New Bamboo shark !!! Just moving in against glass in place

[Lost in the Sauce]

On the practical side of things, I think someone’s suggestion to go buy a Walmart kiddie pool is a good one— gives you time to come up with a Plan B to continue to own a shark.

Great option for the short term and gives an awesome viewing angle.

 

[JumboShrimp]

@Lost in the Sauce, I do agree that R2R has to be the premier place for everyone—including absolute newbies—to receive help, and without a pile-on. I think personally what got a knee-jerk reaction from me was the shock; I tend to equate ‘baby shark’ with ‘baby alligator’ and would think that common sense would kick in and anyone would think twice (do research?) before just taking the plunge on such a “pet.” Nevertheless, you make valid points regarding conduct— to keep this site welcoming.

 

[Soren]

@Jordan1050064 Sharks are very interesting and a dream for most, but it is probably best advice to return the shark and do more research for their care requirements before buying again. I am sure you mean well, but there are aspects of your setup and responses that throw red flags to those with more experience. If you can return the shark and acquire the proper setup and conditioning before getting a shark again, it may be a better result than losing the one you have now through stressful transitions to temporary tanks.

My experience in saltwater aquariums is still limited and I have no experience with sharks (other than a little book/online research only to determine them too advanced and too large for me to keep). I cannot answer whether you might have success with a wading pool or livestock tub, so I will leave that to those with more experience. It seems possible, but it will be a a very difficult challenge.

From some of your statements, it seems you have somewhat limited experience as well. When asking questions about the condition of a marine fish, it is going to be essential that water parameters can be confirmed before anyone has an idea how to offer relevant advice with a foundation to stand upon. Important parameters to share for a fish-only system are salinity, pH, ammonia, (maybe nitrite/nitrate to confirm cycle). From my research in general, even with fish-only systems, it is by far most typical today to use live rock for biological filtration to ensure removal of ammonia. You should probably have at least some live rock, though I do not know how much is needed for a shark. Is the sand in your tank typical play-box sand? If so, I have always seen recommendations against this type of sand for marine systems.

In the long-term, you will need a very large tank for a shark that will likely need to be custom-built (standard tanks are not large enough) and probably fairly expensive. As mentioned by others previously, costs associated for proper care of even the smallest sharks such as a bamboo shark will be very high, even compared to cost of moderately-sized reef systems filled with coral and other fish.

To get the best response when asking for help, I would recommend getting some books and/or doing online research on the species you want to keep and showing this learned knowledge when asking questions on the forum. The more specific you can be about what you have done and are planning to do for your setup, the better the advice will likely be on the forum.

@Lost in the Sauce, I do agree that R2R has to be the premier place for everyone—including absolute newbies—to receive help, and without a pile-on. I think personally what got a knee-jerk reaction from me was the shock; I tend to equate ‘baby shark’ with ‘baby alligator’ and would think that common sense would kick in and anyone would think twice (do research?) before just taking the plunge on such a “pet.” Nevertheless, you make valid points regarding conduct— to keep this site welcoming.

It seems to me that the best answer for this type of thread is to ask questions to understand OP's knowledge level, make some suggestions (as kind as possible) to remedy immediate situation, and inform OP on general care requirements long-term while suggesting returning the animal until more knowledge is acquired (especially for the types of fish that are liked by many but unattainable or very difficult for the average hobbyist).

From recent observations, it looks to me like those with experience see these threads over and over and tend to think, "Oh great, here we go again..." but should hold back the initial over-reaction to the red flags to offer a chance to a new member who does not know better. Those with experience are the best chance for help, but often come across insulting or elitist to new members by over-reacting and leave a bad first impression to the new member, sometimes chasing the new member away and destroying the chance to help.

One thing I think we should always recommend is more research and patience prior to acquisition. This would support the suggestion to return the animal (bamboo shark, in this case) and do more research before buying again.

 

[Reefing Madness]

Hey gang, the OP asked for advice, not crap, lets knock it off shall we.

 

[Hincapiej4]

@Jordan1050064 Sharks are very interesting and a dream for most, but it is probably best advice to return the shark and do more research for their care requirements before buying again. I am sure you mean well, but there are aspects of your setup and responses that throw red flags to those with more experience. If you can return the shark and acquire the proper setup and conditioning before getting a shark again, it may be a better result than losing the one you have now through stressful transitions to temporary tanks.

My experience in saltwater aquariums is still limited and I have no experience with sharks (other than a little book/online research only to determine them too advanced and too large for me to keep). I cannot answer whether you might have success with a wading pool or livestock tub, so I will leave that to those with more experience. It seems possible, but it will be a a very difficult challenge.

From some of your statements, it seems you have somewhat limited experience as well. When asking questions about the condition of a marine fish, it is going to be essential that water parameters can be confirmed before anyone has an idea how to offer relevant advice with a foundation to stand upon. Important parameters to share for a fish-only system are salinity, pH, ammonia, (maybe nitrite/nitrate to confirm cycle). From my research in general, even with fish-only systems, it is by far most typical today to use live rock for biological filtration to ensure removal of ammonia. You should probably have at least some live rock, though I do not know how much is needed for a shark. Is the sand in your tank typical play-box sand? If so, I have always seen recommendations against this type of sand for marine systems.

In the long-term, you will need a very large tank for a shark that will likely need to be custom-built (standard tanks are not large enough) and probably fairly expensive. As mentioned by others previously, costs associated for proper care of even the smallest sharks such as a bamboo shark will be very high, even compared to cost of moderately-sized reef systems filled with coral and other fish.

To get the best response when asking for help, I would recommend getting some books and/or doing online research on the species you want to keep and showing this learned knowledge when asking questions on the forum. The more specific you can be about what you have done and are planning to do for your setup, the better the advice will likely be on the forum.


It seems to me that the best answer for this type of thread is to ask questions to understand OP's knowledge level, make some suggestions (as kind as possible) to remedy immediate situation, and inform OP on general care requirements long-term while suggesting returning the animal until more knowledge is acquired (especially for the types of fish that are liked by many but unattainable or very difficult for the average hobbyist).

From recent observations, it looks to me like those with experience see these threads over and over and tend to think, "Oh great, here we go again..." but should hold back the initial over-reaction to the red flags to offer a chance to a new member who does not know better. Those with experience are the best chance for help, but often come across insulting or elitist to new members by over-reacting and leave a bad first impression to the new member, sometimes chasing the new member away and destroying the chance to help.

One thing I think we should always recommend is more research and patience prior to acquisition. This would support the suggestion to return the animal (bamboo shark, in this case) and do more research before buying again.

This is a very good post. I'm just tired of seeing people who don't do the research and I'm over here doing it constantly like it's my job. We are supposed to be taking care of these animals. There are no vets for them (usually) so we have to be on our game. We complain about places like hawaii closing down, but we do nothing to make the homes these animals go into better. We have to do better, myself included. I def have things I need to do better in the hobby, at least I admit it.