White Cloud Mountain Minnow (pictures)

I borrowed a camera from work and got to take some photos of the new white cloud mountain minnow display. The photos proved a bit difficult becouse of a very powerful light above the tank that I think has been added for all the live plants included in the tank. Put below you will find a selection of photos and a short video that shows the white cloud mountain minnows at their best.

It's getting cold.

Cold water (or more correctly temperate) fish aren't always that popular. In fact I think that most people rush through the temperate freshwater section of the Blue Planet Aquarium "to get to the good stuff". I know that I have been guilty of this many times. Yesterday I went to the aquarium and went through the temperate section and I found an amazing new tank set up. The arch tank that has housed a variety of indistinguished medium sized temperate fish has been re-designed.

The tank is now the biggest and most impressive White Cloud Mountain Minnow tank I have ever seen or heard of. It is stunning (wish my camera wasn't broken!!!). The tank has literally hundreds of White Cloud Mountain Minnows and you get to see them in impressive shoals. It also has a great selection of real stemmed plants, bog wood and moss. It looks great, although I'm not sure how biological correct this is. I believe that White Cloud Mountain Minnow come from streams with more rocks and less plants, fast flowing streams. So it may not be the most correct biotope it is a great tank.

I am loving The Blue Planet Aquariums recent shift to filling large tanks with hundreds of smaller fish instead of a handful of medium or large fish. The new coral bay display is the best example of this but I love this White Cloud Mountain Minnow tank. The Blue Planet has for years had the spectacular Cichlids tank. This tank is that fantastic sight of hundreds of individual fish interacting. I believe this kind of set up is much more impressive then the other option of a small tank with 2 large fish (electric eels?). I know that a large draw of an aquarium is to allow people to see fish they could never own or are unlikely to see in the wild. Therefore larger fish are an important draw.

However, think about how long people spend looking at each tank. The tanks with more fish hold peoples attention for longer, generally the tanks with less (but bigger) fish hold peoples attention for much less time.

Personally I wish more tanks become like the White Cloud Mountain Minnow tank, full of activity. More tanks like this will encourage repeat visits. Maybe the issue comes down to The Blue Planet's Aim. Is it creating a 3D text book of rare/unusual fish or an art gallery showcasing the beauty of fish. I suspect they are trying to do both but personally I am very happy to see the more artistic tanks that have been popping up.

P.S. this post should be tempered by the fact that The Blue Planet Aquarium has also recently replaced its Turtles display (which included dozens or turtles) with a Cayman display. So this tank has moved from lots of a common animal to two of a much rarer animal. It's good to see something rare and unusual, maybe I do prefer the text book approach.

Coral Bay Update

Ok stopped in for 5 mins at The Blue Planet Aquarium when i was dropping my girlfriend into work.

AND CORAL BAY LOOKS FANTASTIC

My cam is broke so cant get any pics at the moment but will do soon.

It is great, I think they have done a really good job in filling this large tank with loads of small fish instead of a few mid size fish. I think they have well over 200 small coral fish in the tank. It looks really active, alive and realistic. It reminded me of when I went snorkeling in the Red Sea. It had that sense are a large fish community. I love it.

Big update coming soon

I've been away

I have been away first on holiday and then on a work do so I haven't had the chance to have a proper visit to the Blue Plane Aquarium for a few weeks now. But i popped in once on the way to pick up my girlfriend from work and I was pleasantly surprised to see that the coal bay exhibit I was told wouldn't be ready until October has already been started to be stocked with Fish. They had no information up let and I didn't know the names of the fish off the top of my head. But I think it will look great when its all finished. The did have a couple of very healthy looking neon cleaners in the tank. I love them. Also I saw one in the massive main tank (well in its smaller corner divided section.) They looked happy. As did the 4 different Morays i saw this time. Sometimes i walk round slowly have a detailed look and I don't find any Morays this time i almost run through and found 4. Very strange but very cool. I will hopefully get there this week for a more detailed look and post more information about Coral Bay, with Photos I hope.

Common Name:
Tete Sea Catfish or Shark Catfish
Scientific Name:
Hexanematichthys seemanni
Scientific Class:
Actinopterygii
Conservation Status:
Not on the threatened species list
Habitat:
This unusual catfish is common in coastal marine, brackish waters and freshwater rivers. It is native to Pacific-draining rivers and estuaries in Central and South America. Young fish appear to favour the fresh water and migrate into salt water as they mature.
Life Expectancy:
Up to 7 years
Diet:
An omnivore but appears to enjoy frozen blood worm when in an aquarium and Blue Planet aquarium lists its diet as Fish and Peas.
Maximum Size:
35cm

Tank Breeding:
"A mouthbrooder, the few, amazingly large eggs are incubated by the male. Reproduction in the aquarium is difficult as the aquarist requires to emulate the migration from marine to fresh water and back again in a spacious aquarium. The is one verbal report of this being accomplished by an American aquarist who spawned the fish by gradually changed the water from marine to fresh water and back again over a 12 month period." from planet catfish
Interesting facts:
They have venomous dorsal spines (unconfirmed).
Private UK Aquarium:
Yes but they are difficult to keep as they grow large and their salt water needs can make it difficult. I have not found any shops selling these but a search on Aquarist classified will often find a private seller.
Blue Planet Aquarium Tank:
These Catfish are housed in a brackish tank (which is not ideal for adults as they prefer full marine) in the "where land meets sea" area. The share a tank with Scats, Monos and Archer Fish. This tank also overflows into the mud skippers and 4 eyed fish display. The two amphibious fish are occasionally seen swimming in the deeper tank.

A Storm In Coral Bay

After going away for a couple of weeks i went to the Blue Planet Aquarium to see how everything was. Well being in the middle of the summer school holiday it was packed full of families. So I put my mp3 player on and went round in my own little world.

Down in the coastal zone I found the Coral Bay exhibition being completely over hauled.

Speaking to the staff I was assured their was no problem with the existing tank. They just wanted to redesign the exhibit. The first stage being a complete strip down, clean and rebuild. The central rock work was solid and could not be removed but all the imitation coral pieces were attached either by a suction cup or by being screwed onto the base. The staff removed each piece individually to be cleaned. Below you can see the imitation coral pieces stacked up against the tank side and the shards of a big piece that broke up in the water.


But in all of this redecorating what about the fish? Most have been transported into the main massive tank. I went and had a look to see if i could find them. I found some. 1 Reef bannerfish, 1 picasso trigger fish and 2 regal tangs. The below blurred pictures shows the tangs and trigger fish. They looked very happy in their new surroundings. (they do look very small compared to their new tank mates, i hope they do well in their new home.)


But not all the fish have had this change of tanks, apparently at least 1 fish has escaped the staff nets and any attempts at catching it have so far failed. I saw its faint shape at the back of the tank but couldn't identify it. Sneaky fish!

The staff said that they haven't yet decided what the new tank will be populated with but they informed me the new display will be fully set up by the 1st of October.

TANK BUSTERS

The Blue Planet Aquarium has just updated, its biggest tank has now been re-branded as a Tank Buster display. This giant tank is full of fish that are regularly sold as juveniles in the ornamental fish trade. Sadly they are often miss sold by pet stores who don't inform the customer how big they get. These fish then quickly grow too large for the tank and either die by being too cramped, or get dumped into rivers where they usually die or they get given away IF they can find someone to take them. The Blue Planet gets at least 1 or 2 calls a week about fish that are too big. Some they are able to re home. The biggest and most impressive fish are now housed in this display. It looks great and shows how fish of this size should be kept.



It is sad to think that for every one fish in this tank so many more end up in tiny cramped tanks where they live short miserable lives. I believe the pet stores and Local Fish shops really need to take more responsibility in informing customers of the eventual size of the fish they sell.

The Blue Planet Aquarium has put up information explaining this to visitors and i hope that this may help to educate more members of the public of the importance of having the right size tank for a fish.

The Tank Busters display currently includes
- Black Pacu (After the common Plec and the Piranha this is the most commonly dumped fish in the UK)
- Ripsaw Catfish
- Vundu
- Tiger Shovelnose catfish (these are my favourite in the tank)
- Nile Perch
- Leopard catfish
- Redtail Catfish (the 2 big redtails they have in this tank are amazing)
the tank also includes a
- Geoffrey's side neck turtle (you can usually find him hidden up in the branches or sometimes scavenging for food on the tank floor)

TAN

Escape from the Ray Pool!

Today I went into the Blue Planet Aquarium early and I believe I was the first member of the public to go down into the coastline exhibition. I was shocked to find a dogfish in the middle of the floor. I quickly ran and informed the staff and then went back to the Ray Pool to make sure no body accidentally hurt the fish. I then managed to snap the below picture.
Seconds after i took the photo a Blue Planet Staff member arrive, he quickly and safely picked up the dog fish and gently put him back into the Ray Pool. As the fish go back into the water he "thanked" his rescuer by splashing the guy with a load of water. The Dogfish quickly swam off.
Me and the staff member spent a few minutes observing him especially trying to see if he had scratched his under belly. But he seemed fine and none the worse for his adventure. I took the below picture of him happily having a well earned rest at the bottom of the tank.

Bring a friend

In the last week me and my girlfriend (both annual pass holders) have gone to the Blue Planet Aquarium with friend. Not being over burdened with money at the end of the month this was a very affordable way to spend the day. I meant we could treat our friends to a day at the aquarium with out it costing us much at all! Our annual pass also gives us 10% off admission for our friend.

But the cheap price for a day out was not the best bit of taking our friends. The best bit was acting as a personal guide. We got to show our friends a tour which we made up. One time we followed the standard route through the exhibits the other we made up our own route. Both times we showed them all our favourite bits of the Blue Planet. I have spent a lot of time reading about loads of the fish and it was great to spend time sharing all the knowledge with our friends.

One of our friends is thinking of setting up his own aquarium. I was really happy to walk round showing him the fish that he could easily keep in his home aquarium and explaining about water parameters and compatibility. Of course we also got to show off our favourite My girlfriend showed off her favourite juvenile Lionfish and I showed the fantastic Blind Cave Fish. It has really made a difference spending so much time learning my way around the Aquarium and learning so much about the exhibits from the information boards, the staff and wider reading.

I loved showing my friends round the Blue Planet, having an annual pass has made it a cheap and very enjoyable way to treat friends to a unique day out in Chester.

White-Snout Guitarfish

Common Name:
White-Snout Guitarfish
Scientific Name:
Rhinobatos Leucorhynchus
Scientific Class:
Elasmobranchii
Conservation Status:
Near Threatened
Habitat:
Benthic in shallow waters over sandy bottoms and reef edges of the Eastern Central Pacific coast
Life Expectancy:
Average of 7
Diet:
Crustaceans
Maximum Size:
63cm
Tank Breeding:
Unknown
Interesting facts:
They often hunt and travel in large schools. They have loads of teeth in around 65-70rows.
Private UK Aquarium:
No, this fish can not be kept in private UK Aquariums.
Blue Planet Aquarium Tank
The White-Snout Guitarfish are housed in the main Caribbean Reef Exhibit which holds 3 million litres of water. The Guitarfish can usually be seen on the left hand side as you enter the underwater tunnel.

The Peace of Lake Malawi

The Blue Planet Aquarium has some beautiful displays and some fascinating fish. But this tank, the Lake Malawi Cichlid tanks is one of my favourite. Simply because i believe it is the most relaxing tank to just sit any watch for a long time. The tank is full of around 100 species of Cichlids and if you ever try to count the species in the tank, you will quickly lose count as they are not slow fish. These fish are constantly active. Most of the fish in the tank hang around near the front proudly showing off their colours but look towards the bottom and the back and you see more fish. These fish are showing some truly fascinating behaviour because they are spawning or guarding tiny fry. If you look closely you can occasionally see the fry quickly moving across the stones and rocks. If any other cichlids comes close to the fry/eggs you can see a parent chasing them away. In Fact regularly you will see Cichlids chasing each other, sometime it is clearly because a fish has got to close to a another's territory, other times it seems to be completely random. This just makes them more fun to watch.

I love this tank and i hope you like the videos, the tank is massive and shows the fish off to great effect. It inspires me to try and set up my own Lake Malawi Biotope fish tank. The tank is so big i think it should be described as a tropical pond but then most of the tanks in the Blue Planet Aquarium are this big. What makes this look so beautiful is how big the tank is and compared to how small the fish are. There are hundreds of fish in tank all showing a variety of behaviours. I would recommend any visitor to the Blue Planet to spend some time just watching this tank and try and see if you can spot any fry hiding amongst the rocks at the bottom.

Black Knife Ghost Fish

Common Name:
Black Knife Ghost Fish
Scientific Name:
Apteronotus albifrons
Scientific Class:
Actinopterygii
Conservation Status:
Not evaluated by the iucn redlist
Habitat:
Northern, South America in the Amazon river basin. Found in fast flowing waters of rivers and streams with a sandy bottom
Life Expectancy:
Average of 10 years but reports of longer in well maintained aquariums.
Diet:
Carnivore pellets, bloodworms and feeder fish. They will also eat peas, earthworms and frozen community fish foods.
Maximum Size:
50cm
Tank Breeding:
Commercial breeding in various parts of the world. Some reports of private breeding but no confirmed information about how.
Interesting facts:
Fish generates a weak electric field which can help navigation and hunting.
Private UK Aquarium:
Yes Regularly
These fish require a minimum tank size of 75 US gallons (280 litres) once full grown, due to their large size. They will eat other very small fish in the aquarium. This shy fish needs a hiding place such as a cave if keeping more then one in the same tank a separate hiding place for each fish should be provided.
Blue Planet Aquarium Tank
This fish is usually best kept alone as bullying can occur otherwise at least 6 are recommended for a group, this spreads the aggression out evenly stopping one fish from being harassed to death. Worryingly the Blue Planet Aquarium is housing two together. These fish always appear very shy and I have observed little interaction between them during the day but I am concerned the smaller fish may start to be bullied.

Palau Nautilus

This blog is all about Palau Nautilus a new addition to the Blue Planet Aquarium. This is my first species focused blog and i am trying out the format for these so they may change in the future.

Common Name:
Palau Nautilus
Scientific Name:
Nautilus belauensis
Scientific Class:
Cephalopoda
Conservation Status:
Not on the threatened species list
Habitat:
100m-300m below the sea around the Pacific island of Palau
Life Expectancy:
15-20 years
Diet:
Fish and Crustaceans
Maximum Size:
20-30cm
Tank Breeding:
Not at the Blue Planet Aquarium yet but it has happened at other Aquariums
Interesting facts:
They use a primitive jet propulsion system to swim
They control buoyancy with gas filled chambers
They have been around since the time of the dinosaurs
They are often called living fossils
They are distant relatives of octopus and squid
Private UK Aquarium:
Unconfirmed,
I found the following link to an American site with a Nautilus for sale in November 2008 For Sale and have read various threads about how to keep them. I haven't read of any tanks smaller then around 250 litres, the tanks seem to need to be kept cool, with a chiller if the tank is kept in a central heated room. Light levels must be low as they live at depths and only appear to come to the surface at night. Feeding does not appear to be a problem with them taking small pieces of fish, crab and whole shrimps. I have not found any Nautilus for sale in the UK let alone the specific Palau Nautilus.

All New

There are loads of new things at the Blue Planet Aquarium, especially in the "where land meets sea" coast area. In the "where land meets sea" area three tanks have been refurbished and they look great. They now have a sea grass tank (below) with Banggai Cardinal, some unidentified snails and Pipefish (currently no information about what species please add a comment if you know from the picture).



But thats just to start, in the second refurbished tank (which used to house Sea Horses)they know have a pair of Tasseled filefish. The tank currently only has two fish and I believe they will add more in the future.





They have also added a new Shark and Ray egg case display tank.












The final of the three tanks is actually two displays. The photo below shows the two tanks joined by tubes which water freely passes through. Both tanks are half blacked out.

The tank on the right with natural illumination is currently housing Seahorses. I could spot three seahorses in the tank and at least 1 of the seahorses was very clearly fat with young.

But the left tank with red illumination had something very interesting. Palau Nautilus which normally live between 100m-300m below the sea. I have never seen anything like this in a public aquarium. I will be looking in more detail at the Palau Nautilus in my next blog.

But the its not just tanks, the Blue Planet Aquarium also has a new novelty coin press that for 50p will flatten a 1p coin and inprint on it one of 4 water realted images.



Thats all i can fit in this blog but please come back soon to find out more information about the Blue Planet Aquarium.

What is coming to the coast

The coast section of the aquarium with the ever popular ray touch tank at its centre is renovating three of its tanks. I've been told that this is unusual for them to be taking down and renovating three tanks in the same area at the same time.



Firstly they have taken down the existing seahorse tank and have given it a complete refit. As the above picture shows they have rebuilt the hardscape, added some of the plants and have filled it with water. They should be putting in seahorses soon.



Now this tank has been down for a few weeks at least and they have have done a major rebuild on the tank. When i asked what the tank will focus on I was told it was going to be a sea grass exhibit. Whilst I do not currently know what fish will be included in the tank I believe the Red Fire Shrimp in the box are being acclimatised to the tank and will form part of the exhibit. The below picture gives a closer view of the amazingly bright coloured shrimp.





Finally we come to the tank which is the most interesting to me. These tanks joined by tubes are going to become a deep sea exhibit. Now I have not found out what fish this exhibit will house but i have been told that half the tank will be blacked out. From what i have been told the fish will not be the grotesque, giant teethed fish but still fish that you would not normally see in a snorkeling trip.

I hope you have found the state of these tanks interesting. I will keep you updated as i see the tanks being filled.

Hello

Just to be very clear this is an unofficial blog about the blue planet aquarium in Ellesmere Port, in the North West of England. I have not be asked to create this blog by anyone and i can guarantee am not being paid to write it. I am a local resident with an annual pass who enjoys the Aquarium immensely and I would like to share some information about the Aquarium. Since getting an annual pass visit the aquarium about once a week. I often take work from the office to the aquarium and work there as i find it a great environment to work in (as long as i bring head phones to cut out the noise of the occasional school trip).

This blog will mainly focus on talking about the exhibits and the fish within them. I will hopefully also be able to post information about new additions to the tanks and new exhibits. For example recently they have added an adult lobster into the ray tank in the shoreline exhibit (see below pic).