keeping reef sharks

[Andranik]

Hello Everyone
First off all sorry for my bad English.
Please if any body knows how to keep reef sharks in aquarium(how big should it be and so on) give me some advise.I want to introduce salt water aquarium to Armenia(there is none in any stor).
Thank you all.

[Drumachine09]

What is the scientific name?

[Azear]

I'm not an expert in the matter but reef shark ? you would need a HUGE tank... my LFS have a 2000 gallon tank to hold a 3 feet long shark...

[angelcakes]

I'm not an expert in the matter but reef shark ? you would need a HUGE tank... my LFS have a 2000 gallon tank to hold a 3 feet long shark...
i think i would agree a big very big tank even bigger than 2000 gallons would be needed for reef sharks as some are large,and the only one that could work is a blacktip shark but these grow very big under the right conditions,you need to do alot of research before you decide,tank size,mantinence,etc....

[Andranik]

What is the scientific name?
Any shark like black tip or white tip or even sand shark

[Dave66]

Andranik,
In my book list there's a book on sharks and rays that would be helpful to you in your efforts into keeping these fish. My book list is here ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.]). Scroll down to find the book. I don't know if amazon.com serves Armenia, but it would be a good idea to buy this book if you wish to be a success in keeping these fish.

Dave

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Bamboo sharks are going to be about the only thing you would want to keep in a home aquarium. However even these need extremely large tanks. Chiloscyllium plagiosum - Whitespotted Bamboo Shark, and C. punctatum - Brownbanded Bamboo Shark are 2 of the babmoos that will adapt well to a tank and don't grow much beyond 1m in length. Some people recommend tanks as small as 180gal for these fish, however that is still entirely too small for such a large fish that creates such a large bioload. Hemiscyllium ocellatum - Epaulette Shark will also adapt to the home aquarium and staps about the same size as the Chilocyllium species. For these fish to truely be comfortable and to thrive in a home aquarium, a tank that would be about 4m in length and 2m in width would be in order.

[cocoa_pleco]

I saw a bamboo shark at a reef store a few days ago, its pretty cool. most larger sharks need a 2000g+, big als here has a 2000g shark tank

[Tigerbarb]

Keeping a reef shark long-term in an aquarium is like confining it to a small space. Mature reef sharks should only be kept in public aquariums, unless you have the money for a 2000g+ tank. Even 2000 gallons is a closet, as sharks will need lots of open space to roam and also hide. Think of how much rock (considering hiding places for shark(s), filtration, current, light WPG, space, etc. that you would need for the tank.
If you get a shark, it'd help the shark if you try and make sure to get the smallest one possible. This way, no 'kings' will have to get used to not much space.
I really shouldn't be talking considering that my parents put a pleco in a 22g... lol.

[houie925]

long term a black tip may grow to 6 feet so I would say you should plan for at least a 10x20x6 aquarium. That's about 10,000 gallons and it should be rounded. They jump so the tank needs to have a good lid. 2000 is about 6x12x4 which would be far too small for a 6 foot animal

[Tigerbarb]

An home aquarium is no home for a black tip shark if you are going to house it long term. If you want an adult BTS, please just don't do it.

[NickFish]

I see someone's been at Big Als lately! :hmm3grin2orange:

The Big Als near me has an amazing 5000 gallon cylindrical tank with a pair of black tip reef sharks in it, along with some groupers and monster morays. It has a 1000g+ sump too I think.

But in the home aquarium, it just isn't possible.

If you could hire some people to assist you, if you never ever went on vacation, if you had a ton of SW experience, and a quarter million dollar budget you could do it. But take away any of those things there is no way.

Also, I doubt you could ever buy reef sharks at an lfs. You would likely need a permit and you may be able to buy reef sharks from a collector in the... caribbean I think.

[Tigerbarb]

My lfs has shark eggs. You can see a thing moving around in each of them.:hmm3grin2orange:

[gem]

Black tip and white tips grow fairly slowly. I wouldn't start them in a tank smaller than 2,000 gal but ultimatately they will need to be rehomed unless....as mentioned somewhere else in this thread...you have room for a 10,000 gal round tank. Round tanks are best....sharks don't like square corners. Other sharks are Bamboo and cat sharks as well as Eppilettes (sp). Eppilettes are extremely interactive with humans. I've made friends with the one in my lfs 2,000 gal tank while the black tip just swims in circles. The black tip they have currently has been there for two years and has grown about 1/2 a foot in that time. He's very close to needing to be rehomed. Thank goodness the lfs owner has a deal with Monterey Bay Aquarium. They currently have a few of his sharks.
They also require lots of flow and very well oxegenated water. You really need to do alot of reading and research before you go sticking a shark in a tank.

[cocoa_pleco]

i went and saw the sharks in the 2000g last time i went to big als, theyre pretty cool. Someone on ebay is selling a 500g long that had a black tip in it, and they sold the black tip separately for $125