Feed sashimi to shark?

[jacobzking]

I eat sashimi at home several times a week (I buy good fish from sushi suppliers locally). My question is, would it be safe to feed chunks of raw tuna and/or salmon to my banded cat shark? She is roughly 2 years old and about 30" long... very healthy.

 

[E.intheC]

lots of people feed uncooked seafood to their fish. I would freeze it first, just as a precautionary measure for parasites.

 

[capo larzo]

Yes, you could definitely do this. Its actually probably more expensive to buy and feed sushi-grade fish rather than frozen filets or regular grade foods.
But you can definitely feed sushi grade fish to your shark, but as EintheC said, the safest way to do it would be to freeze it first.

 

[Zoodiver]

As long as it's part of a varied diet, it's ok.
Benthic sharks prey on food high in calcium and iodine in the wild. That needs to be accounted for in the captive diet. Not doing so will often times lead to a goiter issue due to low production of thiamine.

 

[showcasec6]

As long as it's part of a varied diet, it's ok.
Benthic sharks prey on food high in calcium and iodine in the wild. That needs to be accounted for in the captive diet. Not doing so will often times lead to a goiter issue due to low production of thiamine.

i think this contributed to my late bamboo shark's passing. still relatively bummed about it. I tried to vary it, buying whatever was looking good at the market. Definitely should have focused in on their natural diet as outlined above.

 

[marlin85]

Zoodiver, what are the best foods to feed a benthic shark?

 

[Zoodiver]

Depends what species. Most are eating small fish, inverts etc.... replicate that. Crab, squid, silver sides, mackerel, ballyhoo, capelin... things like that.
Iodine is VERY important. There are a few ways to do it, Mazuri Shark/Ray tabs are one of the best in my experience.
Also make sure you feed quality foods. Don't fast thaw frozen food - I'd say that's the biggest thing hurting nutritional values for feeding sharks.

 

[showcasec6]

what do you mean fast thaw? Run under warm water?

 

[Aquapparel]

I lost a bamboo shark to seafood from my local super market due to parasites. Stick with the packaged frozen foods from your local fish store. Also, make sure you are adding supplements to the food since it's frozen. I thaw out the food in a cup of the tank water at room temperature with the supplements before feeding it to my sharks.

 

[Zoodiver]

I would hope if your local super market had parasites in the fresh seafood, they would have shut it down.

By 'fast thaw' I mean using warm/hot water to thaw it. Fast thawing DRASTICALLY reduces the quality and nutrition of the food. Thawing in a fridge over night is the best way to do it.

 

[jacobzking]

Thanks Zoo for all your input. I eat sushi grade fish from my local grocers about every other day: tuna, skip a day, salmon, skip a day, tuna, skip a day...

I usually have some left over bits and pieces that don't get made in to sushi, so it should be perfect for the shark. Its always frozen first, then thawed out over night.

UPDATE: Just loaded up her belly with raw tuna. Always makes me a little nervous to feed her something other than pet food frozen fish (krill and silversides) but the other half of my brain tell me its probably better for her to have a varied diet. ...and I eat the stuff raw with no problems.