Help With my port jackson shark

[star005]

I have a small port jackson shark in a 150 gallon tank. (I plan on up grading in the future). He is fairly small, and the water quality is great. He some times looks like he is dying. He lays on his back for about 2 minutes and then swims around. He does it more after a feeding at night. Is this normal?

 

[ams153]

idk if thats normal or not.. but ive heard these guys need around 1000 g tanks! thats a lot to provide!

 

[surfinusa]

i thought it was 10,000 gallons i dont know it could be less

 

[ams153]

well its a ridiculous amount for theaverage personto have space for thats for sure! but as far as what hes doing ive been trying to find something and cant.. and ive never seen any of my sharks do it.. but there different kinds of sharks so yea idk thats some interesting behavior!

 

[ophiura]

The "water quality is great" does not help us at all, and without knowing specifics, no one can help.
So a specific list of your water quality, filtration, other inhabitants is in order. Otherwise, you will get nothing other than "your tank is too small." That may be a factor, but it is more of a chronic problem.

 

[dual45s]

Sorry to be a buzzkill Star, but after a tid bit of research I found out that when born, PJ shark pups are about a foot long and can grow to almost 5 and a half feet (1.64m for our metric friends). I don't know how big you're planning on upgrading but that's a big shark for a home aquarium. I'd also look into major aquariums that would be willing to take him, sorry.

 

[sebae09]

sounds to me like he is disorented. what kind of lighting do you have? are there any other odd things he is doing like throwing up? i have alot of experence with sharks and in order to help you save him i need to know the details.

 

[aquatics24]

heyi kno this is an old thread, but if hes still alive, could you take a picture of him?

 

[krj-1168]

Well, Star - they're right we need more info, to be sure.
Things like nitrate,nitrite, & ammonia levels, Ph level, SG level & water temp.
He some times looks like he is dying. He lays on his back for about 2 minutes and then swims around. He does it more after a feeding at night. Is this normal?
But based on this statement - I remains me of a condition that I've heard of that sometimes affects sharks(mostly- Horns & PJs), when they are overfed. They roll over on their backs & maybe even swim around upside down. The fact that it leasts only a few minutes is a good sign, because if it lasted for hours - it could end up killing your shark.
So reduce the amount food you feed him(a little), or just feed him little less often.
Also some additional about the Port Jackson.
Dual45s' right about their max. adult size - 5.5' long. although they usually average just 4.5' long.
And ams is right, As adults they do require a tank or pond of at least 1,000 gallons.
And like the Horn they are basically a subtropical shark - and tend to prefer water temps in the range of 65-75F.