Spot feeding sharks?

speedjester

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I have a few fish I spot feed. To keep nutrients down. ( puffer, marine beta, Banded sharks). Most of my fish come to me and I hand feed. Except for the sharks. I’m getting tired of sticking my hand in the aquarium to feed the sharks. I use a feeding stick but it’s not long enough and to get into the rock work makes it much more difficult. Does anyone know of a feeding stick that can make this easier.

Thoughts?
 

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I have a few fish I spot feed. To keep nutrients down. ( puffer, marine beta, Banded sharks). Most of my fish come to me and I hand feed. Except for the sharks. I’m getting tired of sticking my hand in the aquarium to feed the sharks. I use a feeding stick but it’s not long enough and to get into the rock work makes it much more difficult. Does anyone know of a feeding stick that can make this easier.

Thoughts?
Is there a reason you are spot feeding? I never spot feed my sharks, a healthy shark will not have any issue getting their fill if food is put into the tank.
 
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speedjester

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Is there a reason you are spot feeding? I never spot feed my sharks, a healthy shark will not have any issue getting their fill if food is put into the tank.
I have a tank full of aggressive feeders.
( Triggers, Tangs ,Damsels, groupers and Puffers.).The sharks come out but don’t have a chance against the more aggressive and fast feeders. I’ve seen my puffer swallow a blue damsel during feeding and spit it out. By the time the sharks start swimming around the bottom looking for food it’s all gone. I then take the opportunity to spot feed.
 

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I have a tank full of aggressive feeders.
( Triggers, Tangs ,Damsels, groupers and Puffers.).The sharks come out but don’t have a chance against the more aggressive and fast feeders. I’ve seen my puffer swallow a blue damsel during feeding and spit it out. By the time the sharks start swimming around the bottom looking for food it’s all gone. I then take the opportunity to spot feed.
Those tankmates are concerning, specifically the triggers and puffers. How old are the sharks, what species are they, and when did you get them?
 
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speedjester

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Those tankmates are concerning, specifically the triggers and puffers. How old are the sharks, what species are they, and when did you get them?
I’ve had them a few month now. About 18-20”. I haven’t seen any aggression with the puffers or trigger. I keep them well fed. The puffer pretty much eats and sleeps. I keep snails and urchins and they leave them alone. Puffers over 12” and the triggers range in size from 4”-7”. Only thing that’s showed any aggression to them is my hippo tang when they went into his cave. There Banded sharks
 

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I’ve had them a few month now. About 18-20”. I haven’t seen any aggression with the puffers or trigger. I keep them well fed. The puffer pretty much eats and sleeps. I keep snails and urchins and they leave them alone. Puffers over 12” and the triggers range in size from 4”-7”. Only thing that’s showed any aggression to them is my hippo tang when they went into his cave. There Banded sharks
Bamboo sharks are not as voracious feeders as Atelomycterus so makes sense why they aren't getting their fill with the community feed. That being said my Grey comes right out as soon as food hits the water and feeds right alongside my Coral Cats. Makes me think possibly there might be aggression or some underlying reason yours aren't getting their fill with the rest of the fish. You might be able to get away with the triggers kept with them, but almost certainly sooner or later the puffer will start to nip on the sharks, it's just what they do. I have seen many many sharks with scarred/deformed fins vastly from puffers.
 
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speedjester

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Bamboo sharks are not as voracious feeders as Atelomycterus so makes sense why they aren't getting their fill with the community feed. That being said my Grey comes right out as soon as food hits the water and feeds right alongside my Coral Cats. Makes me think possibly there might be aggression or some underlying reason yours aren't getting their fill with the rest of the fish. You might be able to get away with the triggers kept with them, but almost certainly sooner or later the puffer will start to nip on the sharks, it's just what they do. I have seen many many sharks with scarred/deformed fins vastly from puffers.
I check all my charges every morning and lights out. No nips. Im aware of the danger They come out when food hits the water. . But none of the food ever makes it down to them. I might not have a aggressive feeding response from them as I feed them daily twice a day.

Morning they each get a 4” silverside cut in half. Evening before lights out. Each get 1 med to small shrimp ( cut up) They will not take silversides in the evening. Lol
 

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I check all my charges every morning and lights out. No nips. Im aware of the danger They come out when food hits the water. . But none of the food ever makes it down to them. I might not have a aggressive feeding response from them as I feed them daily twice a day.

Morning they each get a 4” silverside cut in half. Evening before lights out. Each get 1 med to small shrimp ( cut up) They will not take silversides in the evening. Lol
It's not recommended to feed daily as it is not a natural habit for them to eat daily. They have a low metabolism and do not require daily feedings. This is the most likely cause of them not feeding aggressively. They should be fed every other day-3x a week while juveniles, then once they are ~12"+ feed 2x a week. Feeding daily will likely lead to fattening and reduced lifespan of the shark as they can not metabolize being fed daily.
 

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I use Eheim plant tongs to feed my banded bamboo sharks. If you wants sharks that can compete for food I would definitely look into marbled cats. They are much more active and aggressive eaters. The only thing to watch out for is they will take food out of your other fishes mouths.
 
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speedjester

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I use Eheim plant tongs to feed my banded bamboo sharks. If you wants sharks that can compete for food I would definitely look into marbled cats. They are much more active and aggressive eaters. The only thing to watch out for is they will take food out of your other fishes mouths.
Thank you.
 

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