Nurse shark help.

[krj-1168]

Yeah - a growth rate of 3" in two years is incredible slow growth for a Nurse.

In the wild - a nurse shark may average 4-6" per year - but keep in mind that's with them having to hunt for their food, and eating irregularly.

In captivity - the growth rate for a Nurse shark is usually at least double that of their wild growth rate - 8-12" + per year. The main reason for this increase in growth rate - more constant food availability.

 

[Zoodiver]

i'm just amazed that you guys keep nurse sharks at all. zoodiver is that your tank/aquarium or is that where you work?

I missed this post yesterday, my bad. One in the pics is at work - 250,000 gallon we use for grow out until they hit size to go to the big shark exhibit.

Only sharks I keep at home are catsharks (for now).

 

[LCPL_DSM]

I was wrong my wife was here when the Nurse shark came to the house. I was deployed in Iraq. She said a nurse was more like 10 to 12 inches. I tried to get a better measurement last night she almost 2 foot now. Are nurse is very active. The only bad thing is she eats like a horse.

 

[krj-1168]

Okay - so it's actually more like 12 inches in 2 years. Which is about typical for a Nurse Shark in the Wild.

As for eating like a Horse - that is also very typical for Nurses, especially in captivity. Where Nurses are known to actually over eat, becoming fat, over weight sharks. While typically in the wild a large adult Nurse may weight over 300 lbs. In captivity they a large adult can weight more than 450 lbs.


They are actually fairly active for a benthic shark . More active than most species of wobbies, roughly on par with Horns. But their normal swimming motion usually tends to be a slow cruising speed.