Overview
- Derulo showed a circular, glass-covered aquarium embedded in the floor of his Tarzana, California home during a filmed tour with streamer N3on, and video clips of the exhibit circulated widely online.
- The display prompted heavy online backlash with users calling the setup cruel and several outlets reporting the tank’s value at about $1 million and the house at roughly $15 million.
- The International Fund for Animal Welfare issued a public rebuke saying high-profile domestic displays can normalize exotic-pet ownership and urged people not to share content that fuels demand.
- Derulo has described the tank as custom-built by pool and aquarium specialists, said a professional team visits every two days to monitor and clean it, and acknowledged sharks in the tank ate smaller fish previously housed there.
- Reporters note California law allows ownership of some smaller, non-endangered shark species if tanks meet size and husbandry standards, but the articles report no disclosed species, permits, inspections, or enforcement action and conservation groups warn such displays could encourage illegal trade, citing a recent seizure of trafficked marine animals in Argentina.