Being that this year’s shark week really seemed to “Jump the Shark” (insert giant eye-roll) with lack of decent programming, a bit too much propaganda and fluff, I decided I wanted to treat you to an adorable and educational piece, courtesy of Justin Grabel of ReefGen. He’s been working with Chain Dog sharks for quite some time and has been kind enough to share some “squee”-worthy footage for us to enjoy. Great part is, due to their minute size, they actually make fantastic home aquarium inhabitants! I know it doesn’t make up for The Shark Week Fail of 2014, but hopefully it’s a start! From Justin on the wee little guys and some great tips on keeping them in the home aquarium:

“Chain Dog sharks are just about the cutest sharks around. They are extremely rare in the trade due to the great depth from which they reside. Our sharks are offspring from 6 eggs that were collected from deep water in the Gulf of Mexico. These guys are born absolutely tiny, just about 4 inches, and are great sharks for regular home aquarium sized tanks. These tiny elasmobranchs max out at between 18 and 20 inches long. The main thing with these sharks is that are colder water – you will definitely need a chiller to keep them comfortable in the 60s. Over at the Long Island Aquarium displays, they are kept at in the upper 50s with 70 degrees being just about the maximum temperature they can withstand. That being said, they can be comfortably housed in a 180 gallon as adults and the youngsters can be kept in smaller tanks for a few years, given proper filtration and water changes. A ten or twenty gallon tank will house a juvenile comfortably, provided you upgrade the tank size as they grow. They’re diet consists of shrimp, clam, silversides and other various foods. If looking for a larger option, ReefGen sells another species of captive grown shark, the brown bamboo shark. The bamboo sharks like warmer water, but they do get bigger at 33-40”, so they will need a much larger aquarium. ReefGen always extends a shark take-back policy for every shark sold, should the owner be no longer able to provide proper housing. They can be ordered from your local fish shop.”

Sweet! A Shark Nano would be pretty cool, but the Octopus always wins my heart, and thusly will be my next pet. But if you’re looking for a way to realistically keep an apex predator – Chain Dogs seem like a sound decision.