Dumb A$$ LFS

[hicksonj]

I went to a local POS LFS cause I was bored this weekend, and they had a baby nurse shark in their large tank. By large, I mean a 100G. The poor thing was maxing it out. Some retard is probably going to buy it, shoehorn it into a smaller tank, which will crack when it learns how to bump the sides, and it will die. Some life is better left in the sea. Ug!

[Mnesarchus]

Agreed. Sharks should be kept in the ocean.

[Dan Chase]

First of all, I am very big on reef conservation, I have been a diver for 20 something years and quit the hobby years ago mainly because most the LFS were selling cyanide caught fish and the coral collection was terrible, they would use dynamite or large hammers to break coral heads off.

 

However the Nurse shark can make a good aquarium fish for a while given the right size tank, and 100 g is NOT big enough! I had one for a number of years in a 500 g tank. Another thing is you plan to keep one is you need to know what you will do with him when he out grows the tank. I donated mine to the Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco when he got to be about 20 inches. You also need to set the tank up just for a nurse shark. In the wild they are pretty lazy sharks, you usually find them laying around in caves or overhangs. I have only seen them swimming when they were hunting or some idiot diver disturbed them, they are very docile and will only bite if they heavily provoked and cornered.

 

In my tank I kept my Nurse shark named Rauhl and a large spotted Wrasse, a Moray eel and a large Lion Fish. The tank was almost devoid of any rocks except for a large overhanging rock near one end he would sleep under and another rock pile with tunnels for the eel. There was lots of open space with sand bottom and you need the far ends clear for them to turn around.

 

Mainly, if you decide to keep a Nurse Shark, you need to give them an appropriate environment and have a plan on where they will go when they out grow their tank. I have also seen leopard sharks in LFS's, IMHO, they are far to active for anything but a huge home aquarium.

[madness]

How did you donate your shark to Steinhart? Did you know somebody? I have a picture of someone leaving a shark in a big plastic fish store bag on the front steps.

 

Realistically, though. How many people can give their shark to a local aquarium? If you don't have contacts at the local aquarium how many other places could there be that would take a shark like this?

 

While anything is possible. This seems very far out on the scale of possible for all but the most committed, knowledgable, and connected of enthusiasts. Definitely NOT something that should be sitting around at the LFS in Philadelphia waiting for someone to buy it.

[Dan Chase]

Originally posted by madness

How did you donate your shark to Steinhart? Did you know somebody? I have a picture of someone leaving a shark in a big plastic fish store bag on the front steps.

 

Most public aquariums are more then happy to take a shark as a donation, shark displays are among the most popular at any public aquarium. All it takes is a little tenacity to find the person in charge of live stock and or the curator. In the case of the Steinhart, they gave us a family membership and we visited 3 or 4 times that first year. BTW: Your not far off on the bag, we had a huge heavy duty plastic bag in a large ice chest we moved him in.

 

Realistically, though. How many people can give their shark to a local aquarium? If you don't have contacts at the local aquarium how many other places could there be that would take a shark like this?

 

Like I said, you need a plan. Other potential buyers for a Nurse shark may be restaurants, hotels or other business that can afford to maintain a large tank. Since I see you’re in Berkeley, I can think of two places in the Bay Area offhand, the Steinhart and 6 Flags Marine World, I’m sure there are other’s.

 

While anything is possible. This seems very far out on the scale of possible for all but the most committed, knowledgeable, and connected of enthusiasts. Definitely NOT something that should be sitting around at the LFS in Philadelphia waiting for someone to buy it.

 

Your right there, deciding to keep a Nurse Shark is not something anyone should do on impulse buy! There are hobbiest willing to make the commitment and the Nurse Shark does do VERY well in captivity, they are bottom dwellers, not open ocean animals, they do not need to keep in motion like most sharks, they are perfectly content to lay around the bottom of the aquarium, they grow very slow, so you can count on keeping them for quite a few years with a big enough tank. What bothers me is that the LFS in question has theirs in a 100 gal tank, what message does this send to potential buyers?

 

The bottom line is you make a commitment every time you make a purchase at your LFS, whether it’s a damsel fish, an exotic coral or a Nurse Shark, do your research before you buy. Is killing a Nurse Shark any worse then any other animal due to neglect or ignorance? Is it worst then a LFS selling a SPS or clam without asking the buyer if they have proper lighting? It’s up to us as serious hobbiest to not support the LFS’s that are careless and don’t give proper advice to the buyer, unfortunately, there will always be some newbie that will buy something without the proper knowledge. Maintaining a tank that’s 500 gallons or more is no walk in the park, it takes a major commitment both in time and financially. But, you don’t need to be connected to find a home later, email and phone calls work wonders.

 

BTW: I saw a few months ago on the news about another Bay Area hobbiest that donated their Nurse Shark to the Steinhart, their tank had to have been 1000 gallons or more, so this isn’t a one once in a life type of deal. Now, if they were getting a Nurse shark donated once a week I can see where it would be a problem, IMO, most newbie's looks at a shark and knows it’s out of there range of expertise.

[jdiver]

So are you guys saying that the baby nurse shark I have in my 7 gallon minibow is going to outgrow the tank someday???

[freakaccident]

A LFS here in town has FOUR nurse sharks in one tank. It is probably a 400g tank but thats not the point. The owner says there are a lot of customers that like big fish. I still thinks its wrong. Bamboo sharks are ok for a big big aquarium IMHO but not a shark that can get 6+ feet in length.

[madness]

WOW! I had no idea there was this kind of market for big fish. I guess I'm just looking through my unemployed goggles thinking of how much time, effort and cash it must take to keep these things. Not just purchasing and maintaining a tank that big, but having a place to put a tank that big costs serious bucks in the Bay Area. I just can' t believe that so many people would find it worth while. Oh well, different strokes...

[reefan]

I am split on this topic. Do I think these sharks should be avalible YES. Do I think that LFS will ensure their care NO. I think most people see that a fish needs 500+ gallons and they get the picture.

[Dan Chase]

Originally posted by reefan

I am split on this topic. Do I think these sharks should be avalible YES. Do I think that LFS will ensure their care NO. I think most people see that a fish needs 500+ gallons and they get the picture.

 

I sure hope your right that most people would understand the size tank they would need. The post above that mentions seeing 4 Nurse Sharks in a LFS is pretty disturbing, I would hate to see this become a trend. Since about 1980, I have seen maybe 6-8 Nurse Sharks at LFS.

[freakaccident]

I agree. I definitely think they should be available. Some day I plan to have a 300g shark and ray tank. I don't however think the LFS should sell to just anyone to make a buck. I saw a guy buy a leopard shark for his 55g the other day at a LFS. I was buying a bag of salt and just walked through the fish section for the heck of it. I tried to explain to him that the shark was already too big for his 55g. He wouldn't listen to me and the salesman had "no comment".