The crystal shark is an impressive creature with its extraordinary appearance and elegant behavior. If you are thinking of an aquarium that you can watch peacefully at your home or workplace, the crystal shark may be the perfect option to make this dream come true. Crystal sharks, native species of Southeast Asia, are extremely calm animals, unlike larger sharks. They are not aggressive towards other aquatic creatures and their own species. They also have a carnivorous and herbivorous feeding habit, which distinguishes them from other sharks. Crystal sharks belong to the carp family and are similar in appearance to sharks. However, they only hunt small fish.
General Characteristics of the Crystal Shark
While the size of the Crystal Shark reaches up to 35 centimeters in its natural environment, it can grow up to 25 centimeters in the aquarium environment.
They are quite resistant to diseases, but it is important that they are kept away from stress to maintain their calm nature.
Their shining silver color offers a dazzling appearance under light and they physically resemble oceanic sharks.
It has both carnivorous and herbivorous eating habits.
They generally prefer bottom food and algae.
They are peaceful creatures and social, they like to live in flocks. However, as they grow, their aggression may increase and they may compete for territory.
They swim in the middle level of the water.
It is difficult to distinguish between genders, but some female crystal sharks are generally darker in color than males. Sex discrimination may become a little easier during the reproductive period.
They reproduce by laying eggs and their lifespan varies between 5 and 10 years depending on care.
Maintenance requires a lot of care.
Crystal Shark Care
Since the crystal shark is a large fish, it needs an aquarium of at least 300 liters. These elegant creatures can live a healthy life in an aquatic environment with an average temperature of 25 degrees. They can share the same aquarium with slow-moving and non-aggressive creatures like their own species, but they should not be kept together with fast and aggressive fish. Although crystal sharks are not sensitive fish for whom water quality is important, clean water is essential to their quality of life.
Also, aquariums with vegetation are ideal for crystal sharks. Sharp-edged decorations and pointy rocks can harm these creatures, so careful choices should be made. Crystal sharks can be kept in mixed aquariums, but they will be more compatible with similarly calm and peaceful fish. These creatures are moderate in food and should be given a small amount of feed every day.
Crystal Shark Nutrition
Crystal sharks feed on insects, larvae and plants in nature. These fish, which consume both meat and grass, also need a variety of foods in the aquarium. In addition to flake food and live food, you can also choose small creatures such as water fleas. They also happily accept plant foods such as peas and chopped pieces of fruit. Bottom food is their favorite food source because they are found near the bottom of the aquarium and have a flat mouth. They do not show much interest in floating bait. Crystal sharks eat their food without fighting, so you need to make sure that other fish do not covet their food. To maintain the water quality of your aquarium, you should clean the leftover food regularly.
