Elasmo Exotics

[krj-1168]

so the nurse sharks i see at a local place for 300.00 is the large species?

Yeah - and sadly that's a bit high priced - to boot.

In the Nurse Shark family -there are 3 known species.

The Nurse Shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) - sometimes called Common Nurse or Atlantic Nurse - is the species found in the western Atlantic, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and eastern Pacific. They mature at 7-7.5 ft long, average about 8-10ft as adults, and are known to reach 11-12 ft long. However some published sources claiming that this species can reach lengths of 13-14 ft. This is the most common species of Nurse found in North American Local Fish shops, and Public Aquariums.

Tawny Nurse (Nebrius ferrugineus) - sometimes called the Indo-Pacific Nurse - is found in the Eastern India Ocean & Western Pacific Ocean. They mature 7.5-8.5 ft long, and are known to reach 10-11 ft long -possible larger. They are sometimes found in Public Aquariums -especially in Asia or Australia.

The Short-tail Nurse (Pseudoginglymostoma brevicaudatum) - is found in the Western Indian Ocean near Madagascar & eastern Africa. They are very rarely found in captiviity - be it in public aquariums or private aquarists. They mature at about 21-24 inches, and are known to reach a maximum size of 30 inches.

Since a fully grown, mature Short-tail Nurse will likely weight about 5 lbs (2.27 kg) or so. Then it would likely only need about 0.25-0.5 lbs or about 4-8 oz of food per week. Which is alot less than the 8-15 lbs per week that a mature(9ft, 300+lbs) Nurse Shark would require.

 

[BigO6687]

what kind of tank would a short tail nurse need?

 

[krj-1168]

what kind of tank would a short tail nurse need?

Basically I would say go at least a 750 gallon tank or pond. For a pond - we're talking about 8' in diameter x 2 ft deep. But then I believe the best idea - would be to keep Short-tail Nurses either in breeding pairs or small breeding groups - to help increase the chance of having this species available to private & Public aquarists in the future.

 

[Deano1956]

Yeah - and sadly that's a bit high priced - to boot.

In the Nurse Shark family -there are 3 known species.

The Nurse Shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) - sometimes called Common Nurse or Atlantic Nurse - is the species found in the western Atlantic, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, and eastern Pacific. They mature at 7-7.5 ft long, average about 8-10ft as adults, and are known to reach 11-12 ft long. However some published sources claiming that this species can reach lengths of 13-14 ft. This is the most common species of Nurse found in North American Local Fish shops, and Public Aquariums.

Tawny Nurse (Nebrius ferrugineus) - sometimes called the Indo-Pacific Nurse - is found in the Eastern India Ocean & Western Pacific Ocean. They mature 7.5-8.5 ft long, and are known to reach 10-11 ft long -possible larger. They are sometimes found in Public Aquariums -especially in Asia or Australia.

The Short-tail Nurse (Pseudoginglymostoma brevicaudatum) - is found in the Western Indian Ocean near Madagascar & eastern Africa. They are very rarely found in captiviity - be it in public aquariums or private aquarists. They mature at about 21-24 inches, and are known to reach a maximum size of 30 inches.

Since a fully grown, mature Short-tail Nurse will likely weight about 5 lbs (2.27 kg) or so. Then it would likely only need about 0.25-0.5 lbs or about 4-8 oz of food per week. Which is alot less than the 8-15 lbs per week that a mature(9ft, 300+lbs) Nurse Shark would require.

I think my Rays get that much food a week, maybe i am over feeding them. My wife is very understanding with my hobby and even talks to my Rays but 1000.00 for a fish....... I dont think so.

 

[Deano1956]

Maybe they will come down in price if they get more common in the hobby

 

[shua71]

Wow thats amazing, never knew a nurse that only reaches 30" exists. 1000 is actually not too bad in a sense. Yes you do have to pay 700 extra compared to normal nurse sharks, but you also would feed less and not have to have such a large aquarium

 

[krj-1168]

Common or Atlantic Nurses are have been bred in captivty(Mostly in Public Aquariums) for decades and today they are the only species of Nurse Shark that is available for private aquarists as captive bred pups.

Presently - Short-tails are listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN. So odds are this species will be restricted in the numbers which can be imported in North America. The only way to ensure that we have this species around for the forseeable future - is to set up breeding pairs or small breeding groups.

But Short-tails are a much better alternative to the Common/Atlantic Nurse- because of their smaller size. If only they were much more available.

 

[Brenden]

$1,000 for a Short-Tail Nurse shark from a reputable collector is a steal. That is the cheapest I have seen one being offered, and trust me when I say they do not come around frequently.

 

[BlackTip17]

For those of you out there that haven't seen or kept a bull shark in captivity should know that they do very well and I have found them to be very hardy. Since the bull sharks swim glide pattern doesn't call for a long glide period a pup can easily be held in a 15ft (5,000gl) circle pool for a couple of years comfortable with zero wall rubbing. The only reason they aren't seen in captivity is because of there high aggression levels and little knowledge of them. As turbo253 said "it is no more impractical then his lemon shark" As far as aggression goes this is more then true I have had lemon sharks that have shown twice as more aggression then this bull pup has shown.

 

[Zoodiver]

I think it depends on the bull. I've seen several that didn't do well at all, and some that were brick wall solid once in and eating.