The best aquarium sharks belong to the family Hemiscyllidae (commonly know as the epaulette and bamboo sharks). These are smaller sharks. The largest member of the family reaches a length of just over 3 feet. They are also found in tide pools, on the reef flat or fore reef, often in habitats where there is a lot of hard coral cover. They are adapted to life in tight quarters. They have muscular paired fins that they use to "crawl" through tight spaces. They also have slender, supple bodies and bare a closer resemblance to eels than to most other sharks. I have seen four species of hemiscyllid sharks in the marine aquarium trade, two of these are regularly encountered. These are the Brownbanded Bamboo Shark (Chiloscyllium punctatum) and the Whitespotted Bamboo Shark (Chiloscyllium plagiosum). The other two species are the Gray Bamboo Shark (Chiloscyllium griseum), which is infrequently encountered, and the Epaulette Shark (Hemiscyllium ocellatum), which is occasionally available. These sharks are usually referred to as catsharks by retailers and wholesalers (the true catsharks belong to the order Carcharhiniformes and the family Scyliorhinidae), but they are only distantly related. The hemiscyllid sharks belong to the order Orectolobiformes and are more closely akin to the blind sharks, wobbegongs, nurse sharks, Zebra Shark and even the Whale Shark.
All of the available hemiscyllids are distributed in the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans, with the majority of aquarium specimens originating from the Philippines and Indonesia. Chiloscyllium punctatum is the most common species observed; at hatching it is about 6 inches in length and attains a maximum length of 41 inches. As a juvenile it has an attractive color pattern of black and white or beige bands. These bands fade as they mature, with adults having an overall dorsal and flank color of tan to light brown with slightly darker brown bands. The second most common bamboo shark is C. plagiosum. It also is about 6 inches at hatching and attains a maximum length of 37 inches. Juveniles are usually satiny black with light spots and as they grow older their base color lightens to dark or light brown. The Epaulette Shark is limited in its distribution to Australia and New Guinea and like most fishes endemic to this area it commands a high price when available. In my opinion this is the best aquarium shark, because it is durable and quickly acclimates to captive life.
Juvenile hemiscyllid sharks can be housed in aquariums as small as 30 gallons, while adults will do well in a 180 gallon, or larger, aquarium. You should choose an aquarium with as much surface area as possible, since these sharks spend little time swimming off the bottom. The aquarium should have a limited amount of decor, although suitable hiding places should be constructed in which they can refuge during the day. This is especially important for younger and new specimens in order to ensure that they acclimate to their new home. I prefer using the Reef Forms artificial corals (produced by Aquarium Systems Inc.) to construct hiding places because they are light weight and less abrasive than dead coral skeletons (NOTE: Reef Forms are no longer being manufactured). It is also a more ecologically conscious thing to do! The elkhorn coral Reef Forms, laid on the bottom of the aquarium, make great hiding places for your hemiscyllid. Heavier rocks and coral pieces, that are not securely placed in the aquarium, may fall on and kill a digging bamboo shark.
Another good aquarium species is the Coral Catshark (Atelomycterus marmoratus). This species attains a maximum length of only 24 inches and is adept at getting around in tight spaces. It is highly predaceous and will consume any fish or crustacean tankmates that it can swallow whole. Like the bamboo sharks, it will spend most of the daylight hours tucked under a ledge, but will actively move about the tank when the lights go out. They usually do not pose any feeding problems, although it may take a week or more before they start eating.
Even though they are inactive sharks that do well in captivity, most of the wobbegongs also grow to large for most home aquariums. For example, the two most commonly encountered wobbies in the aquarium trade, the Ornate (Orectolobus ornatus) and the Spotted Wobbegong (O. maculatus), get over 9 feet in length. I have seen specimens in the wild whose heads were as wide as a coffee table! However, the Tasseled Wobbegong (Eucrossorhinus dasypogon) and the Northern or Ward's Wobbbegong (Orectolobus wardi) are smaller species that can be maintained in a larger home aquarium. Most shark books state that E. dasypogon attains a maximum length of 10 feet or more. This is apparently an erroneous measure from the past. Modern day observations (including my own - I have seen dozens of these sharks in the wild) suggest it reaches a maximum length of around 5 feet. Aquarists beware - many saltwater fish wholesalers sell the Spotted Wobbegong (which attains over 9 feet in length and is much more common in the trade) as E. dasypogon. You can easily tell the difference by looking at the chin. The Tasseled Wobbie has dermal appendages, or tassels, on its chin, while the Spotted Wobbegong dose not. Also E. dasypogon almost always has its tail curled up. The Northern Wobbegong is an ideal aquarium shark (it only reaches 3 feet in length), but it is uncommon in the wild and in the aquarium trade.
Eucrossorhinus dasypogon. Photo by Scott W. Michael © 1998
When feeding your shark it is very important that you give them a varied diet that includes fresh, unseasoned seafood, like squid, shrimp, clam, scallop and marine fish. The hemiscyllids, especially juveniles, have small mouth's and their teeth are better suited for grasping prey than masticating it; therefore, make sure their food is finely chopped. They should be able to swallow these morsels of food whole without having to tear it or chew it up. When I feed bamboo or epaulette sharks I impale a small piece of food on the sharpened end of a piece of rigid airline tubing. Place the food near to the front of the head and gently wave it back and forth. The shark will usually scurry forward and suck the morsel right off the feeding stick. By presenting food in this manner I know if the shark fed or not and I can immediately remove the food if it is not consumed. You should be aware that fresh seafood, especially scallop and clam, can rapidly foul your water if left in the aquarium. I also enjoy feeding them live ghost shrimp so that I can observe how they naturally feed. They will flip coral rubble over with their snouts and wedge themselves in tight crevices when hunting for the shrimp. I once saw my Epaulette Shark flip on its back when in a crevice and suck a shrimp of the roof of the interstice. It is not uncommon for a hemiscyllid to reject food for a few weeks after it is introduced to your aquarium. If they fast any longer than this, try feeding them live food, like ghost shrimp or black mollies. Since these sharks usually hunt more at night, introduce food right before you turn off the lights. Remember to promptly remove uneaten food in the morning.
As far as the frequency of feeding is concerned, I would satiate your shark every second or third day. If you feed them to much they are going to grow like a weed, if you do not feed them enough they will suffer from malnutrition. Use the shark's condition to determine if you are feeding it enough. If it looks as though the shark is losing weight, feed more, if it is fat and growing at an accelerated rate feed less.
One has to be careful about what kind of companions you keep in your shark aquarium. Small fish may be eaten, while larger species that feed by scraping encrusting invertebrates off of the substrate may nip at and permanently damage the sharks. Groupers, jacks, sweetlips, grunts, goatfishes, snappers and monos can be housed with bamboo sharks, but make sure the sharks get enough to eat when being kept with these faster feeders. Also, some larger piscivores, like groupers, will eat small hemiscyllids. These sharks occasionally suffer from crustacean parasites and flukes. Cleaner wrasses will sometimes remove them or you can use a medicine that is effective against larger parasites; I have had good success with Clout.
Most home aquarists should stay away from some of the shark species frequently encountered in aquarium stores. For example, the Nurse Shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) is commonly seen in the aquarium trade. Even if you had a 200 or 300 gallon aquarium to hold a newborn Nurse Shark, you would still have to give up your shark someday since they attain a maximum length of 14 feet! And what will you do with it then? Many people purchase these sharks thinking there will be a public aquarium eager to receive an overgrown pet as a gift, but these people are SO WRONG! Public aquariums are usually well stocked with specimens and have little room for additional sharks. Although the nurse shark is a wonderful and interesting animal, I do not recommend them for the home aquarium.
For more information on the natural history of these sharks see my book Reef Sharks and Rays of the World; A Guide to Their Identification, Behavior and Ecology (available from Sea Challengers, 4 Somerset Rise, Monterey CA. 93940). If you are looking for a guide to keeping these fishes Microcosm Publishing will be releasing a book I wrote entirely dedicated to keeping sharks in rays in captivity sometime next year (we were hoping the book would be out in Spring of 1998, but it was delayed so that we could get out Volume 1 of Reef Fishes.)
PHOTO AND TEXT BY SCOTT W. MICHAEL © 1998.
Aquarium Sharks and Rays will be available on this web site as soon as it is off the press!