It was a fantastic, once in a life time experience and I would recommend to anyone that is even slightly interested in sharks to give it a go. My highlight was when i had a close encounter with a moray eel!
Showing posts with label New. Show all posts
Showing posts with label New. Show all posts
Sunday, 4 September 2011
Diving with sharks
Its been a long time since I've posted on this blog mainly because my annual pass lapsed. But i wanted to share with you my photos of divining with the sharks in the big tank.
Friday, 26 March 2010
A few more photos of Venom
It's Friday and Venom is due to open soon. Here are a few more photos. I can't wait to see it all finished.
Sunday, 21 March 2010
Jellyfish in the Venom display
Ok I was in the blue planet aquarium late on Saturday and I got to see that they have put the Jellyfish into the jellyfish tanks in the Venom display. I only had my phone on me so the pics are low res but you can see some larger red jellyfish in the tank on the left. It's hard to see but the right hand tank has hundreds of small transparent jellyfish in it. I spoke to the staff installing it and they said they will be there all night fine tunning the system so that the jellyfish can not get sucked down into the pumps. I can't wait to see Venom open!
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Friday, 19 March 2010
Venom
Ok just stopped into the blue planet, the venom section is nearly ready structurally. I could see so many new tanks including a big circular tank with fake ruins in. I think it will be for the Lionfish display with 360 degree viewing. The other really exciting thing I saw was two jellyfish tanks bigger then any other jellyfish tanks I have seen or read about. The venom display will be great.
Saturday, 13 February 2010
Inside information
Ok just a quick update for you today. I was speaking to a staff member and was told a few things. Firstly the beetle in my last post is a poisionus beetle from south east Asia (probably Vietnam but she wasn't certain).
Secondly the work they have started on the bottom floor is to create a brand new exhibition of reptiles and lizards. One in which you will be able to put her head up into a bubble and see creatures all around you. I think some thing like the meerkats tunnels/bubble observations they have in some zoos. I will keep you updated with some pictures soon.
Thirdly and finally she told me that the quarintine area is packed full of fish and they have had to set up more tanks to hold all the fish they have. So even their staff room has some tanks in now. I think this is very hopeful for the future, I'm expecting to see lots of new fish and exhibits soon.
Secondly the work they have started on the bottom floor is to create a brand new exhibition of reptiles and lizards. One in which you will be able to put her head up into a bubble and see creatures all around you. I think some thing like the meerkats tunnels/bubble observations they have in some zoos. I will keep you updated with some pictures soon.
Thirdly and finally she told me that the quarintine area is packed full of fish and they have had to set up more tanks to hold all the fish they have. So even their staff room has some tanks in now. I think this is very hopeful for the future, I'm expecting to see lots of new fish and exhibits soon.
Saturday, 30 January 2010
Butterfly Goodeids
Common Name:
Butterfly Goodeids
Scientific Name:
Ameca splendens
Scientific Class:
Actinopterygii
Conservation Status:
Extinct in the wild
Habitat:
Conservation Status:
Extinct in the wild
Habitat:
Jalisco, Mexico
Tank Breeding:
Breeding is easy with the right conditions. Gestation takes 55 to 60 days, normally 5 to 30 fry are born depending on the size of the female. Fry do not need to be removed from the parents tank, as they are rarely bothered. The Fry, as many goodeids may have an umbilical cord, as it will disappear within a short amount of time.
Life Expectancy:
2 years
Diet:
Mainly insects
2 years
Diet:
Mainly insects
Maximum Size:
12cm
12cm
Tank Breeding:
Breeding is easy with the right conditions. Gestation takes 55 to 60 days, normally 5 to 30 fry are born depending on the size of the female. Fry do not need to be removed from the parents tank, as they are rarely bothered. The Fry, as many goodeids may have an umbilical cord, as it will disappear within a short amount of time.
Interesting facts:
Found in only two ponds in Mexico. This species is part of an ongoing breeding effort by the livebearer TAG Group. Males of this species may fight fiercely, especially over females.
Private UK Aquarium:
Yes, they are relatively easy to keep and thrive best in clean, well aerated water, at temperatures around 20-25°C and neutral or slightly higher pH. Butterfly goodeids are strong swimmers and social fish; they like to be dwell in groups of 3-5 males and 3-7 females in large tanks (200 L and up) where they can grow to full size. In smaller tanks (60 L) and they will stay smaller, and fewer individuals or no other fish should be kept.
Found in only two ponds in Mexico. This species is part of an ongoing breeding effort by the livebearer TAG Group. Males of this species may fight fiercely, especially over females.
Private UK Aquarium:
Yes, they are relatively easy to keep and thrive best in clean, well aerated water, at temperatures around 20-25°C and neutral or slightly higher pH. Butterfly goodeids are strong swimmers and social fish; they like to be dwell in groups of 3-5 males and 3-7 females in large tanks (200 L and up) where they can grow to full size. In smaller tanks (60 L) and they will stay smaller, and fewer individuals or no other fish should be kept.
Blue Planet Aquarium Tank:
The Butterfly Goodeids are housed in the tank that used to house the black knife ghost fish. They look to be set up well and thriving in the tank. The most interesting thing in the tank is the addition of some kind of water beetle. I have no idea what the beetle is and the Blue Planet Aquarium has not given any details about it. This is a shame as it is very interesting to see the inclusion of an insect in a display.
The Butterfly Goodeids are housed in the tank that used to house the black knife ghost fish. They look to be set up well and thriving in the tank. The most interesting thing in the tank is the addition of some kind of water beetle. I have no idea what the beetle is and the Blue Planet Aquarium has not given any details about it. This is a shame as it is very interesting to see the inclusion of an insect in a display.
Wednesday, 18 November 2009
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.
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.
Sunday, 5 April 2009
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.
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.
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