What is the smallest shark?

[Good_Times]

If u can find it in the hobby or fisherman, maybe u can get a Cookie cutter shark "Isistius brasiliensis" it only gets to 42cm.
Here's a page to some of the smallest species of shark : http://fishbase.mnhn.fr/identification/specieslist.php?famcode=557&areacode=

Otherwize just get some columbian catfish or p.hypotalmus and tell her it's sharks

 

[alexanian]

wow ok cool I was already begining to give up on the idea and then I find all this. OK I checked the smooth hound and they can get up to 5 feet so that's a no but there is the
Australian grey smooth-hound (Mustelus ravidus) which get's only between 26-28" so that's a possibility or Mustelus minicanis that get's only to 20-22". Other then that I could try and get the Mustelus asterias or mediteraneus babies which r endemic to Morocco (where I live) and just release them back into the wild when they get too big.
About the brasiliensis ( cookie cutter ) which reaches 42cm I could get instead the Pigmy shark Euprotomicrus bispinatus which reaches only 22 cm, if I choose to go for that look. I also found a bunch of species of the lantern shark genus like the Dwarf Lantern Shark (Etmopterus perryi) that is only 17 cm (6.8") or the Thorny or Green lantern shark which r 27 - 23 cm. There is also the Velvet belly lantern shark which is also endemic to Morocco and reaches max. 60 cm with a common lenth of 45 cm, and also could release it if I can't upgrade. But I dunno what is the growth rate of sharks, I wouldn't wanna waiste time and money and find it outgrowing my tank in a 2 - 3 months, so does anyone have any info about that? Also what would b a good tank size? I'm thinking 3 times body size in lenght and 1,5 times body lenght footprint tank, would that be ok?

 

[Comatose]

The answer to your original question is no. The pygmy shark . cookie cutter shark, and the rest of the dwarf species you mentioned incredibly rare, come from deep water and would require very specialized setup if you could get your hands on them, which scientists and public aquariums have trouble doing. The smallest smooth hounds require over 1000 gallons.

Keeping a shark, or any animal, means keeping it for life; not releasing it when it gets too big even if it is native.

 

[alexanian]

Well if it's native y not? Ppl catch wild animals all the time and release them in to the wild they come from. Including predators like lions and tigers. It could also be useful as for gathering more information on keeping them. I mean someone must've cought the first captive shark like the nurse shark for example and kept them on trial and error untill they figured out what they need.

 

[cichlid_king]

Lots of animals die from being kept in captivity and released. They forget their natural instincts because everything is given to them on a silver platter. They lose the ability to hunt or do whatever they need to do.

 

[alexanian]

Well maybe some of them die, but i doubt LOTS of them die otherwise all those scientists would stop doing it, wouldn't they?

 

[cichlid_king]

Well maybe some of them die, but i doubt LOTS of them die otherwise all those scientists would stop doing it, wouldn't they?

Its not necissarily scientists doing it. Regular people do it probably more than you think.

 

[alexanian]

Yea but i'm talking about the scientist and biologists that do it. I've seen a bunch of tv shows where they keep an animal or raise one and then release it back into the wild. So technicaly there is nothing wrong with releasing a native species otherwise they wouldn't have donne it

 

[TaratronVaeVictus]

Firstly if you get a shark, any species, the tank needs to be set up just for the shark. Most if not all need hiding places, can't have any metal of any kind in the tank, need super high filtration and great water quality, and any tankmates can be considered dinner.

Alex, I have worked in a public zoo and there is a good difference between raising, say, a tiger cub to adulthood and keeping a tiger in captivity and releasing it as an adult. Reputable zoos and other wildlife parks do not keep up the handraising: there comes a time when you no longer directly interact with the animal because of the danger it poses to the animal's future as well as any injury possibility to the keepers.

You can't do this with a shark. More specifically, you cannot keep a shark in captivity, in a controlled environment with steady food and diet and then release the shark when it no longer fits in your aquarium. The shark will die. It won't be used to the new water, to avoiding other predators or certain prey---it may not even recognize natural prey as that. If nothing else there is a huge risk with pathogens: a shark raised and kept in a captive environment has no chance to build up its immune system from standard bacteria found in the wild and not in a tank.

I get the feeling you will do what you want regardless because you are so certain that one more animal kept in a poor environment means little in the grand scheme of things and, well, goshdarnit you want an effing shark. Who are we to tell you it's a bad idea, other than people who have walked down the same path you mean to travel? If someone tells you not to stray off the paved road, there are zombies in the woods, will you weigh the risks, decide you want to do it anyway, and become zombie food because you want to be that variable to see if living in a zombie-fested woods is possible?

Yes, in the past and even now people keep many animals that have no business being captive pets, lions, tigers, chimps, sharks. But if we don't learn from past mistakes, why should we not repeat them? It used to be seen as weird to get your dog or cat neutered, and in some areas it still is, but that is no reason not to fix them.

You want a shark that stays very small but looks like a 'real' shark and if you want a live fish, it does not exist.

 

[alexanian]

Firstly if I get a native shark (and that's a big IF since I was just discussing the possibilities here) it will be a dedicated tank, no tankmates, much bigger then needed for it's current size and I also have a possibility of doing water changes with it's native waters. It won't b a problem for me to swing by the ocean and fill up 10 gallons daily. Of course all the needed filtration and water quality would be considered after doing extensive research on the water parameters of the local ocean water.
I will have to disagree with you about the feeding since I have seen tank breed freshwater angels eating neons in aquaria which are the wild scalare angels natural food source in the wild, even though they're tank breed and never been feed neons before. Also they can be feed live food of what they eat n the wild on occasion to prevent that.
It's not about me doing what I wanna do and not listen to anyone's advice just because I "want an effing shark" and it's just wrong to assume that just because someone wants to do research on the possibilities and discuss them is an ignorant inexpirienced amateur that doesn't care.
Alot of people now keep catsharks like the banded bamboo species, so someone ( probably local) or an experienced fish keeper must have tried keeping them first, observed them, matched the water parameters, shared his experience with other people in the hobby and thanks to those men alot of people now are able to enjoy keeping those sharks in home aquaria.
Sharks are a predatory fish and just like any predatory fish can be kept in captivity with the same husbandry techniques.
This forum is cool and a person can learn alot here from other people and exchange what they learned but I hate how a person gets flamed when asking about smth no one knows nothing about. Instead of stating all the reasons why smth is not being donne, let's put our heads and knowledge together and figure out a way of how it can be donne. What should one do to make it work? People keep lots of different shark these days, so the bases can't be much different.
For example first you say that if a person keeps a shark with tank mates they will be eaten and then you say that if kept in captivity they will loose their hunting instinct. You work in a zoo, so tell me do you think that a wild cought lion kept in captivity for some time will not attack and eat a gazzele after some time?
I don't want to seem stubborn here but I don't think a person should give up on something just because someone else says it can't be donne without giving a valid reason.
Let's not forget that we all are able to keep and enjoy all those fish in our homes because someone before us already tried and succeded. And not just fish, you work in a zoo and zoo's keep alot of wild animals and predatory species.