A Shark Story – Birth Of A Banded Bamboo Shark From An Egg Case – GeoAquarium
GeoAquarium Website: http://www.geoaquarium.org/

I brought home a shark egg case from Oceans Direct Saltwater Fish Store ( http://www.OceansDirect.com ) about 5 weeks old and put it in one of my saltwater tanks. It was a Banded Bamboo shark based on the shape, size, color and texture of the egg case. I created videos as the embryo matured and finally hatched. You can see the yolk sac, umbilical cord and the developing external gills. The rapid movement helped promote circulation of the water within the egg case and absorption of oxygen by the developing embryo.

This is a work in progress and I documented the whole event as it happened. Depending on temperature and conditions, the whole process usually takes about 130 days from egg production to new born. As the baby shark matured I researched and prepared some supporting videos for you to view on the overall life cycle of the Banded Bamboo Shark.

This video includes footage of the removal of the immature baby shark from the natural egg case and transfer to a clear plastic incubator for the remainder of the developmental process. The encased baby shark was kept in dimmed lighting until maturity was reached.

When the shark egg case was about 11 weeks old, the outside surface started to turn opaque. It was hard to see the baby shark development clearly like before so I removed it from the original egg case to a clear plastic container. I researched this and there are many public aquariums that remove a section of the egg case and use a clear plastic patch as a window to view the development inside. This process is usually done around this stage in the maturity of the baby shark. I transferred and encased the baby in a clear plastic container with small vent holes for water circulation (as it naturally occurs in the egg case). The baby shark was kept in dimmed lighting in the main tank until it was fully mature and ready to be removed from the plastic container for free swimming and eating on its own. The depletion of the yolk sac was the main indicator as to when that time was near.

This is a work in progress and I documented the whole event as it happened. As the baby shark matured I researched and prepared some supporting videos for you to view on the overall life cycle of the Banded Bamboo Shark.

Stay tuned, this is going to be a very cool event. The wonders of nature as it unfolds.

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