Marine Depot Forums / TEAM Marine Depot / Disease, Health and Wellness - by Kelly Jedlicki / Shark Ich / Latest Posts

RE: Shark Ich

Steven Pro — Wed, 08 Feb 2006 04:42:41 GMT

Thanks!

RE: Shark Ich

Puffer Queen — Tue, 07 Feb 2006 18:54:15 GMT

Steve,

I have been in contact with Scott Michael. He is going through his stuff to supply me with the references. One of the references is from an abstract "Skin Diseases of Sharks" presented at a Captive Husbandry Symposium by Louis Leibovitz and Stanton Leibovitz from The Laboratory of Marine Health, Marine Biological Laboratory, Woods Hole, Massachusetts,and Department of Avian and Aquatic Animal Medicine, New York State, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University. This was a three year study.

Scott promises to forward the rest.

I'll post when I hear more.

RE: Shark Ich

Puffer Queen — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 08:10:22 GMT

Steve,

I will ask Scott for the reference.

Dr Noga in his book Fish Disease pg 105 states that shark and rays can can infected by amyloodiunium ocellatum (Lawler 1980).

Hope this helps.

RE: Shark Ich

Steven Pro — Fri, 03 Feb 2006 07:33:07 GMT

Puffer Queen (2/1/2006)Sharks can catch ich (cryptocaryon irritans), marine velvet (amyloodiunium ocellatum) and uronema marinum. There have been reported cases in captive sharks and rays (Scott Michael - Sharks and Rays pg 194).

Kelly, are you in contact with Scott? I took a look at that passage and unfortunately Microcosm/TFH puts all the references at the end of the chapter so you can't tell what reference is for what statement. I am curious about sharks getting Cryptocaryon irritans as every paper I have read says that same thing, that Elasmobranches aren't infected.

RE: Shark Ich

TERRY — Thu, 02 Feb 2006 13:11:23 GMT

Wow, thanks for all the information. It was a lot more than I expected. I think you are correct about the denticles. I believe the shark is just getting darker when alarmed, like many fish nomally do. I will keep a close eye on him and let you know. The sharks are in a 50 gallon quarantine tank for now. It is a bare bottom tank with a couple of rocks for them to hide under and feel secure. I will move them to to a much larger tank when they are bigger. Thanks again.

RE: Shark Ich

Puffer Queen — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 14:45:24 GMT

Terry,

Welcome to MarineDepot.com and this forum.

Sharks can catch ich (cryptocaryon irritans), marine velvet (amyloodiunium ocellatum) and uronema marinum. There have been reported cases in captive sharks and rays (Scott Michael - Sharks and Rays pg 194). Ich is a "white spot" disease not black spots.

To treat a shark with ich is tricky. Scott Michael suggest a formalin bath at a concentration of 200 ppm. He cautions that this can cause extreme stress in some sharks and rays. He alway reminds the reader that it is a carcinogen and must be used cautiously.

Copper can be used to treat ich and amyloodinium ocellatum (marine velvet) in sharks. Copper does interfere with the feeding behavior of some elasmobranchs (sharks). The copper affects their electrical senses and cause excess mucous production which clogs the electroreceptors (also known as the ampullae of Lorenzini). Some sharks are not sensitive or as sensitive to copper as others. Scott Michael reports that wobbegongs, nurse and epaulette sharks can be treated for several weeks with no apparent side effects. He suggest treating with copper levels of 0.05 - 0.20 ppm for 6 - 8 weeks. In 1998, after talking with a friend at the Shedd Aquarium, I did treat a display tank with copper that housed two of my hemiscyllium ocellatum (epaulette). One of the sharks showed NO change in behavior or feeding. The other ate but not as aggressively while the copper treatment was given.

Black ich like Steve Pro stated is a parasitic worm that infests the skin of the shark. This is treated with formalin baths.

With all that being said, it is a good chance that these black spots that come & go are actually a normal variant of the elasmobranch's skin. Sharks skin is VERY tough. It has "minuscule toothlike scales called denticles" (S.Michael: Sharks & Rays). Epaulette sharks are notorious for trying to cram themselves in small spaces & hide. There is a good chance that these are just elevated denticles.

Watch the shark closely. If the shark is eating and is not showing signs of a parasitic infection (change is swim pattern, scratching or flashing, lesions, wounds, blotchy skin patterns, increased respirations, cloudy eyes ), I would recommend leaving the shark in its current tank - What size is it by the way ? I would not treat unless the shark displays symptoms.

I would recommend feeding a variety of foods as well as enrich with vitamins - Selcon or Vita Chem are good multi vitamins. I would recommend a vitamin made by Mazuri. This company specifically makes shark vitamins and most public aquariums use their vitamins.

Hope this helps.

Again welcome and please update.

RE: Shark Ich

Steven Pro — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 11:37:06 GMT

The common white ich is Cryptocaryon irritans, a parasitic protozoan. The so-called black ich is a parasitic worm (turbellarian) of the genus Paravortex or Ichthyophaga. We hobbyists use the name ich in both cases, but they are not related at all.

RE: Shark Ich

TERRY — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 09:49:47 GMT

I thought there were two kinds of ich, white spots or black spots. Is there only one kind? I had a tang that I was told had black ich.

RE: Shark Ich

Steven Pro — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 09:07:36 GMT

Elasmobranches (which include sharks and rays) are not supposed to be able to become infected with Cryptocaryon irritans. And, it is generally not recommended to treat them with hyposalinity either. That said, your shark could very well be infested with something else. Small black spots sounds more like the so-called black ich. But, I am unsure if the standard treatments (freshwater dips or formalin bath) for this disease would be ok for a shark.

Shark Ich

TERRY — Wed, 01 Feb 2006 08:48:08 GMT

I have 3 young Epaulette sharks [Hemiscyllium ocellatum] . They are about six monthe old and 14 " long. They seem to be doing find. However ,the male , from time to time appears to get small black specks [salt size or smaller] . They always go away. Do you think I should drop the salinity to 1.09 or treat with some other method. Can you suggest anything I should use to enrich their food with to prevent disease? What about something like Selcon or Vita Chem?