Speartooth Shark

[BillyMaysChickenWings]

Not sure where to put this, but I figured ponds would be the most appropriate, due to the fact that this creature is notably large, and allegedly freshwater. Now, without further ado, does anyone here have any knowledge on the care of the Australian Speartooth Shark (Glyphis glyphis) or how to obtain it? It is a dream fish of mine, and apparently inhabits freshwater rivers. Of course, I know there is a lot that goes in to caring for any requiem shark, but that is not a part of the equation because it'll probably be many, many years before I get one, that is assuming I'll ever find them. (Which is INCREDIBLY unlikely.)

 

[ichthyogeek]

Check the marine section, there's a free access copy to the Elasmobranch Husbandry Manual, as well as other shark care tips.

 

[Hendre]

As cool as they are, I am assuming you are outside of Australia. The chances of an extremely rare (And critically endangered) shark being removed from the wild is essentially 0. From what I gather they inhabit coastal areas and move with the tides to save energy so the salinities vary. Sharks in freshwater release huge amounts of ammonia to maintain osmotic balance which would be difficult to keep up with. So unfortunately I doubt one has ever been kept in an aquarium, and have less faith in one ever being in private hands

 

[BillyMaysChickenWings]

As cool as they are, I am assuming you are outside of Australia. The chances of an extremely rare (And critically endangered) shark being removed from the wild is essentially 0. From what I gather they inhabit coastal areas and move with the tides to save energy so the salinities vary. Sharks in freshwater release huge amounts of ammonia to maintain osmotic balance which would be difficult to keep up with. So unfortunately I doubt one has ever been kept in an aquarium, and have less faith in one ever being in private hands

Those are good points

 

[BillyMaysChickenWings]

Check the marine section, there's a free access copy to the Elasmobranch Husbandry Manual, as well as other shark care tips.

Thanks for the reference

 

[fishhead0103666]

“Few people are aware that Australia has several species of sharks that will live in freshwater and this is one of them! The Speartooth Shark (Glyphis glyphis) is abundant in only localised and isolated regions and is subsequently considered Critically Endangered. The sharks in this clip were collected by the team at Cairns Marine, under special permit, for a strategic breeding program at the Melbourne Aquarium. As the only representatives of their species in captivity anywhere in the world, this is a vital step towards their long term species conservation.”
A lot can change in a mere decade but I’d say it’s highly unlikely they are no long we considered endangered, a quick google search tells me that I’m right.
Hendre I figured you’d find this video somewhat interesting

 

[Hendre]

Thanks for sharing. Looking at the comments, they were still alive and well 5 years ago. Another forum showed that there were some at Melbourne aquarium too.

 

[2bfishy]

Very beautiful sharks. How big do they get?

 

[Deadeye]

Read about 6 feet
Don’t count on ever finding one at the lfs

 

[FLA]

BillyMaysChickenWings I think it is time to set up an estuary tank and accept they need some salt. You are always looking at really cool and difficult to obtain borderline freshwater fish. If you embrace the salt you will make your life a lot easier. You could set up a Gulf of Mexico tank and I am guessing you would enjoy it a lot and not have to wait on really rare fish. Having strong captive raised gulf pipefish would be a great contribution to the hobby even if they live in salt water. I have done tanks with fish that live on the grass flats and it was a lot of fun. Breeding catsharks, bamboo sharks, or even bonnethead sharks is also a good contribution. While none of these fish are rare, they also aren't as available in all areas as plenty of hobbyist would like.

If you want to go all out an above ground swimming pool in a greenhouse with southern puffers, bonnet head, spadefish, yellow rays or skates, gulf killis, needlefish a flounder, and a bunch of mangroves growing on one end would be a ton of fun. The cost of salt will be less than buying insanely rare fish.

Granted I really appreciate the effort and I am enjoying the conversations. I would love to see you succeed with one of these projects. If you want a cool freshwater/marine fish top hat blennies have been bred in captivity. That would be a cool project. While hatch was significantly lower in freshwater, it wasn't zero and who knows what would happen over 10-15 generations. These are also imported fairly frequently so a good LFS should be able to get them. Successful Captive Breeding of the "Freshwater" Tophat Blenny (reef2rainforest.com)