To continue from Part 1, here is a brief video I took of the Tropical Diver Exhibit. The diver in the video is spot feeding LPS corals, with what looked to be a cyclopeeze mixture. As you can see the Yellow Tangs, Anthias, and other fish enjoy the left overs. Warning, loud talking by other visitors. [...]
To continue from Part 1, here is a brief video I took of the Tropical Diver Exhibit. The diver in the video is spot feeding LPS corals, with what looked to be a cyclopeeze mixture. As you can see the Yellow Tangs, Anthias, and other fish enjoy the left overs. Warning, loud talking by other visitors.
Many of the SPS corals blended in with the live rock, however this Acropora nana captured my attention including this amusing pair of Hepatus Tangs (Paracanthus hepatus) who chased each other around it.
The aquarium also had a very unique fish only aquarium with some notable residents such as: Garden Eels (Taenioconger hassi), Tinker’s Butterfly (Chaetodon tinkeri), and a large school of Golden Sweepers (Parapriacanthus ransonneti).
They didn’t have 1, but 3 Tinker’s Butterflies and 1 Declivis Butterfly. They also had Racoons, Aurigas, Emperor Angels and Annularis Angels. Watching these larger fish swim and change the patterns of the Golden Sweepers was great to watch. I would estimate they had ~50 Garden Eels occupying the sand bed as well. For a fish only system, it had the diversity and life that rivals the best captive reefs.
Adjacent to the fish only system was a beautiful jellyfish aquarium. The soft blue lighting was well done.
In the Ocean Voyager exhibit that houses the Whale Sharks, there was a beautiful Pair of Zebra Sharks (Stegostoma fasciatum). I really like these guys, something about the shape of the species. For a full list of the Ocean Voyager residents, head over the GA’s website.
Some of the cold water displays were great. One that caught my attention housed numerous Catalina Gobies (Lythrypnus dalli) and Strawberry Anemones (Corynactis californica). Although you may see them at your local fish store, the Catalina Goby is a cold water species and should not be kept at warmer temperatures.
Not Reef Safe…
Overall the Georgia Aquarium was a great experience. I was hoping for a bit more variety, but they stuck with fewer overall exhibits and really made them special. Something I commend them for. To get a sense of how large a 6,000,000 gallon aquarium is, you really have to see it in person. The viewing window is 2ft thick acrylic! We went Sunday morning to avoid the crowds, but in hindsight it would have been great to get the MACNA behind the scenes tour.
Generally most Public aquariums don’t do much for me, but the Georgia Aquarium actually kept me interested and entertained. If you haven’t been, I highly recommend it.
