Baby bamboo shark hatched with yolk

[brayden2980]

Hello,
I hatched a baby bamboo shark approximately two weeks ago and it had a very small amount of yolk still attached to him. He’s doing great and very active. The yolk is no longer visible but the cord that attached to the yolk still is, should I feed him now or wait until that disappears as well? Is he still dependent on the yolk nutrients even though it’s not visible, or should I wait until this disappears as well? I’m mostly worried and wanting to feed because he was hatched so long ago.
The photos illuminated with the flash light were taken 2 days ago and the one not lit was taken an hour ago

 

[fishguy242]

Hi ,welcome to the reef , I believe you should start to try to get it to eat now.
@Jay Hemdal you're thoughts ?

 

[Jay Hemdal]

Hello,
I hatched a baby bamboo shark approximately two weeks ago and it had a very small amount of yolk still attached to him. He’s doing great and very active. The yolk is no longer visible but the cord that attached to the yolk still is, should I feed him now or wait until that disappears as well? Is he still dependent on the yolk nutrients even though it’s not visible, or should I wait until this disappears as well? I’m mostly worried and wanting to feed because he was hatched so long ago.
The photos illuminated with the flash light were taken 2 days ago and the one not lit was taken an hour ago

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

My concern here is that the yolk sac may have broken off, leaving just the stem - that is an infection risk. If that didn't happen, and the shark just absorbed the yolk, there will still be some internal yolk that needs to be used up before the shark will begin to feed on its own.

You can try feeding it at any time, but I bet it will not feed on its own for another couple of weeks.

My favorite way to get these to feed is to impale a small live guppy on a thin probe. I used to use broom straws, but natural fiber brooms are tough to find now. I know people have used heavy gauge fishing leader instead. The trick is to present the shark with the tiny guppy, struggling on the probe, head first. I know it is gross, but the guppy movement gets a good feeding response if the shark is ready to eat.

Jay

 

[kevgib67]

Hello,
I hatched a baby bamboo shark approximately two weeks ago and it had a very small amount of yolk still attached to him. He’s doing great and very active. The yolk is no longer visible but the cord that attached to the yolk still is, should I feed him now or wait until that disappears as well? Is he still dependent on the yolk nutrients even though it’s not visible, or should I wait until this disappears as well? I’m mostly worried and wanting to feed because he was hatched so long ago.
The photos illuminated with the flash light were taken 2 days ago and the one not lit was taken an hour ago

Really cool!

 

[brayden2980]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

My concern here is that the yolk sac may have broken off, leaving just the stem - that is an infection risk. If that didn't happen, and the shark just absorbed the yolk, there will still be some internal yolk that needs to be used up before the shark will begin to feed on its own.

You can try feeding it at any time, but I bet it will not feed on its own for another couple of weeks.

My favorite way to get these to feed is to impale a small live guppy on a thin probe. I used to use broom straws, but natural fiber brooms are tough to find now. I know people have used heavy gauge fishing leader instead. The trick is to present the shark with the tiny guppy, struggling on the probe, head first. I know it is gross, but the guppy movement gets a good feeding response if the shark is ready to eat.

Jay

I watched the yolk slowly shrink over the two weeks so I don’t think it disconnected or snapped off, he was kept isolated in a smooth plastic container so I don’t think it could’ve gotten snagged on anything.
If he does eat before the internal yolk is used up, could that cause a problem of the food rotting in his stomach? I tried feeding three days ago and he ate the krill piece but spit it back up so I don’t think it will be hard to get him to eat.
Thank you!

 

[BillsReef10]

Hello,
I hatched a baby bamboo shark approximately two weeks ago and it had a very small amount of yolk still attached to him. He’s doing great and very active. The yolk is no longer visible but the cord that attached to the yolk still is, should I feed him now or wait until that disappears as well? Is he still dependent on the yolk nutrients even though it’s not visible, or should I wait until this disappears as well? I’m mostly worried and wanting to feed because he was hatched so long ago.
The photos illuminated with the flash light were taken 2 days ago and the one not lit was taken an hour ago

This is so neat

 

[bluemon]

I watched the yolk slowly shrink over the two weeks so I don’t think it disconnected or snapped off, he was kept isolated in a smooth plastic container so I don’t think it could’ve gotten snagged on anything.
If he does eat before the internal yolk is used up, could that cause a problem of the food rotting in his stomach? I tried feeding three days ago and he ate the krill piece but spit it back up so I don’t think it will be hard to get him to eat.
Thank you!

I would imagine if the fish were receptive to eating food, then it would already be at the point where food will not "rot" in it's stomach. Not that food rotting in a stomach is something that actually happens.

Otherwise, how would these pups survive in the wild where they are surrounded by food?

 

[brayden2980]

I would imagine if the fish were receptive to eating food, then it would already be at the point where food will not "rot" in it's stomach. Not that food rotting in a stomach is something that actually happens.

Otherwise, how would these pups survive in the wild where they are surrounded by food?

Yeah that’s true. Normally sharks hatch themselves when they are starting to starve without the yolk and are immediately looking for food, so me hatching him slightly premature creates a different scenario. Him being perceptive to food does probably show a signal of need for external food

 

[brayden2980]

I just fed him 2 pieces of krill totaling the size of his head. Will update tomorrow.

 

[Jay Hemdal]

I watched the yolk slowly shrink over the two weeks so I don’t think it disconnected or snapped off, he was kept isolated in a smooth plastic container so I don’t think it could’ve gotten snagged on anything.
If he does eat before the internal yolk is used up, could that cause a problem of the food rotting in his stomach? I tried feeding three days ago and he ate the krill piece but spit it back up so I don’t think it will be hard to get him to eat.
Thank you!

No, the shark won't feed until it is ready to, so you don't have to worry about the food rotting or anything.

Jay

 

[brayden2980]

The shark reacted very promptly to the food last night and seems to be doing great today, thank you all for your help!