So you want to buy a shark? (Shark primer)

[griseum]

And how long had this tank been set up?
It can be hard to feed newly hatched sharks. Most of the time the hardest part is getting them to eat anything at all! If they are fed too much food at once, it is possible for the food to decompose before it is digested, while within their gut. In larger sharks this can sometimes be remediate. But in a hatchling, it would be much harder.
If they were jetting off from where they were laying on the sandbed, with a twitch or two while swimming off, it sounds like there is something on the sand bed, then on their skin, that was irritating them. I would say some sort of platyheminthes, monogenea (thanks Alprazo) or parasitic copepod. The first two are usually eradicated by Praziquantel, or brand name PraziPro. The third, parasitic copepods, can be a little more complicated and that would he better described by Alprazo or Zoodiver.

IME, it is best to avoid eggs. Start with a juvenile or yearling. And if you can find them near you, captive bred would be best!

[mike_o]

Originally Posted by griseum

And how long had this tank been set up?
It can be hard to feed newly hatched sharks. Most of the time the hardest part is getting them to eat anything at all! If they are fed too much food at once, it is possible for the food to decompose before it is digested, while within their gut. In larger sharks this can sometimes be remediate. But in a hatchling, it would be much harder.
If they were jetting off from where they were laying on the sandbed, with a twitch or two while swimming off, it sounds like there is something on the sand bed, then on their skin, that was irritating them. I would say some sort of platyheminthes, monogenea (thanks Alprazo) or parasitic copepod. The first two are usually eradicated by Praziquantel, or brand name PraziPro. The third, parasitic copepods, can be a little more complicated and that would he better described by Alprazo or Zoodiver.

IME, it is best to avoid eggs. Start with a juvenile or yearling. And if you can find them near you, captive bred would be best!

It's been set up for almost 7 months. I had both sharks eating early, the older one was about 4 month and the younger one was three. Could overfeeding have caused them to stop and act strange?.. I'll look up what you mentioned and see if I can figure anything out.

[griseum]

Yes overfeeding can cause them to stop eating, if what I described was to occur. If the gut fills with decomposed food, at worst, it can be fatal. It may cause extreme gas and a bloated look in the sharks midsection.
The frozen octopus I buy sometimes is so dense and rubbery that i use only small bits mixed in with other seafood. Being so dense, when swallowed whole, I imagine it takes quite a bit more time to digest, as is the nature of enzymes and acids. Less surface area to act on, by swallowing whole, and much more mass due to the density of the octopus.
Hatchlings/small juveniles can be fed small meals daily due to faster metabolisms. During the first year of a sharks life it will grow more and faster than during any other time. A varied diet of smaller, "mushier" items, supplemented with a vitamin/fatty acid product should be sufficient. Keep an eye on Iodine intake, but dont go nuts trying to supplement it. I use un-cleaned raw shrimp that still have the "vein", remove the shell myself, and dice them into small piece. If the shark is very small, ill mush the diced piece of shrimp in between my fingers.
Hope this Helps.

[Zoodiver]

Hey Mike,
I agree with what has already been said.
Twitching like that can indicate they are struggling to pass something or move something down the GI tract. I've seen pups work to pass food items that a juvie or adult wouldn't even blink at.
Pups usually need a lot of smaller feedings more frequently compared to the adults of a species.

Kind of a sad story as an example, but I lost a captive hatching Zebra pup (Stegastoma fasciatum) to very similar circumstances as you are describing. Was the only survivor of a group of four eggs. Hatched perfectly. Started eating a couple days later. With in the first few weeks it was conditioned to target and take food from my hand. (It was going to be a display animal, so I wanted to get it involved in a operant conditioning program.)
Several weeks into it, the shark stopped eating. It exhibited the same "twitching" behavior as you described. After it passed, I did the necropsy to see what went wrong.
Lodged inside the stomach, I found a small piece of plastic wrapper. I found out a staff member who wasn't authorized to deal with the shark thought it would be fun to feed it. Sadly, the protocols for food prep weren't followed, and part of the packaging was fed to the animal. The same type of thing occurs with non-digested food.



Here you can see excessive bile (green patch on the liver, the right side is the spiral valve protruding out) being produced to help break down the foreign object in the stomach.



The dark rectangle on the left side is the plastic, the middle section is stomach and the right is the spiral valve.



I wiped it clean before realizing what it was.

[G4546]

I'm very sorry to hear that Zoo. Though it is very informative and I appreciate you posting your analysis for us. Very unfortunate that sometimes others can be so negligent.

[griseum]

Zoo- Thanks for sharing that with us. As they say a pic is worth a thousand words!

Sorry to hear about the steg. They are beauties for sure!

[Zoodiver]

To me, by sharing stuff like this, it enables others to avoid the same thing.
Mistakes happen. But the same mistake twice means you weren't paying attention.

[Cu455]

Thanks for sharing the pictures zoodiver. It is very informative. Took me back to anatomy lab. Sorry about the shark I remember the thread you started she first hatched. NY aquatics had some zebra eggs a few weeks ago. It took a lot of willpower for me not to order a couple of them. Are you going to get another one?

I came across this article and thought this would be a good place to share. I assume because this is called part 1 there will be more to follow.

Elasmobranch Enthusiasts (Part 1): Modern Husbandry – Space

http://www.saltwatersmarts.com/elasm...ry-space-3467/

[Zoodiver]

I know Paul, and he posts on MFK in the shark section. It is going to be an ongoing series of article talking about the husbandry of various elasmobranch species that people show interest in.


As for another Zebra for me, not at this time. I don't have a display large enough to house one. In the next couple of weeks I may be starting a project that would incorporate possibly a pair of Zebras into the group of elasmos they would like displayed.

[Cu455]

Originally Posted by Cu455

I came across this article and thought this would be a good place to share. I assume because this is called part 1 there will be more to follow.

Elasmobranch Enthusiasts (Part 1): Modern Husbandry – Space

http://www.saltwatersmarts.com/elasm...ry-space-3467/

Elasmobranch Enthusiasts (Part 2): Modern Husbandry – Diet

http://www.saltwatersmarts.com/elasm...dry-diet-3624/

[robandlynn]

I have a shark for sale

[maxter]

What kind ? M looking for a hammer shark

[Zoodiver]

Originally Posted by maxter

What kind ? M looking for a hammer shark

I really hope you aren't looking for a hammerhead.

[sharkboy99999]

Maybe he looking for bonnet head shark or dwarf hammer head

[Zoodiver]

Bonnetheads aren't hammerheads, and I'm not familiar with a dwarf hammer.

????

[maxter]

m just joking lol but that would b super nice have a open water shark like a pet.....

[sharkboy99999]

A bonnethead is in the hammer head family

[Zoodiver]

Yes, same scientific family, but not considered 'true' hammerheads.

[Captainsreef]

I wrote an article on this subject. It's called we're going to need a bigger tank. The reality of Jaws in the aquarium. Very enlightening and factual. Cheers!

[TNTtropical]

Where is your article at captainsreef? I'd like to give it a read

[billsreef]

Originally Posted by TNTtropical

Where is your article at captainsreef? I'd like to give it a read

He can't answer that without violating the User Agreement

[Nativeshark]

Originally Posted by billsreef

He can't answer that without violating the User Agreement

What does the face mean?

[billsreef]

Originally Posted by Nativeshark

What does the face mean?

It's a wink, as in "wink, wink, nudge, know what I mean"

In other words the guy is commercial and self promoting his site, hence he can't answer the question without violating the user agreement.

[alprazo]

Got it. Thx. Of course I'm expecting something in the scientific literature.

[G4546]

The thread seems to be veering....