Port Jackson shark - HELP ME

[picasso pete]

Hi,
I have a baby PJ shark - only had him 2 weeks in my 8ft tank and has been great.....untill tonight.
He shares a tank with a 2ft bamboo shark and they get on well. I fed them tonight and both ate well.
However... The PJ shark is not swimming well at all, only using his front fins, not much movement from his tail.
I also just saw him try to turn his body and appeared to 'yelp' in pain. (he opened his mouth and had a look of pain in his eyes.) I have checked my water parameters and all was good except nitrate was a little higher than usual - 20ppm. Temp is a solid 26 deg.
I have now moved him to my 6ft reef tank where all perameters are xcellent and am hoping for a miracle.
His skin colour, eyes, etc look normal. His gill beats maybe fast .... 100 bpm. I know he usually breathes faster than the bamboo shark but often younger animals have a faster heart rate????
Possibly a physical injury???? or worse???
He just rolled onto his back and struggled to get up....
I just also noticed his genitals were red????

 

[Mitch DownUnder]

Hey mate,

You should have at least two or three fish vets available to you being in Sydney. They usually make housecalls and I reckon you may want to get your little baby looked at? Go to your local vet and ask them to put you in touch with your nearest fish only vet.

Failing that give the Sydney aqaurium a call and ask to speak to one of their zoo keepers. They are usually pretty helpful and have lots of experience with sharks.

I have no idea what may be wrong but if you are noticing signs of distress and your pristine tank hasn't fixed things I reckon you need professional help. Hope everything turns out ok.

Cheers

 

[reefer334]

Welcome to RC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I would try the vet to.It sounds like he has a bacterial infection.I would get him some antibiotics and some dewormer and go from there.As for your nitrates being 20 that will not harm your shark, there is something else bothering him.What kind of susbstrate are you using?Good luck
Chris