Keeping sharks in a home aquarium

The other fish in the tank will probably not be as fond of the shark as Mo...

Will there be other fish in the tank if there is a shark?

This here ...



... is a 1,000-gallon shark aquarium. The $23,000 tank weighs about eight tons, for one shark (a $2,000 blacktip reef shark [which are the cheapest, according to Sea Life] and some smaller fish.


Source

Well if you want to keep a big "shark-looking shark" be prepared to spend thousands if not tens of thousands of dollars.

Here is an example of a do it yourself type: Building a 1700 gallon Shark Tank

Even for smaller sharks, the cost and difficulty of maintenance is very steep.

Want my recommendation? Go with a fresh water fish that looks a bit like a shark. For example the "Bala Shark" is a very easy fish to keep (even in a community tank) and I've always loved it for it's shark-like looks.

I don't have one of those now so here's a google search for pictures:

http://images.google.com/images?q=bala%20shark

I know you asked about small sharks, but the thing is he's likely fascinated by big ones, and there's no small one I know of that looks much like them.

Even if it's only a foot long you are talking a big aquarium, and there aren't any "shark looking sharks" I know of that are under a foot long. A very rough rule of thumb is that you need a gallon an inch (of fish) but in reality this doesn't work out with big fish and a 12-inch fish would not be well suited with a 12 gallon tank.

I have a 50-gallon tank and I wouldn't be comfortable with a 12-inch fish in there. So you'd really be looking at a pretty big tank to get a respectable shark.

Just don't make the same mistake as this sap:

More info here: http://animal-world.com/encyclo/marine/sharks_rays/sharks_rays.php

Here is a great link that has many articles about aquarium sharks and fresh water fish that look like sharks.

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/sharkfish/

And may I recommend the movie "The Great Mr. Limpet" - maybe after meeting me - he may prefer a regular guy fish.

Thanks all!

Mr. B and I kept tanks in the 200-400 gallon range with several exotic and finiky species so I'm pretty well versed in the expense and upkeep required. I was thinking of a tank in the 100-200 gallon range.

He usually only gets one fairly extravagant gift for his birthday, something he is really interested in so it has a high use to cost ratio.

I wonder if something that looks shark like, like Robert's suggestion, something that behaves shark like, like trigger fish (which are very beautiful and I have some experience with), or an actual shark that doesn't look much like a shark would be the best choice.

The really cool little sharks, like the pygmy, live so deep in the ocean that I doubt they would be aquarium fish......

I didn't know you had large tank experience, so you obviously know the costs involved and all. Personally, I get bored of those huge one-fish tanks but Mo might just love sharks enough.

But if you go the freshwater community tank route I can recommend these "Red finned sharks":



They are very territorial, and will chase the other fish around and harass them. They aren't good community tank members because of this but the kids who saw my tank loved "watching the shark hunt".

http://www.fishlore.com/Profiles-RedTailShark.htm
This one is pretty - and it kind of looks like a shark to me

I've had those guys as well.

They do keep the other fish on the move a bit.

(not a shark, but I have a ropefish that is very "eel-like", aggressive, and fun to watch, but with a small mouth) (he's about 12" long now, but happy in a 30 gal)

Oh that red finned shark is pretty!

We had a tank bully once - this coral banded shrimp, so pretty but man he was mean. He went into the passive tank and immediately killed a seahorse before starting to pick on everything else. He went back to the fish shop right away.

The most interesting fish we ever had was a picasso trigger. You can't see it in this photo but they have a little dorsal fin that pops up when they're hunting. They're predators (I think we fed ours on brine shrip and frozen worms though) so you have to keep them alone but if I recall we kept urchins and anenomes in with it.

Maybe what I need to do is stumble Mo into a good aquarium shop and see what catches his fancy. I'm going to start hunting down a good local shop.

I've not started up on reef aquariums yet, and have been resisting the urge to buy a 200 gallon tank (no space for it, and I already have several tanks) but here you go talking about sea horses and making me interested again....

I'm blaming you if I start spending thousands on salt water aquariums!

Haha! Gotcha!

I haven't stepped into a saltwater shop in years because I know how addictive it is once you get started. Its like making a whole tiny planet; it's a little, living work of art.

Lot's of work but so lovely and relaxing to watch.

I still have a big box of corals so I could probably build a nice tank.

Seahorses are amazing but very delicate.

Ooops. Forgot to post the picasso....

I used to keep big tanks too .
I love, love love fish tanks. I cant live with out one in my presence. ..

My suggestion.. if you are looking for an aggressive, live fish eating type 'fish' and not worried about it LOOKING like a shark?
Oscars.
You need a 100 gallon tank to house one well enough.
Fresh water, very aggressive, WILL bite you if it can...... Oscars eat live fish, raw meat.. and are pretty mean looking. Though.. look nothing like a shark.

http://www.aqua-fish.net/imgs/fish/oscar-fish.jpg

You can find them in solid colors, patterns, and albino.
very easy to keep. In fact thrive on a semi 'dirty' tank. Meaning.. you dont have to keep it spotless, vacuum it once a week or do a water change more then once a month.. less often if you have a good filter.

There is also a small fresh water community fish that looks like a silver shark.
They dont get any bigger then 4 inches, but are aggressive, tear into guppies like candy..

I do not remember what they are called, but I am going back and forth to the fish store this week starting my own natural tank.
Next time I go, I will bring my camera and snap a few photos of them/
They look just like a little shark, but they may not be as big as you are hoping for