things to put in it.
Realistically a ray in a display tank is kind of boring. It sits there until its time to eat. If thats what you want then save the money and get a few flounders, they cost less and do the same thing and you can play "count the flounders" with your friends. (an public aquarium joke heheh)
If you want a nice tank to be a display tank, but not a reef tank pick up some live rock or base rock and a couple pieces of LR to seed it and go for colorful fish. I am thinking like a harlequin tuskfish, a big lion, a nice(hehe) trigger, maybe a big angel. Thats something your parents I think would go "wow, thats really pretty" and then prompty aid in the aquaistion of new stuff for your tank. Trust me this strategy has a good record of working with parents, friends, GFs and GFs parents. There is nothing better than a tank of your own, except for a tank of your own funded by someone else.
 
fishy411

fishy411

Member
Well angler kid i KNOW for a fact that you could have an AWESOME tank without a shark. I would suggest to u
1- lionfish
1- Wrasse or Tang
1-Large Angel
1- Eel
1- Niger, Pinktail, or BLuethroa trigger. These are the Least aggressive triggers and are least prone to nip at yur lion
Check out Jerrybsal 's 125. It has pretty much those fish in it and Looks great
 
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