Help about sharks

[WINGIT]

Hi,

I wanna know if someone know something about silver sharks, Im looking for a pair....

I've read some stuff about the paramaters and the water quality.

but .... more information is welcome.

Tank size...

Tank mates

lightning

rocks or not rocks

aragonite bed

etc

feeding habbits

etc

what do u think, Ive been thinking about move my 4 tanks and make 1 big special for them what do u think¿?

thnx for ur information.

:dance: :dance: :dance:

 

[jessie]

the only silver shark i can find is a silver tip shark, unless your talking about freshwater bala sharks. and at a maximum length of 10 feet, they are well out of range of the average aquarium size. all i could say about tank size is a have a pool thats 7500 gallons and i dont think that would be nearly enough.
heres a little info that should help you, but again they are not for the aquarium.

http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Descript/SilvertipShark/SilvertipShark.html

 

[plah831]

even small sharks, like the banded catshark which only reaches about 2-3 feet full grown, require at least 250 gallons FOR 1 SHARK. Of course, the tank has to be bigger if you plan to keep it with anything else. Even though these are some of the smallest sharks you're likely to encounter and relatively non-aggressive, they are not recommended with any tankmates. sharks, in general, need soft rounded substrate without any jagged edges (so coral is out).

in addition, feeding them can be difficult. my labmate hatched several catshark egg cases, and none of them survived because not one took any food (live or otherwise). and we work at a Marine Lab!

i've looked into getting a small shark myself (I'm doing my Master's thesis on catsharks), but have decided it's not worth the trouble. Sharks, in general, are really best suited for display institutions or research/education (and nature, of course).

But that's just what I think. Anyone is welcome to correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[plah831]

see these threads re: marine sharks in home aquaria
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=65343&highlight=marine+shark

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15172&page=2&pp=15&highlight=marine+shark

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1825&highlight=marine+shark

By the way, the sharks in my avatar are sub-adult spiny dogfish (Squalus acanthius) that were in a large flow-through tank at a marine lab where I worked one summer (University of Washington's Friday Harbor Lab on San Juan Island). Flow-through means that it was constantly being pumped with fresh sea water and the excess was being dumped back in the ocean, so it was just like it was getting a water change ALL THE TIME. That's why you see a high concentration of sharks what would otherwise be too small a container. Plus the tank was circular so they could swim continuously comfortably, which they did constantly, day or night.

Also, the sharks were returned to the wild after about 3 weeks in captivity.

 

[Dangerdoll]

could you possibly be talking about columbian sharks?

 

[fishcatch22]

hmmmm.... the only shark I think that you could ever keep in home aquaria easily is the banded catshark, as plah831 has said before. in fact, I don't think sharks of any kind should be kept in home aquaria.

 

[ropefish dude]

could you possibly be talking about columbian sharks?[/QUOTE

columbian sharks, also know as the silver shark and jordans catfish, are commonly sold as freshwater fish, but they really aren't. they also technically really aren't sharks. but they need to be in a brackish or marine tank. if you buy one that came from a FW tank, you need to put it in a brackish tank, and slowly increase the salinity over time, until it is equal to the amount in your marine tank. they get to be about 14" long, and will consume anything fish that can fit in its mouth. it is very peaceful with fish its own size, or larger. they need softer subtrates because they are mid to bottom dwellers, and they also need sinking foods, and need at least a 75g tank. they are tropical fish from mexico and columbia, and like a temperature of 72-79 degress F. they are safe to put with most inverts, but im not to sure if they're reef safe. they get along with eachother fine, but do not need to be in a school. overall, they are really cool fish that are fun to watch, but require imtermediate care.(so not to good for beginners)

 

[Dangerdoll]

could you possibly be talking about columbian sharks?

columbian sharks, also know as the silver shark and jordans catfish, are commonly sold as freshwater fish, but they really aren't. they also technically really aren't sharks. but they need to be in a brackish or marine tank. if you buy one that came from a FW tank, you need to put it in a brackish tank, and slowly increase the salinity over time, until it is equal to the amount in your marine tank. they get to be about 14" long, and will consume anything fish that can fit in its mouth. it is very peaceful with fish its own size, or larger. they need softer subtrates because they are mid to bottom dwellers, and they also need sinking foods, and need at least a 75g tank. they are tropical fish from mexico and columbia, and like a temperature of 72-79 degress F. they are safe to put with most inverts, but im not to sure if they're reef safe. they get along with eachother fine, but do not need to be in a school. overall, they are really cool fish that are fun to watch, but require imtermediate care.(so not to good for beginners)

A lot of your info is correct but I have to disagree with you on one point. If you buy one from an LFS or Petsmart and the like, 99% of the time, they will be in freshwater. These fish are ok to be in freshwater because they are juveniles and this is where they are usually born. As they mature though, their water will need to be weaned into a brackish environment. The weaning shoud continue as the shark ages through to a marine tank. A lot of research needs to be done on these fish to follow them through to a healthy adult fish.