Nurse shark

hefner413

hefner413

Active Member
I was at my LFS today. The owner sells some nice stuff... but is sometimes just plain exasperating. You have to discard about 50% of the stuff that comes out of his mouth.... you get the idea.
Anyway, he just got a nurse shark and put in his 210 gal along with the established handful of aggressives. The nurse is about 2ft. While I was watching, it bit at a the large lion twice and left a decent mark. I asked "Is there anyone local that even has a tank large enough for that?" He said, "Uh. No..." "But there is a guy with a new 175 that I'm holding it for. He wanted it now for $800, but I wouldn't let him have it was such a new tank - he'll have to wait a month. He just set up 3 new 175's and wants to put this shark in the third."
I started to ask more questions to see if I could talk some sense into him.. but gave up.
...Well, I'm glad he's being responsible by making the customer wait a month.

I got my silversides and left.
 
salt210

salt210

Active Member
my lfs has had a wabblegong(sp?) for awhile now. I started talking to him about it and who around here would have a tank big enough for it and he jokingly said sea world.
 
hefner413

hefner413

Active Member
yeah, the owner said that if (when) it gets too big that the zoo would take it in a heartbeat - that they would even drive to come and get it.
I actually read that the majority of zoos/aquariums field calls quite regularly from people trying to find homes for their now-too-large sharks, and that they usually will not even consider taking sharks from personal owners.
 
salt210

salt210

Active Member
wouldn't doubt it. if someone goes out and buys a shark that will reach 10 plus feet thinking it won't outgrow their tank. they will have to do something
 
sepulatian

sepulatian

Moderator
Originally Posted by Hefner413
http:///forum/post/2756548
yeah, the owner said that if (when) it gets too big that the zoo would take it in a heartbeat - that they would even drive to come and get it.
I actually read that the majority of zoos/aquariums field calls quite regularly from people trying to find homes for their now-too-large sharks, and that they usually will not even consider taking sharks from personal owners.
Right, most places will not take them. That is why we stress so much that you should only buy fish that you can actually accommodate. People seem to think that they can keep fish while they are cute and cuddly, but will be able to find a home for them as they grow. That isn't so. It is HARD to find a place to take larger fish. The LFS probably got the fish from a customer. They don't come from the distributer that big, normally anyway.
A nurse shark grows 14 feet.
 
aquaknight

aquaknight

Active Member
Keep in mind guys, that most of the retailers in this hobby (online or LFS), tend to just get a "bulk shipment" from their distributor/wholesaler. They don't hand pick/list each and everything thing they want, and tend to receive whatever the dist. wants to ship them. So if they get a fish or two that seems out of the ordinary, it might not always be their fault.
 
hefner413

hefner413

Active Member
unfortunately my LFS fella picks his stock from a list. He said that he doesn't see the nurse shark much, so picked it immediately. oh well..
 
el guapo

el guapo

Active Member
Originally Posted by salt210
http:///forum/post/2756485
my lfs has had a wabblegong(sp?) for awhile now. I started talking to him about it and who around here would have a tank big enough for it and he jokingly said sea world.
Wobbegong.
Originally Posted by sepulatian
http:///forum/post/2757049
Right, most places will not take them. That is why we stress so much that you should only buy fish that you can actually accommodate. People seem to think that they can keep fish while they are cute and cuddly, but will be able to find a home for them as they grow. That isn't so. It is HARD to find a place to take larger fish. The LFS probably got the fish from a customer. They don't come from the distributer that big, normally anyway.
A nurse shark grows 14 feet.
There are a few of us around here that do advise against getting fish that will out grow the current set up . Most times we get slammed though :(
Originally Posted by AquaKnight
http:///forum/post/2757280
Keep in mind guys, that most of the retailers in this hobby (online or LFS), tend to just get a "bulk shipment" from their distributor/wholesaler. They don't hand pick/list each and everything thing they want, and tend to receive whatever the dist. wants to ship them. So if they get a fish or two that seems out of the ordinary, it might not always be their fault.
Some how I doubt a Nurse shark would just get tossed in to a bulk shipment. Just my thoughts but a nurse shark is more of a specialty item . I have had trouble finding cat sharks online let alone just have a nurse shark get thrown in as a grab bag deal .
 
krj-1168

krj-1168

Member
First off - it's very sad to see Nurse Sharks being sold in LFS for many reasons.
Yes - Nurse Sharks have teeth, and a powerful bite to boot.
While the Nurse Shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) is often qouted at reaching up to 14 ft long. The truth is the reliable measured Nurse Sharks tend to be about 10-12 ft. And most adult seem to average about 8-9 ft. Which is still way too large for the vast majority of shark aquarists - unless you happen to have a shark pond the size of a large swimming pool.
Truth is the vast majority of Public Aquariums or Zoos will not accept Nurse Sharks that have outgrown their owner tanks. So that generally leaves the owner with a growing shark that they usually can't care for for it's entire life.
 
small triggers

small triggers

Active Member
My lfs has a nurse shark and a white tip reef. Have had the nurse for over 2 years, ans is about 4ft long now. He has a 500g tank. People of course always come in and say OH I WANT THAT, he tells them, okay, its abour $1000 for one and you need atleast a 400 gallon tank. when your rank is set up, i will order it for you, sound good? LOL people just stare at him. He does pick out the livestock he orders, though if the box is not 'full' the shipper adds a few unasked for items,, like a 6 inch unicorn tang last week.(?) thank god there are some responsible LFS' out there.
 
keri

keri

Active Member
Weird.... they were in a touch pool in Curaçao and I asked about the teeth and the zoo worker told me they didn't have any.... I'm guessing either he was wrong or the sharks were labled wrong. :)
 
groupergenius

groupergenius

Active Member
Originally Posted by Keri
http:///forum/post/2760214
Weird.... they were in a touch pool in Curaçao and I asked about the teeth and the zoo worker told me they didn't have any.... I'm guessing either he was wrong or the sharks were labled wrong. :)
No Dear...the zoo worker had no teeth. They do that there to keep the workers from eating the livestock.

Please don't ask how I know for sure....but trust me.....Nurse Sharks have teeth.
Nurses are fairly non-aggressive....till you mess with them too much. Then they bite down and hold on like a Pitbull. A Pitbull under water.
 
redman1221

redman1221

Member
Originally Posted by GrouperGenius
http:///forum/post/2760226
No Dear...the zoo worker had no teeth. They do that there to keep the workers from eating the livestock.

Please don't ask how I know for sure....but trust me.....Nurse Sharks have teeth.
Nurses are fairly non-aggressive....till you mess with them too much. Then they bite down and hold on like a Pitbull. A Pitbull under water.

nurse shark do have teeth, I can attest to that because when I had one I seen it eat one of my fish. I had no time to save it, it grab on to it like a pitbull and ripped a big chunk out of it. Believe me don't think that they all are non aggressive because mines was not.
 
krj-1168

krj-1168

Member
Quick couple of Questions for redman1221, How long did you have your Nurse Shark for, and what happened to it?
And just to note - while a Nurse Shark maybe less aggressive than a requiem shark - such as Blacktip reefs, Whitetip Reefs, & Lemon sharks. They are still more aggressive than most species of small carpet sharks like Bamboos & Eppies. The only other type of carpet sharks - that maybe as aggressive as Nurse sharks is the Wobbegongs.
 
redman1221

redman1221

Member
Originally Posted by krj-1168
http:///forum/post/2764612
Quick couple of Questions for redman1221, How long did you have your Nurse Shark for, and what happened to it?
And just to note - while a Nurse Shark maybe less aggressive than a requiem shark - such as Blacktip reefs, Whitetip Reefs, & Lemon sharks. They are still more aggressive than most species of small carpet sharks like Bamboos & Eppies. The only other type of carpet sharks - that maybe as aggressive as Nurse sharks is the Wobbegongs.
Well I had her for a year and a couple of months and I sold her because I went a different way with my tank. I changed it to a reef tank and I am very happy with it. I traded my other shark to my LFS for some fish for my reef tank, I will be getting back into keeping sharks when I get a bigger house that way I could get a bigger tank, in the wall that is
.
 
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