Freshwater Fish
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How to raise aquarium sharks

posted by vinaya in Freshwater Fish

I have never raised aquarium sharks, however, I have a deep interest in raising aquarium sharks. Well, they say the freshwater aquarium sharks are not actually sharks. They are in fact the members of the Cyprinid family. Some catfish are also called aquarium sharks because of their feeding habits and looks. Does anyone have experience with raising aquarium sharks? Share your tips here.

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Jelineex - 6 years ago
I have one albino shark before living together with the carp fish. I did not see any sign of aggression since the albino is still small. It blend in with the rest of the fish. It's translucent color change to solid white. I feed it with fish food and mosquito larvae (wiggler). But, it didn't live that long since it easily get stressed every time i changed water. Sometimes, the kids tapped the aquarium glass that cause the fish scared. It get's panic and puzzled. It keeps on swimming back and forth till it bumped the glass. Some fish are sensitive and territorial but they're fun to watch and lovely as a pet. You will learn some characteristic or behavior as you grow and observe them.
vinaya - 6 years ago
Thank you very much for sharing your experience. I never thought about having sharks and other fish on the same tank. However, your answer amazed me, you say your shark lived quite well with other fishes. Do the aquarium sharks actually behave as sea water sharks?
Martinsx - 6 years ago
Seriously, the fear of whether breeding an aquarium shark with other fishes in the same tank is of huge concern to me because I have known some big fishes to always eat the smaller ones as food. But in a situation where you have had your aquarium shark coexisting well with other fishes in your tank, it's a big relief.
Youngshark - 6 years ago
I also have some fear concerning the sharks my friend. I mean these are real sharks we are talking about and they are known to have some predatory tendencies. I have however gone through a few of the posts people have made over here and my worries have been subsidized to some level. Nonetheless, I still think that one would need a commercial farm to keep the sharks.
Jelineex - 6 years ago
Keep in mind, sharks are territorial. They are aggressive with their own specie especially when they're adult. In my experience, it was a peaceful community since the albino is still small and haven't showed aggression.
stbrians - 6 years ago
I have never raised them but I agree they are not sharks but resemble them. They may have teeth or not but are large.

One needs a large aquarium that can hold an average of 100 gallons. You also need a large room. One can top up the fresh water with salty water but is not a must.

What I do not know is where to purchase the shark. You can google online. The rest is just rearing the fish.
vinaya - 6 years ago
The sharks we are talking here are fresh water sharks,or aquarium sharks. These species are called sharks because of their looks and aggressive behavior, however, they are not in any way a member of shark families. The aquarium sharks are small.
TFAdmin - 6 years ago
Are you talking about the Bala Shark?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bala_shark
paddygsound - 6 years ago
They would be interesting to have, but I, unfortunately, don't have enough space to have them. They are pretty interesting to watch swim around.
MomoStarr16 - 6 years ago
Do you mean to say the hammerhead shark we saw commonly are not shark but catfish family? Wow, I never thought of that. All of the time I was deceived by my eyes. Thanks for telling us that. I do love sharks too and hammerhead is the only one I got.
Martinsx - 6 years ago
I have a few experience with breeding catfish but it's not for indoor aquarium purposes but for business purposes. I breed and sell to local food restaurants that sells catfish. So, I'm not sure whether how to deal with it outdoors would be the same for indoor use. But basically, it's all about taking care of the fishes as and at when due.
jeffreyjose48 - 6 years ago
Its so easy to raise aquarium sharks. First, you have to buy a big aquarium that your shark can fit. Then, you buy shark and put it inside the aquarium. You feed them with fish meal everyday. That's just how easy it is. You look after them daily to monitor their health.
mark86 - 6 years ago
I have no idea about raising a shark in the aquarium. What I know is the small fish only could live in the aquarium. I guess you need a big tank to be able to put that shark inside it. That is the basic things to start raising a huge shark in the aquarium.
Lilian - 6 years ago
I love aquarium sharks since I was a small kid. Because it has silvery skin and very active swimming around the tank. Very lovely. Only later I found that it has name Mangasius or Pangasius. He is in catfish family. But different from catfish, this shark do not need often feeding. They don't eat much, so the water where they live will stay much cleaner longer that catfish. What people have in aquarium actually is baby Pangasius. They can grow up to very large size. Here in Indonesia, grown up Pagasius in commercial fish farming called Patin fish. We consume it as one of delicious catfish. Later, their meat sold in supermarket as Dory-fish frozen fillet. Now you can see that raising aquarium shark is easy. It prefer slightly black water. Make sure you have large tank to keep them, so they can grow up better. Keep at least a pair of them. They move a lot. Very nice to see at least two Pangasius swimming around. They likely to enjoy each other company as well.
achikeziah - 5 years ago
If you're a shark lover but simply watching educational programming on these marine predators isn't enough to satisfy your fascination, California's aquariums give you the opportunity to see these sea creatures in the flesh. Aquariums throughout the state host shark tanks and educational exhibits, and many facilities allow visitors to touch and pet the more docile species. Visitors can also encounter a variety of other sea life at California's aquariums, ranging from various ray species to marine mammals such as sea otters.
Cupang - 5 years ago
One advice I can give you is to keep just one or two at first whether you want to raise a real shark or one that just looks like it. Fish deserves a huge amount of space where they can move about freely.

If you have a 500-gallon tank, feel free to keep a pair of 2-feet long sharks. You will be tempted to add more, but try to practice self-restraint. Once you get the hang of it, then you can think about adding more.
theresajane - 5 years ago
That is quite an amazing interest that you have. I personally think it's very challenging to raise aquarium sharks, especially if you just have a small space for them.

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