I just bought a shark egg and it recently hatched a few days ago and he isnt eating and he is flipping on to his back. Anyone have any advice? O and hes a banded cat shark

It often takes some time for hatchlings to take a meal as he is still living on his yolk. Sometimes it can take several weeks so dont stress out, give it a few days and then try again.

What size tank and what are you feeding? What substrate you have?

thanks its a 150gallon and im trying to feed it some shrimp and tried a guppie and tried some scallop and my nitrates and nitrites are perfect

If he's behaving erratically, there's a good chance your tank is grounded properly. Do you have a grounding probe?

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_AquariumPage~PageAlias~miscellaneous_titanium_g rounding_probe.html

Sharks sense electrical pulses in the water, and even a small stray current will drive them nuts.

Ammonia is more important than either of those so make sure you are testing that as well as you pH. What type of substrate do you have in the tank? What other tank mates are there?

Just tested my water and the nitrate is high what can I do to change that

If you have Prime you can add that. What else is in the tank and what kind of sand/crushed coral do you have?

Im not sure I have live sande and Just bought a lot of corals it has about 60 pounds of live rock. I bought the tank but im in high school and dont have time to take care of it so my dad does all the matienance so I have no clue what im doing and what everything is

How long has that tank been running?

Its been running for about 2 months

is it just liverock or is there other stuff in there, coral, inverts etc etc

Live rock and tons of corals

I would find a volt meter and test the tank for stray voltage ASAP. I think Danny is probably right. Past that, the sand might be to rough for his belly.

Has it been running only 2 months, or cycled and now 2 months into the fun part of having a tank ?

I myself have a brown banded bamboo shark..DO NOT FEED IT GUPPIES..And as everyone is saying its living off it yolk..If you feed it hardy foods now you can damage her or hes internals..Btw you must have PERFECT water conditions for shark keeping..Your sand must be very fine with no shells or sharp rocks...I would also suggest in a grounding probe..

If he's Flashing or scratching and keeps flipping on his back it might be related to water quality. I would do a water change to reduce nitrates and also would make sure all equipment is running correctly. What filter are you using? Skimmer? Also do not worry about him not eating yet, he is probably not hungry yet. I would NOT feed any freshwater fish and reccomend you check water quality and temp.

Its been running for about 2 months

That's no long enough to have added a shark. Your water quality is suspect at best. I would do some monster water changes to keep your water quality top notch.

Do you have a skimmer?

shadow what kind of sharkis it?we might have roomfor it atsaltwater city.

Its a new hatched banded cat dave

Its a new hatched banded cat dave

Make sure that when you do your water changes you are using RODI water for it.

That poor shark... :sad:

Not sure why anyone would get a shark in less than a 300 gallon tank. They need to stay in the ocean. Better survival rate out there.

Yup- I feel really bad for this shark. 150g tank isn't big enough. 2 months isn't NEAR enough time to cycle. If you truly added a "ton of corals," the tank is destined to crash very soon, killing most things in it, especially if the nitrates are currently high.

I'm also a little concerned about filtration, or lack of it. 60 lbs of live rock in a 150g tank isn't much, and there's been no mention of using RO/DI or a skimmer.

My guess is that you'll lose most things in the tank soon, including the shark; to save it at this point will take a monumental effort by an expert.

My advice would be to let things run their course, step back, and learn some more about reefkeeping. Restart slowly and read up a good bit...

mojo is giving great advice... back up and prepare for the hobby....I would see if Saltwater City could take the shark ... the best thing is to find a very big tank for it..tons of corals added to brand a new tank is disaster about to happen.

A good starter book is The Conscientious Marine Aquarist. They have it on Amazon. And in all honesty I would let your Dad know that there is a major issue with the tank and get him involved in helping you if possible. This is gonna be a huge undertaking.

Just chiming in for what it's worth...

I know that what's already been said is not what you want to hear... and I sympathize with you on it. it's a real drag when you get something cool started and then it all goes crazy and everything dies.

The guys who have left feedback know what they're talking about... and they're probably right about the whole tank getting ready to crash.

They were with me the times they told me the same thing... in fact, one guy even commented that whenever he saw my name on a post, he was compelled to read it just as one looks at a car wreck as they pass by because I resisted their advice.

From what I've read, you've gotten too much too fast, and it sounds like a crash is coming...

At this point, I would try to financially limit the loss and seeing if the stores will take them back (even for store credit to be used at a later date while you rebuild a totally cool tank that will last one piece at a time.

just my 2¢ worth...

Agreed- we all started somewhere.. And I sure killed my fair share before I slowed down and did things after researching.

I've got room in my nano if you need somewhere to temporarily keep the shark until you get your params in check.

Thanks everyone for the help I changed the water and now my nitrates nitrites and ammonia are all perfect and my shark ate a piece of shrimp today for the first time so hopefully everything will be ok. I know I need a bigger tank to house the shark when he is larger and will eventually get a 300-500gallon

By changed the water, what did you do exactly. The reason I ask is because you can cause more problems by doing an incorrect water change.

You should give it two marine fish for store credit. They already have two sharks so they know how to take care of it. I'm sure it will go into a different tank because it's just a baby. Call them and see if they'll take it.

Just chiming in for what it's worth...

I know that what's already been said is not what you want to hear... and I sympathize with you on it. it's a real drag when you get something cool started and then it all goes crazy and everything dies.

The guys who have left feedback know what they're talking about... and they're probably right about the whole tank getting ready to crash.

They were with me the times they told me the same thing... in fact, one guy even commented that whenever he saw my name on a post, he was compelled to read it just as one looks at a car wreck as they pass by because I resisted their advice.

From what I've read, you've gotten too much too fast, and it sounds like a crash is coming...

At this point, I would try to financially limit the loss and seeing if the stores will take them back (even for store credit to be used at a later date while you rebuild a totally cool tank that will last one piece at a time.

just my 2¢ worth...

Darn saw your name and thought there was a car wreck! j/k:D

I just drained some of it and and mixed up some more saltwater and made sure it was the same temp. and put it in. Ive been the the marine store plenty of times thats were I bought my tank and have talked to them about getting a shark a few times and they said I could get a shark even the big banded they have there now.

Did you use RODI water? Also what salinity did you mix it to?

Everyone is going to want to make sure you used RO water first off. Secondly keeping a shark is probably something you should attempt after being in the hobby for awhile. They are considered by many to be expert level fish, requiring expert level care and upkeep. Everyone has stories of failure. Yet jumping in too quickly is by far the easiest way to create a few of your own.

My salinity is kept at about 24

Ok, Since you have avoided the RODI question again I am going to assume that you dont have one. You can buy them on Ebay and I would ask your Dad about getting one of those first and foremost since water quality is key. Make sure that once you get an RODI, you are doing weekly water changed of about 10-20 percent of the total volume to help keep the water quality up. Also I would invest in a skimmer if you dont have one already.

Ok Ill do that and I do have a protien skimmer for it but looking for a better one if anyone has one thats of high quality

If you can just make a full list of all your fish, coral, lights, filter, sump EVERYTHING you have then we can probably help to get you on the right track. Were just here to help if possible.

I have a humu humu trigger a clown a clarki clown a few damsels the shark a porcipine puffer valintine puffer I have 2 20gallon sumps maybe 40 gallons on the bottom with the bio balls I have a coral life t5 light and a diatom filter

I've kept banded cat sharks before, and thankfully they're quite forgiving. Keep you water clean, stary currents out, keep them fed with the proper amount. Make sure you have a good skimmer.

A 150 gallon aquarium will suffice for at least 2 years. Banded Cat Sharks get up to 4', but this will probably take them a decade if they'll even reach that length. You'll see a lot of length added in the first 18 months of its life, at which point it will probably be about 18". At this point they start slowing down in length and start adding girth.

As far as diet goes, Ocean Nutrition Shark Formula would be a very good one. Krill only goes so far nutrionally. Your fish store should be able to order it for you. It is a complete diet for the shark.
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_viewitem.aspx?idproduct=ON6575&utm_source=mdcse_google_base&utm_medium=cse&utm_term=ON6533&utm_content=Ocean%20Nutrition%20Pygmy%20Angel%20Fo rmula%20Cube%20Tray%203.5oz&utm_campaign=mdcse&site=google_base

If you're serious about keeping a shark, get this book.
http://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Sharks-Rays-Essential-Selection/dp/1890087572
You can probably find it for less, but it is the definitive guide on keeping sharks. It includes things suchas a formula of how much to feed based on the weight of the shark and how to estimate the weight based on length and species.

Careful with the trigger. I saw a banded cat shark loose a jaw to one. I've also seen a 7" banded cat shark kill a Clown Tang.

Thanks for your advice Im considering taking the trigger out everyone has told me that hes going to be a problem with the shark

i would imagine the puffer is going to give him grief too

PM me, I can help.

I can help also. Been keeping sharks for about 4 yrs. Ran into probs and learned a lot form diff people and sites as well as books. LMK if i can help and i will be as honest as possible.