Tip of the Day – 4/29/2014

For new hobbyists, it might be very attractive to purchase sharks and rays for a home aquarium. While we won’t scold anyone for their desire to own an apex predator, in practice it can be quite irresponsible to own such a fish. At the very least, few people are equipped enough to care for any of the shark or ray species, and the animal will only suffer long term. Avoid placing sharks and rays in the typical long and narrow fish tanks that dominate our hobby. Instead, place them in tanks with large footprints, with large circular aquariums being the best option as they allow sharks to continuously swim…a requirement for most. The sand choice is also a sensitive topic, since sharks and rays have soft underbellies that can easily be irritated by the wrong type or size of sand. And the topper on this cake of demotivation is the fact that many sharks and rays have a specific diet that might be hard to meet. While frozen and prepared alternatives will work in many instances, some species specialize in eating crabs, hermit crabs, and other live foods…and for a predator, there’s no better alternative than live foods.