KEEPERS at the Blue Planet Aquarium in Cheshire Oaks are looking after no fewer than 25 baby tropical sharks – with another 50 eggs waiting to hatch.

The 10cms long baby bamboo sharks are being looked after in a special shark nursery set up in the aquarium’s quarantine area.

They were collected by divers from the aquarium’s giant Caribbean Reef display.

Keepers have been successfully breeding the species for a number of years, however even they are surprised by the unprecedented numbers of babies which have hatched in such a short time.

Blue Planet Aquarium’s Andrea Redfern said: “All the babies are doing really well and growing fast. We’re not entirely sure why so many eggs have hatched out in such a relatively short period of time; however it is an excellent indicator that we’ve managed to get conditions here at the aquarium just right.

“At the moment the babies are covered with distinctive black and white stripes but these will gradually fade as they grow.

“If all goes according to plan the sharks will continue to be looked after in the nursery tank before going on display early next year.

“The decision was taken to remove the eggs from the main display as soon as possible to protect them from the unwanted attentions of the other sharks and rays,” she added.

Found from the east coast of the Indian Peninsula to northern Australia and north as far as Japan bamboo sharks live around coral reefs and tidepools.

Their diet consists of meaty foods, such as shrimp, crabs fish and squid and

they pose no threat to humans only reaching a maximum of just over a metre in length when fully grown.

Although born with dark bands across their bodies these will gradually fade as they mature and adults are usually a light brown colour.

Bamboo sharks actually prefer shallow waters, however they regularly become stranded in rockpools during low tide. To combat this they have the ability to survive for up to 12 hours out of water.

They are classified as Near Threatened (NT) on the IUCN Red List. The major threats to these sharks are the loss of their habitat, pollution and overfishing.