Epaulette Shark Sick

[marcus9079]

My Epaulette shark is suddenly not using his fins to walk and does this little thing where he swims for a few inches then rolls on his back and immediately flips himself back into his belly. For context I am currently out of town and I did a water change before I left and he ate for me the day before. I have a pet cube to watch my tank and I noticed him acting strange and flipping on his back then back on his belly. I have a 300 gallon tank and have kept sharks and rays before. I have been trying to figure out what it could be but i’m stumped. He literally started doing this a few hours after I left, I first notice it while I was at the airport. I was checking on him all morning and he was fine and acting normal and the minute I left he just seems to have completely fallen apart. All the coral and other fish are acting fine it’s just the shark. I do have a healthy population of beneficial bristle worms and a few days ago I caught him eating one in the middle of the night. Is their any possibility that he contracted some disease from the worm? I have a UV sterilizer and a protein skimmer. As far as I know the water quality should be on point. Can anyone please help? From the camera I can’t tell if her has any redness on his belly but i’m going to have my sister check for me. Also, sorry if my explanation sounds choppy I wrote this in a rush.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Is there any way to upload any of the video feed that shows this? If nothing else, can you time its respiration rate from the video (in gill beats per minute).

As you can probably understand, diagnosing issues for us is always difficult because we have to do it remotely. In this case, you are remote as well, which makes getting more direct information pretty difficult.

The shark wouldn't have caught a disease from the bristle worm (they are both in the same tank, so the worm wouldn't have brought some new disease in) but the bristles on these worms are a predator deterrent, and maybe the shark's mouth is irritated.

Jay

 

[vetteguy53081]

If it ingested any part of worm, I know how irritated I would be. As you know, they don’t respond well to changes in water quality

 

[marcus9079]

Is there any way to upload any of the video feed that shows this? If nothing else, can you time its respiration rate from the video (in gill beats per minute).

As you can probably understand, diagnosing issues for us is always difficult because we have to do it remotely. In this case, you are remote as well, which makes getting more direct information pretty difficult.

The shark wouldn't have caught a disease from the bristle worm (they are both in the same tank, so the worm wouldn't have brought some new disease in) but the bristles on these worms are a predator deterrent, and maybe the shark's mouth is irritated.

Jay

I wasn’t able to get a video of him doing it but he hasn’t done it as much today as he did yesterday. I had my sister send me a video and his respiration is normal. He also looks fine externally. I know Epaulette sharks eat bristle worms as a natural part of their diet in the wild but maybe they cause internal issues of some sort when they are consumed. I’ll keep you updated, thank you for your help.

 

[marcus9079]

If it ingested any part of worm, I know how irritated I would be. As you know, they don’t respond well to changes in water quality

Yeah I was thinking maybe something internal is going on because of the bristle worm but I do know they eat them in the wild. He did eat a pretty big one though. I was also considering it could have been the water change but it was a pretty small one.

I did feed the tank more that usual before I left so maybe their was a nitrate spike and it threw the shark off.

 

[marcus9079]

If it ingested any part of worm, I know how irritated I would be. As you know, they don’t respond well to changes in water quality

thank you for your help

 

[vetteguy53081]

Yeah I was thinking maybe something internal is going on because of the bristle worm but I do know they eat them in the wild. He did eat a pretty big one though. I was also considering it could have been the water change but it was a pretty small one.

I did feed the tank more that usual before I left so maybe their was a nitrate spike and it threw the shark off.

And my thought to this is water quality issue

 

[discovermarine]

Stray current can make sharks rotate on to their back. Do you have a grounding probe or titanium heater?

 

[SilvermistInc]

Stray current can make sharks rotate on to their back. Do you have a grounding probe or titanium heater?

This post is 3 months old

 

[Sharkandreef]

My Epaulette shark is suddenly not using his fins to walk and does this little thing where he swims for a few inches then rolls on his back and immediately flips himself back into his belly. For context I am currently out of town and I did a water change before I left and he ate for me the day before. I have a pet cube to watch my tank and I noticed him acting strange and flipping on his back then back on his belly. I have a 300 gallon tank and have kept sharks and rays before. I have been trying to figure out what it could be but i’m stumped. He literally started doing this a few hours after I left, I first notice it while I was at the airport. I was checking on him all morning and he was fine and acting normal and the minute I left he just seems to have completely fallen apart. All the coral and other fish are acting fine it’s just the shark. I do have a healthy population of beneficial bristle worms and a few days ago I caught him eating one in the middle of the night. Is their any possibility that he contracted some disease from the worm? I have a UV sterilizer and a protein skimmer. As far as I know the water quality should be on point. Can anyone please help? From the camera I can’t tell if her has any redness on his belly but i’m going to have my sister check for me. Also, sorry if my explanation sounds choppy I wrote this in a rush.

Hi. Your Epaulette has TB worms. You need to treat ASAP with PraziPro. TB worms usually (sometimes also show up as black spots underneath). If it's not treated fast, it's always fatal.

 

[Sharkandreef]

I've seen this many times with some of our banded/coral/epaulette sharks. PraziPro cured it within about 1-2 weeks.

 

[WilGao]

I've seen this many times with some of our banded/coral/epaulette sharks. PraziPro cured it within about 1-2 weeks.

Hi, how it should be administered? I have the same issue with a C. Punctatum.

 

[Sharkandreef]

Hi, how it should be administered? I have the same issue with a C. Punctatum.

Basically you just have to turn off skimmer/remove carbon/UV off and just run the pumps and power heads only while dosing for about 3-5 days. I would keep an on the o2 levels though. Basically the praziquantel will be useless if the skimmer/carbon/UV/etc is on....

 

[Sharkandreef]

I cured a nurse shark back in the day that had TB worms. It had black spots everywhere and would do the "twist back itch" all day. It's like they are swimming and flip upside down and back up real fast

 

[marcus9079]

Stray current can make sharks rotate on to their back. Do you have a grounding probe or titanium heater?

Thank you for your comment, how would I know if I have a titanium heater? The heater is in my sump so could a stray current still cause problems. My shark passed away months ago but i’m still curious for the future. I’ve kept sharks successfully for many years before and have never seen that type of behavior.

 

[marcus9079]

Thank you for your comment, how would I know if I have a titanium heater? The heater is in my sump so could a stray current still cause problems. My shark passed away months ago but i’m still curious for the future. I’ve kept sharks successfully for many years before and have never seen that type of behavior.

Hi. Your Epaulette has TB worms. You need to treat ASAP with PraziPro. TB worms usually (sometimes also show up as black spots underneath). If it's not treated fast, it's always fatalI cured a nurse shark back in the day that had TB worms. It had black spots everywhere and would do the "twist back itch" all day. It's like they are swimming and flip upside down and back up real fast

Hi. Your Epaulette has TB worms. You need to treat ASAP with PraziPro. TB worms usually (sometimes also show up as black spots underneath). If it's not treated fast, it's always fatal.

Thank you so much. My shark sadly past away months ago. It always haunted me what killed him because I could never figure it out but now I know.

 

[marcus9079]

Hi. Your Epaulette has TB worms. You need to treat ASAP with PraziPro. TB worms usually (sometimes also show up as black spots underneath). If it's not treated fast, it's always fatal.

Are TB worms a brain eating parasite or I am thinking of something else?

 

[Sharkandreef]

They are generally an all body infection. I am assuming you may have noticed black spots underneath?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

They are generally an all body infection. I am assuming you may have noticed black spots underneath?

What is the genus for "TB worms"? Turbellarians?

Jay

 

[marcus9079]

They are generally an all body infection. I am assuming you may have noticed black spots underneath?

No, I did not see any