Homeowner is blasted for keeping sharks in a fish tank in his living room: ‘Real ocean is what makes them happy’
- Shark owner has been slammed
- He keeps sharks in tank in his home
A homeowner has come under fire for keeping sharks in a fish tank at his property.
The man posted a video showcasing his massive 20,000 litre tank at his mansion at Kangaroo Point, south Sydney.
He had been changing the water in the tank by funnelling in liquid from a truck parked outside the house.
‘Water change of 10,000L on my shark tank makes the animals happy,’ the post on TikTok handle thegyp_aus read.
Social media users took issue with the homeowner keeping sharks as pets with several claiming he was robbing the sea creatures of their ‘freedom’.
But the tank owner said his sharks (pictured, one in another of his videos) were ‘still at the bottom of the tank’ in the shallow water as he was doing the clean out
Social media users took issue with the homeowner keeping sharks (pictured, one of the sharks) as pets with several claiming he was robbing the sea creatures of their ‘freedom’
The TikTokker who goes by the name thegyp_aus posted a video of him cleaning the huge 20,000-litre tank in a living area inside his house
The homeowner had emptied half of the tank and was refilling it with new water prompting some to question where the sharks were being kept in the meantime.
One suggested they were being kept in a bathtub in a tongue-in-cheek jab.
The homeowner said the sharks were ‘still at the bottom of the tank’ in the shallow water as he was doing the clean out.
‘The tank is 20,000L they swim in the bottom half of the tank,’ he said.
Several social media users took issue with the fact the sharks were being confined to such a small space.
‘Real ocean and freedom is what makes them happy,’ one wrote.
‘Or you can let it roam freely and happily in the sea instead,’ another wrote.
A third added: ‘No the tank is way too small its like a beta in a small fishbowl… not appropriate.’
Others were left speechless over the avid shark owner’s ‘amazing’ tank.
‘Cool shark tank, ngl if I had a tank that size I would go crazy with the plants and add some schooling fish,’ one wrote.
‘I love the tank! Looks amazing,’ another added.
Some were stunned at how many litres of water had to be pumped into the tank.
The shark aquarium a part of a mansion in Kangaroo Point in Sydney’s southern suburbs (pictured)
‘Dang that’s more water than one person uses a year!’ one wrote.
Another video posted by the same guy showed his fish tank full of water with a variety of sharks and other sea creatures swimming about.
‘I’ll never moan about doing a water change again,’ one social media user wrote.
The homeowner has been racking up millions of views with his several videos.
He revealed he had built the massive tank during a renovation after he bought the property in 2021.
The tank houses 11 different shark species including Bamboo, Port Jackson and White Tip Reef as well as a grouper and two moray eels.
The owner told The Daily Telegraph he had no experience keeping fish before the tank was built.
‘The sharks were delivered from Cairns, most of them are tropical reef sharks. I get a lot of comments about how cruel it is to keep them in a tank that size,’ he said.
‘I have to hand feed the sharks from the side of the tank since it’s not safe to hand feed them when I’m inside it. I also use a diver to clean the tank as I’m scared the sharks might eat me if I hop in!’
Sharks in Australia and beyond
While more than 400 species of sharks are found worldwide today, about 170 of them inhabit Australian seas.
The world’s largest is the whale shark and one of the smallest is the pygmy shark.
The Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, is particular hotspot of shark diversity in Australia with more than 50 species.
Shark populations around the world have plummeted as the human population has skyrocketed.
This is largely due to over-fishing – more than 200 shark species are currently listed as threatened and 50 as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Only three sharks (the great white, whale and basking) are protected internationally.
Sharks as pets
The fish most commonly kept in aquariums are the Silver Shark, Rainbow Shark and Redtail shark
As the Silver Shark, Redtail and Rainbow Sharks are very popular fish and are produced in large numbers.
Most of the world’s supply is bred and grown in hatcheries and farms around Bangkok, Thailand.
The Sharks are a popular tropical fish due to their interesting colouration and generally hardy and tolerant nature.
Source: Australian Geographic, Just for Pets Australia
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