our shark is home... now what?

[ADEE]

Ok, our banded shark finally arrived, spent two hours on a slow drip acclimation and made its way into the tank this afternoon (Around 5) it went right under the rocks spun sand everywhere and has been resting there since.. hes turned around a few times but other than that little-no movement. My eel has gone into the burrow with it and both are relaxing. I did offer some silverside soaked in garlic with no interest. what do we do now? just wait for it to come out on its own, offer food in the morning, exc?

I would add pictures but the camera chip is down in my car (will take pics tomorrow assuming i can see it) (s)he is approx 11-12" long, we were told it was eating well so at this point were crossing our fingers that things go well...

any suggestions are welcomed and requested, what should we expect from here forward, when should we offer food again, exc...

thanks sooo much in advance,
ADEE

 

[I<3fish]

You have done research on banded sharks right? They usually will be very sluggish. All fish have to acclimate into their environment, just give him a while. What size tank do you have? The tank should be at least 300 gallons for any cat shark.

 

[ADEE]

yes, we had done research on it. for now its housed in our 125 FOWLR, in about a year (Assuming it doesnt outgrow before) we will move it into a 300 at least (were pricing them out now)

the shark is still under the rocks, its been moving around a little bit in the same small section of the tank beneath the same rocks. I offered it a bit of krill soaked in garlic extreme but didnt put it right in its face just put it in front of the entrance to its cave, is that how i should be offering? should i wait until tonight and offer again? (feeding at night vs during the day) how long can the little guy go before we should become concerned about it not eating? are there any tricks you can suggest to have it eat? I know young/smallish (remember its about 12" tip to tip) are tough to get started but they dont hatch out that big so its obviously eaten prior right?? its out of sight beneath the rocks for the most part (sometimes we see its face, other times tip of its tail) so i havnt even gotten apicture of it yet

i have used the search engine but havnt found much...

 

[shark_curious]

i thought they dont eat everday? if thats correct couldnt the lack of eating be caused by a lack of hunger?

 

[ADEE]

i thought they dont eat everday? if thats correct couldnt the lack of eating be caused by a lack of hunger?

it didnt eat yesterday either... ive heard your supposed to feed them as much as they will take initially (as in daily) and obviously slowing down to 2-3x a week as they get older.

 

[VLDesign]

I fed my sharks 2 times a week maybe 3 if they looked hungry.

They can go several days without eating initially, don't worry about it. When it's hungry it will come out and swim around (As much as it can in such a small tank)

Which brings me to my lecture part of the comments.
A 125 is way too small for for that shark it needs a new home immediatly. (Based on a standard 125 footprint) and assuming you have live rock in there.

Sharks need a tank that is 2x length & 3x length as the footprint (Bare minimum). Gallons are not at important when sizing a tank.

I kept my coral cats in a 250 gallon 6'x3'x20" tank and that was the minimum for that shark. Your sharks get a bit bigger and would require a tank aprox 6' x 12' x 24".

 

[ADEE]

I fed my sharks 2 times a week maybe 3 if they looked hungry.

They can go several days without eating initially, don't worry about it. When it's hungry it will come out and swim around (As much as it can in such a small tank)

Which brings me to my lecture part of the comments.
A 125 is way too small for for that shark it needs a new home immediatly. (Based on a standard 125 footprint) and assuming you have live rock in there.

Sharks need a tank that is 2x length & 3x length as the footprint (Bare minimum). Gallons are not at important when sizing a tank.

I kept my coral cats in a 250 gallon 6'x3'x20" tank and that was the minimum for that shark. Your sharks get a bit bigger and would require a tank aprox 6' x 12' x 24".

thank you for the information and for the lecture. and i dont mean it in a sarcastic way. i would love to hear more information

 

[Zoodiver]

At that size, it could go a week or more without food if stressed. Let it settle in a bit, then offer food.

 

[ADEE]

At that size, it could go a week or more without food if stressed. Let it settle in a bit, then offer food.

THANK YOU!!! i was hoping that was the case

 

[ADEE]

got a chance to get a couple pics before it turned back around... can a little guy really live almost a week without eating?.. its only been 48 hrs but im starting to get a little concerned ...

and no, the sand isnt green.. its the glass where the shark has moved the sand aside

do we have a better chance of it eating at night since they prefer darkness over lights?