Types of Pet Sharks

People around the world enjoy keeping sharks as pets within home aquariums. Factors including the size of your aquarium, the ultimate size of the shark when full-grown, the temperament of the species and your experience as a shark owner should be considered when determining which type of shark, if any, to keep as a pet.

  1. Rainbow Sharks

    • The reddish pink tails and fins give rainbow sharks their name. While beautiful, they are considered territorial and aggressive, which means they don't do well with even other rainbow sharks unless your tank has been arranged to accommodate this. At minimum, rainbow sharks need 30 gallons of water, although 55 gallons is ideal. Creating hiding spaces in the tank using caves and plants, in addition to leaving plenty of clear swimming space in the aquarium's top half, will help manage a rainbow shark's aggression. This fish is not recommended for first-time shark owners.

    Red Tail Sharks

    • Although red tail sharks only grow to be about 5 feet long, do not let their small size fool you. These aggressive fish do well only with larger fish, or in a group of six or more sharks, which means your tank must be exceptionally large. Similar to rainbow sharks, red tails do best when left in a tank with lots of hiding places.

    Nurse Sharks

    • If you have the room and don't mind their full size of up to 14 feet, nurse sharks are considered one of the easiest types of sharks to keep as pets because they are harmless unless provoked. To accommodate the size, your aquarium must be able to hold at least 1,400 gallons of water. Nurse sharks like to feed at the bottom of the tank, and enjoy any type of large meaty foods, including small pieces of fish, squid, shrimp and even live goldfish.

    Bala Shark

    • Known for its silver coloring, the bala shark can grow exponentially to ultimately achieve a size of anywhere from 7 to 14 feet, which means that it needs to be kept in a larger aquarium, similar to the nurse shark. The bala shark does well with smaller fish and is considered to be quite docile, although experts say it will get nervous and act out by pulling up plants if you do not keep it together with at least one other bala shark. Make sure your aquarium is at least 48 inches in diameter and leave larger areas untouched by plants to leave room for swimming.

    Iridescent Shark

    • The iridescent shark is ideal for the first-time shark owner. It is non-aggressive, does not grow longer than 12 feet, and will not bother other fish in the aquarium, especially if they are more than half its size.