Banded Bamboo Shark, Brownbanded Bamboo Shark, Chiloscyllium punctatum

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Geographic Distribution Chiloscyllium punctatum


Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Actiniform Class: Elasmobranchii (sharks and rays) Order: Orectolobiformes Family: Hemiscylliidae
Point data provided by FishBase.org

General information:
These sharks live around coral reefs and tidepools. Interestingly, it can survive out of water for up to 12 hours. The cat shark family contains many species, usually distinguished by their different markings of stripes, bars, etc. Interestingly enough, the best known of the cat shark family is the dogfishes (which form a part of the catshark family). On the internet, brownbanded bamboo cat sharks are for sale, and it is clear that some people might attempt to keep them in their own aquariums. Bamboo sharks are egg-layers, with the eggs enclosed in elongated flattened egg-cases. In captivity, hatching can take up to four months.

Special anatomical, physiological or behavioral adaptations:

These sharks are not endangered at the moment. They tend to stay inshore near coral reefs and tidepools; however, they have fallen prey to fisheries in India and Thailand.

Also interesting is the fact that the gills of this shark are sometimes infested with the larva of isopods which is utilized as food. (The spiracles may be an adaptation for bottom dwelling which helps keep the sand out of the gills as the shark feeds).

These cat sharks have small "whiskers" which are called barbels. These are sensory organs which hang from each nostril.

Though they are sharks, they are harmless to people, but if kept in a tank, smaller fish...BEWARE!

Comments about the banded cat shark at the Fort Worth Zoo:
The Fort Worth Zoo has one male brownbanded cat shark which they received as a donation on February 28, 1994. According to the zoo keepers, these sharks tend to breed fairly well, but the zoo discourages the public from keeping sharks in a home aquarium. If you look closely at the picture above, you can see the faded stripes of what once was a beautifully banded cat shark.

Personal Observations:
When I first saw the banded cat shark at the zoo, I had a hard time understanding why they called it that. But, now after seeing the young cat sharks and the beautiful markings, I understand its name.
Also note that the males have claspers that are located under the anal fins and as they grow older the claspers become more pronounced. The females do not have these, so distinguishing a male from a female is easy!

Older cat shark at Fort Worth Zoo

"Chunky" (juvenile cat shark) from http://petoftheday.com/archive/2000/April/30.html

Source Materials and Related Links:

One book source is entitled: Fish, by Maurice and Robert Burton, Octopus Books Limited, published in 1975.

Here are several related on-line sources for sharks:

Page author: Callie Matthews

Send E-mail to calliem@swbell.net or to: mac@whozoo.org

WhoZoo Home

WhoZoo Animal Index

Fish at the Fort Worth Zoo

Comments from people who have kept this fish:

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I currently have a baby bamboo shark. I haven't had it for much time, but this I know, they have an excellent sense of smell. I mean as soon as I drop the food in the tank, he knows. But I am trying to find him an owner because I can't keep him.

C.M.T. :-p 2008-02-03

brown banded cat shark (bamboo). I currently have a 22inch one, a male. you can tell by the claspers underneath the bottom two back fins. females dont have them. mine currently lives with a picasso trigger. no problems at all. a bit agressive or should we say eager when feeding. currently housed in a 150 gallon tank with a pf600 skimmer. thinking of adding a big sump to increase water volume along with live rock. system works well. hope this short piece helps. mikey birmingham(ENGLAND)

MIKEY 2005-02-02

we just got a brown banded bamboo shark. It is young. It likes to dig in the sand. it swims a lot through out the tank, but it likes to stay at the bottom.

Vivek Sharma 2004-08-05

I have a bamboo shark which just hatched a couple of hours ago in Glasgow, Scotland, all seems fine and he is sitting at the bottom of the tank behind the rock, any tips on feeding and caring for my new pet gratefull received.... his pals are clowns, regal tang, yellow tang, coral beauty and mandarin fish

Mick 2004-04-25

Some of the coolest comments:

As far as sharks go, this is one of the best suited for captivity. It stays really small, 42 inches in the wild but in the aquarium it is much smaller, around 20 inches though this is highly dependent on the amount of feedings you give them. They can be kept succesfully in a 55 gallon aquarium but a 75 would be much better. If you want to grow him out bigger though you will need at least a 125 gallon. One other thing is that the babies are nocturnal and if you have a heavily decorated aquarium you run a rather high risk of your shark getting caught and drowning. The best way around this is to add decorations a little at a time and slowly get the shark used to bright lighting.

Ryan 2008-04-11

My first baby bamboo shark hatched 2 months after getting him. He loves squid and any tidbits I put in for him. I've now got a second shark and he's due to hatch soon. If you use an ozonizer be careful as I read that they have attributed to many deaths of sharks in aquariums! Keep it on low or on occasionally to clean the water. Sheldon from Manchester.

Sheldon Porter 2007-03-11