I think I know what you mean by proportion. If we start with a base that is a one inch fish in 2 gallons of water, the same fish at two inches would be 8 times bigger (8x more volume) because we are talking about 3D space so the fish would be twice as long and twice as wide and twice as deep. Therefore, the space must also be twice as long, twice as wide, and twice as deep or just 8x bigger. So to keep the same proportions as you are talking about, a 2 inch fish would need to be in a 16 gallon tank in order for the proportions to be the same as the environment of the 1" fish in 2 gallons of water.

I also don't like using inch of fish per gallon examples since that is a one dimensional calculation using only length of fish to determine volume (3 dimensional) of water needed.

The BA in Edmonton isn't to bad for buying a fish most of the time if you take the time to choose carefully. The mysis they sell for fairly cheep so we pick that up there, other things are kinda pricey but sometimes you can find some really good deals. I know many people show up there on boxing day :biggrin:

As for the shark tank, at 2000g I guess it's small for sharks, however it is cool to see. IMO it's not much different then keeping tangs in 90g or smaller tanks. I also know that one of the sharks in the shark tank in Edmonton was donated by my friend (before she realized how fast sharks grow) when it quickly (from an egg to about a foot long in about six months) outgrew her tank. Thankfully BA was willing to take it (her tank was a 90g) I'd like to think that at least it's better off in the 2000g tank. Obviously in the wild is the best place for sharks, but if they are going to be kept in a tank, then at least it's a fairly big one.

I used the inch of fish per gallon "rule" to show how horribly flawed it is. It irks the heck out of me when people use that "rule"...same as the ole watts per gallon. There are way too many factors to take into consideration.

A 14" Sailfin Tang sure needs a whole lot more space than a 14" Snowflake Eel. Heck, a 36" Snowflake Eel needs less space than a 14" Sailfin Tang.

I do agree that most people cram fish that are too big into their tanks which are too small.

Ok, that's fine. Just pointing out that superduperwesman was probably talking about 3D space and not 1D space when he mentioned proportions and the inch of fish per gallon rule is a rule where a 1D object is mapped into 3D space. So when he said proportion, he didn't mean that 1" fish in 2 gallons is the same proportion as 14" fish in 28 gallons.

I'm just saying it's not ideal but the majority of fish tanks don't provide and ideal habitat for a lot of fish that people keep... myself included. Prob more of an issue b/c the sharks are bigger... if they die it seems a lot worse than a tang dying

Why is it worse because they are bigger? This thread is hypocritical, as stated in another post many people think the same of us for keeping any fish. I understand why they chose sharks, and they are in business to make as much money as possible. A tank full of smaller fish may seem cooler to a more serious hobbyist but there is no way it would beat the WOW factor of sharks, your average customer would be much more drawn to sharks. Especially kids. Big Als is OK with me, sure they have problems, but who doesn't.

Prob just a mental thing?? The bigger something is the worse it seems. Some one stomps on a bug it's no big deal.... stomp on a cat and ur in trouble

LOL... I just pictured someone chasing a cat around trying to stomp it. There is no doubt that it's a mental thing...

You should come hang out at my place tonight when my two cats start chasing each other around at 2am after sleeping all day. Super-Soaker and lots of running.