Information resourced and
researched from
"Tropical Marine Aquaria"
by Graham.F.Cox.
Published by Treasure Press
© The Hamlyn Publishing Group

One of the few sharks suitable for culture in the marine home tank, the Nurse Shark is often available in smaller sizes down to about 13 to 15 inches (33 to 38cm). It is impossible to obtain this species any smaller than this because the female is ovoviviparous. This means that although there is no placental development of the embryo as in mammals, the female is fertilised internally and the embryo develops within her body, until at birth, the infant emerges as a fully formed dwarf version of the parents. This species can grow to around 14 feet (4m) in length, but seldom exceeds 20 inches (51cm) in a 6 foot (2m), 120 gallon (540L) aquarium. Although the Nurse Shark is reputed not to be a man eater, there are several well-authenticated accounts of serious attacks on young bathers in the Caribbean, usually caused by teasing of the adult sharks.

The Nurse Shark, being demersal or bottom-dwelling in habit, is one of the few members of the shark family that can breathe when stationary. The pelagic sharks which move freely at all depths in the ocean are, with a few exceptions, unable to breathe unless continually on the move.

Feeding Nurse Sharks in the sea aquarium presents few problems because they are scavengers and therefore have small appetites once tank acclimatised. Difficulties in starting them to feed can usually be overcome by offering squid, mussel or prawn flesh in the evening, when they become more than usually active. They appear to rely almost entirely on the sense of smell to enable them to detect food. They sympathetic shark owner will bear this in mind in the early attempts at feeding, taking into account any currents in his tank when deciding where to drop the foodstuffs, so that the scent of the food is carried to the shark.