How to Buy a Shark

So you have just returned from an incredible family trip to Sea World, and your kids, as well as your husband, are now dying to own a shark. Maybe you just have always been fascinated (like most of the rest of the world) with these massive carnivores of the sea. Well, believe it or not, you can truly own your own shark. It may not be a great white, but there are certain breeds that can be kept in a home aquarium.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• An aquarium that holds at least 200 gallons
• Shark eggs

How to buy a shark for your home aquarium

1. Your first step to owning a shark is going to be getting an appropriate sized tank. Regardless of species of shark, you cannot get away with having a tank under 200 gallons.

2. When you are setting up your tank, be sure to roughly feel any coral, or any other artificial decoration that you plan on having in your tank. If when you feel the surface it is uncomfortable to your hand or leaves shards of fiberglass on your fingers, remove it immediately. Certain types of artificial coral can cause rashes on the underbelly of your shark if you are not careful. Certain types of substrates can also irritate your shark, so make sure you use a non-coarse sand.

3. Research shark eggs, or some local fish stores do sell baby sharks. Most likely you are going to be looking at the cat shark species, which includes the bamboo shark shown in the picture above.

4. Remember that sharks are not a simple species to take care of. They also will eat most anything else in your tank that moves. So, if you have some prized fish that you spent $700 each for, you may want to move them into a separate aquarium. Some sharks are bottom dwellers and should in most cases leave your non bottom-dwelling fish alone, but I still wouldn't risk it.

5. Before you buy, make sure and look at your shark's maximum growing length. Some may get up to four feet long, so make sure you are ready to commit to a shark that length before buying. You can find some such as the black banded cat shark (a pretty sweet looking shark in my opinion) that only grow to about 14 inches. So research your shark well before buying.

6. To go with researching the size of your shark, be sure to research its environment. Does your shark need fresh water or salt water? What kinds of foods does your shark need to survive? These are all things that you should know well in advance before receiving your shark or shark eggs.

7. As long as you do your research and prepare your tank correctly, you should be ready to recieve your shark to be the crowing piece of your aquarium.

Tips & Warnings

• Visit http://www.freshmarine.com if your home aquarium store does not carry sharks, or shark eggs.
• Sharks are not like goldfish. You cannot just feed them daily and expect them to live. Like any other pet you would buy, make sure you are prepared to own a shark, and are ready to take the time to take care of them, before buying one.

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