Nurse Shark

[rdd1952]

I don't have a reef tank yet but hopefully that is next on the list. I was in a local LFS tonight and they had a 3' to 4' nurse shark in a tank that I would estimate to be 120 to 150 gallon. It was just laying on the bottom which I thought sharks couldn't do. I thought they had to stay in constant motion to keep water passing through their gills. I don't know how he could have possibly turned around in the tank. That seems to be cruel to try housing a fish like that in a tank that small.

 

[Mr Miagi]

How do u think they sleep

They do stay in constant motion, bu not 100% of the time i think.


There is one at my lfs too, but that tank is HUGE. Like 300+ gallons

 

[steelhealr]

Hi..I have to disagree. Many sharks can be still. I saw an 8-9 foot nurse shark on a scuba trip completely motionless on the bottom. I believe there is a cave of the sleeping sharks in Isla Mujeres off Cozumel, near Cancun. SH

 

[canyoubelieveit]

I've been to Islas Mujeres. I saw the turtle sanctuary and heard about the the cave of sharks. I definitely did not get to see that!

My cousin has a nurse shark. The shark is in a 750 gallon "pond" tank. He is in there with a 16 ince lionfish! The shark definitely does seem to stop, even in a tank this large. I don't know that the shark ever truly "stops". He is always waving his tail... so in this sense, he does not stop.

 

[Ed4567]

Some sharks can fan water over their gills allowing them to stop.

IMO these sharks are not really suitable for any but the very biggest tanks- while they may sit still during the day, they become very active at night; and when adults have the potential to reach over 7' in length I cant really see how they could replicate their natural behaviour in a 150 gallon tank.

On a side note many public aquariums now are no longer accepting sharks from members of the public who have purchesed them as juviniles.

http/www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/Gallery/Desc.../nurseshark.htm

 

[Opcn]

A tank that small is not good, nurse sharks are one of the sharks that can sit still but they still need to move some of the time, also they can get to be 14' long, that means a huge huge tank, atleast 18X32X6 fet deep thats atleast 26,000 gallons

 

[canyoubelieveit]

The Nurse shark I see (almost everyday) seems to be very happy in the 750 gallon tank. At 12 inches, it is still a VERY young shark. I don't see any reason why it can't be kept in a tank this size, at least for some time. It is like putting a tang in a tank less than 120 gallons. The fish is not able to act naturally.

In deeper thought... Do any aquarium fish get to live in an enviroment of maximum comfort. Many fish live happy lives, for instance... I do believe that clown fishes are happy in a 55 gallon reef tank. However, it is still not a "natural" enviroment.

I believe that keeping a nurse shark, without access to a tank that is thousands of gallons in volume, that a person would be setting the shark up negatively for its later years.

Even though my cousins shark is happy at the moment, he won't be for long!

Anyways, I'm just rambling on, so I will just say what I feel about keeping a nurse shark:
Don't do it!

 

[FrAnK3333]

My lfs has a nurse shark to in a 1000+ gallon tank.