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CHAIN CATSHARK A GORGEOUS AND UNUSUAL PET/ Erakina

December 9, 2021 3 Mins Read
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Chain catshark is also known as chain dogfish and chain-link shark.

It is a slim, reddish-brown to yellow fish with gorgeous patterns on the body. It is a wedge-shaped bio fluorescent fish and belongs to the family of scyliorhinus. The species name is retifer.

chain catshark in water
Chain catshark

 It has long oval eyes and can grow up to 45-48 inches. It is naturally found in subtropical waters and mostly in the Gulf of Mexico, Florida and Caribbean waters. They are nocturnal who remain inactive in the mornings and become active in the nights. They lie on the ocean beds and prefer to be motionless most of the time. They aren’t great swimmers and also cannot migrate for long distances due to limitations in adaptable temperature.

Geographical distribution of chain catshark
Gulf of Mexico, Florida and Caribbean waters

The most interesting part is they are not just permitted to marine waters but can be a beautiful pet in our aquariums.

SHARKS – AN AQUARIUM PET

These small and adorable fishes attract aquarium enthusiasts because of their gorgeous patterns on their bodies and being unusual pets one can find it more interesting to raise a shark as a pet. Things to be underlined are these aren’t freshwater fishes, but marine ones. These fishes need a saltwater aquarium with at least 350 gallons of water to live in their solidarity. These can be perfect pets for introverted fish enthusiasts.

SOME INTERESTING FACTS

  • In Greek “skylla” means kind of shark and ” rhinos” means nose
  • They are biofluorescent. Recently, scientists unravel the mystery about chain catsharks that they turn the abundantly available blue light into green light and
  • glow in the dark.

 

 

Biofluorescent chain catshark
glowing catshark in darkness.
 
  •  Catshark fish is  oviparous and lays eggs in a sack called mermaid case
  • These fishes are moody carnivores that don’t prefer to chase the prey but like to feed on little fishes, molluscs and squids.
A baby cat shark in mermaid case
a baby catshark in its mermaid case with tentacles on each side

 

HOW TO PET  CHAIN CATSHARKS

  • Maintain the temperature of the tank at 58-70℃.
  • Place a few live rocks. Make sure they don’t have sharks and pointed edges because one   cannot afford to hurt their pets. Make them into crevice shapes so they can hide and swim.
  • Keep an eye on pH levels. Maintain  pH 8-8.5.
  • Prefer protein skimmers to remove waste in the tank
  • Feed the pets 3-4 times a day. They can feed on small fishes squids and aquarium molluscs
  • Maintain the ecosystem by allowing less aggressive fish to live in the tank.

A huge tank and saltwater environment makes these sharks unusual pets. These little ones can be generally seen in public aquariums and aquatic zoos. If you decide to pet a catshark fish, don’t forget to add a huge amount of  love and a little amount of marine salt in the tank.

 

CHANDANA.THURIMELLA

Content Writer (Erakina by RTMN)

21/11/2021

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