Heterodontus fransisci
| Common Names: | California Horn Shark Spotted Horn Shark Tropical Horn Shark |
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| Family: | Heterodontidae |
| Category: | OthersSW |
| Distribution: | Pacific - North; North America - Southern California to central Mexico, including the Gulf of California. |
| Main Ecosystem: | Sandy Marine; Sandy Marine |
| Temperament: | Peaceful; Peaceful, however, will eat anything it can fit into its mouth. |
| Diet: | Carnivore; Feeds mainly on meaty, hard-shelled invertebrates such as shrimp, snails, crabs, and starfish. Whole Tiger Shrimp are relished. Will also eat any small fish it is able to catch. |
| Care: | A large tank is required to house these beautiful fish. Minimum size of 300 gallons, or about 1200 litres. Specific gravity must remain between 1.023 and 1.025 for any shark to thrive. This shark has a pleasent and non-agressive nature to other fish in the tank that it cannot fit into its mouth. It can be taught to be hand fed. It does not get scared easily, and can actually be moved by hand while doing water maintenence. Great care is needed to keep the water condition as pristine as p |
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| Water Region: | Middle, Bottom; Middle-Bottom |
| Activity: | Diurnal; Mostly nocturnal, but is active during the day as well. |
| Gender: | Only visual difference is the males have two claspers extending from their anal fins. These are their sexual reproduction parts. |
| Breeding: | Has been bred in captivity, and in home aquaria. Oviparous. The female "lays" one or two purses (correct terminology for the egg of a shark and its relatives), of an auger shape, with two threadlike filaments extending from one end. These purses contain one single embrio that can actually be seen maturing over the 7-9 months it takes to "hatch". Hatching time is determined by the temperature of the water. |
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| Comments: | A subtropical species of shark that does not do well in overly heated tanks. Requires temperature ranges from 18C-25C. This shark belongs to a group of sharks that has large bony horns on the anterior side of both dorsal fins. These are used for defensive reasons. |
| Main Colours: | Grey, Brown |
| Markings: | Spots Small |
| Mouth: | Downturned |
| Tail: | Convex |
| Search: | Show similar species Find compatible species |
| Image Credit: | ;ACIDRAIN |
| Submitted By: | ACIDRAIN |
| Contributors: | sirbooks |
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