Tanked

Y U PUT TREVALLY IN THREE-FOOT TANK?

Tanked presented by Animal Planet.

Plot: The series follows the work, trials, and successes of a successful Las Vegas aquarium company. Some aquariums demand creative thinking under strict time schedules. Others allow the company to make a difference in their customer's lives.

Genre: Television, Documentary

Reading Level: Not Rated; occasional cursing may offend some viewers.

Similar Titles: Cake Boss, Billy the Exterminator

Personal Thoughts: I think I would enjoy this show more if I did not work at an aquarium. While I appreciate the series' ability to bring attention to the complexities of creating custom aquariums, it tends to avoid major issues facing the aquarium trade. For example, the show neglects to address the needs of the animals. Six-inch blacktip reef sharks, destined to reach four to six feet in length, cannot be housed in 4-foot long aquariums indefinitely. Triggerfish, pufferfish, lionfish, and naso tangs, while pretty, will eventually harass or devour anything they are kept with. Few public aquariums need any more of these animals, so donating such creatures is out of the question, leading to the abandonment or death of most of the fish. Also, the show neglects to mention the importance of "boring" but important aspects of maintaining a tank, such as cycling, water quality, and filtration. As a result, the tanks seemingly take an instant-creation quality, leading to misunderstanding of the difficulty in keeping a marine environment. To be fair, though, the show still manages to address some issues facing the aquarium trade, such as sustainability and tank size issues. The insider look, though, keeps me from really enjoying the program.