A friend of mine purchased a nurse shark from a lfs and was grossley misinformed about tank requirments. I know these sharks get extremely large but at what rate(It's about a foot long currently). He only has a 100 gal and I can house it temporarily in my 400. How long will that last before it must find a new home.
nurse shark?
- Thread starter zabam21
- Start date
I have had mine for little over two year I started him out in 125 it lasted for about a 6 months then I moved him to a 300gallon and it's lasted for awhile now. When I get back from my deployment I am moving him to a 20000gal + pool. But to answer the question I'd say at least 2 years. Also if it's a female I am looking for another nurse for my male.
I might take you up on that.I've been considering the pool thing but don't know if I really have enough space
Generally speaking Nurse Sharks tend to grow faster in captivity than they do in the wild - mostly because of the following reasons - More regular feedings & more contant water tempratures.
In the wild Nurse Sharks may take 12-20 years to reach maturity, In Captivity - it more like 5-8 years on average. In captivity young Nurse Sharks may average about 12 inches per year - til maturity.
As for tank sizes - at 12 inches long - the Nurse pup is either about out grow the 100 gallon tank or it will in a couple months. In theory the pup should be able to stay in the 400 gallon for at least a year - depending on the actual dimensions of the tank.
A 10ft diameter pond would likely be good for a couple of years.
Remember though - Nurse Sharks reach maturity at about 2.1-2,4 meters (7-7.8 ft) - and may eventually grow to be about 10 ft or more. So to keep one for life - basically requires a large swimming pool-size shark pond.
In the wild Nurse Sharks may take 12-20 years to reach maturity, In Captivity - it more like 5-8 years on average. In captivity young Nurse Sharks may average about 12 inches per year - til maturity.
As for tank sizes - at 12 inches long - the Nurse pup is either about out grow the 100 gallon tank or it will in a couple months. In theory the pup should be able to stay in the 400 gallon for at least a year - depending on the actual dimensions of the tank.
A 10ft diameter pond would likely be good for a couple of years.
Remember though - Nurse Sharks reach maturity at about 2.1-2,4 meters (7-7.8 ft) - and may eventually grow to be about 10 ft or more. So to keep one for life - basically requires a large swimming pool-size shark pond.
I would agree on that statement. I have had mine for about 2 years he was about 1ft when I got him. Stayed in the 125 gal. for about 6 months, I decide he didn't have the room so moved to a 300gal. that has lasted for awhile, but to keep buying tanks almost every year has become more of a waste then anything thats why I am building a custom shark pond/pool for him. Cause for me to keep going up in tank size is not as cost effective as just building a perminate home.krj-1168;5153395; said: