I thought this was another post from that guy who's planning on putting bonnethead sharks in a tank similar to this one but this looks much earlier on in construction than the last post I saw from him. My heart sank for a moment.
Bonnetheads are migratory and do not belong in aquariums, let alone the merely 10,000g tank that wasnt much bigger than this one the guy is (or hopefully was) planning on putting them in. Also his was rectangular which is also a big no for sharks.
That guy was posting on a popular aquarium forum and it saddened me how literally no one (at least when I was watching the thread) seemed the least bit concerned about his stocking plans.
I keep fish, I love tanks, I love BIG tanks, but most sharks don't do well at all in glass boxes.
Huge tanks are wasted on most giant fish imo. Tons of smaller species would shine in there and be way more interesting.
Unfortunately there is a SHOCKING amount of ignorant people on these forums and even this sub. His posts get the criticism they deserve but also an equal amount, if not more, praise and upvotes from people who have no idea how horrible what he is doing actually is. It's really sad.
Some creatures just don’t belong in a tank. You may have a slightly different opinion on what those creatures are but a majority of people agree that sharks are on that list.
I feel that way about most anything in a tank or a cage. I enjoy seeing them, not as captives, but so many I get to see are. My wife had her first Fox sighting on the beach this week. She was thrilled until I told her he was trying to get eggs from the turtle nests.
I am in support of most smaller fish in the aquarium hobby assuming they are responsibly sourced. Seeing a group of tetras in an appropriately sized tank doesn’t make me sad at all. Sharks, octopus, dolphins/whales, and arowana make me sad. There is no tank big enough. The only time I like to see them in a tank is at certain conservation aquariums. (Fuck seaworld though)
SeaWorld is AZA accredited and contributes massively to conservation efforts including rescuing and releasing animals and keeping unreleasable animals (as determined by NOAA) but okay.
As someone studying conservation who has spoken to marine biologists... This is 100% true. It wasn't always true, but it is by now. SeaWorld does a lot of conservation efforts
Disagree about sharks. There are a lot of sharks, and some do just fine in big tanks.
Catsharks and Epaulettes are popular because they are among the smallest. But if you have a big enough tank, even zebra sharks do pretty well in tanks.
What they have in common is that they are bottom dwelling slow moving sharks.
Bonnetheads are pretty sensitive species and any obligate RAM breathing elasmo neeeeeeeeeds to have rounded walls, hard corners are an absolute no no. Bonnets especially with their thin, easily damaged cephalofoil.
To the comments about how inhumane it is to keep animals in cages, first seems like a weird subreddit to be on? Second, while lots of animals are highly migratory this is out of food availability and finding ideal environmental parameters. They don’t migrate because they want to it’s because they HAVE to. The best way it was described to me was, you could give a bird all of the room to fly it could want but if you provided everything it needed, food, water, proper breeding conditions, and mental stimulation they would never fly again because flying requires a HUGE amount of energy. While arguments can be made for highly intelligent species in captivity (like orangutans), fishes cognitive capabilities consist of food, safety, and mating. caveat as long as they are ethically sourced, but there are still a lot of large fish species bred in captivity, bonnets are amongst them.
It's weird to see such a heavy anti-captivity stance in this sub. u/crazy1david put it perfectly. Everyone loves to get up in arms over fish in tanks, but none say a word about the dogs kept in tiny studio apartments with no yard.
Also worth noting that the aquarium hobby does tons for conservation. A few species have been preserved thanks to the hobby and "people keeping them in cages."
I remember that! Did they ever end up finishing the post? It was a crazy expensive house with a specially built shark tank (with frickin' lasers attached to their heads!).
I want to know, not because I want to go there and be eaten by the sharks, it's for another reason.
I literally just was showing my friend that post last weekend lol, and I was wondering whatever happened.
Either they got busted for the cocaine they probably deal to buy a house like that, or they finished it then got eaten by their sharks. Those are my guesses anyway.
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u/[deleted] Aug 17 '22
I thought this was another post from that guy who's planning on putting bonnethead sharks in a tank similar to this one but this looks much earlier on in construction than the last post I saw from him. My heart sank for a moment.