America's oldest aquarium gets a new look

 

WASHINGTON - America's oldest aquarium has a new look, and you might not know it's in an unlikely place in downtown D.C.

The National Aquarium is inside the the U.S. Department of Commerce building on 14th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution avenues in Northwest.

The aquarium is "at the very end stage" of a makeover, with new paint and carpet and impressive new displays, thanks to a partnership with the National Aquarium in Baltimore.

"We have a feeding demonstration every day at 2 p.m., and our alligators get fed once a week on Fridays. And I have to say, it's a must-see," Executive Director Bob Ramin says.

Read Full Article: America's oldest aquarium gets a new look

John Shedd Reed, 1917 - 2008 -- chicagotribune.com

 

Although John Shedd Reed was born into the prominent and wealthy Shedd family, for whom Chicago's Shedd Aquarium is named, he led a straight-arrow life and knew not to bring business home.
"Growing up, there was no room for anything that smelled of deceit," said his daughter, Ginevra Reed Ralph. "How discreet he was in taking care of his business."
Mr. Reed served on the aquarium's board for 47 years and as president from 1984 to 1994. He oversaw the addition of its popular Oceanarium, which brought the first whales and dolphins to an inland aquarium, Ralph said.

Read Full Article: John Shedd Reed, 1917 - 2008 -- chicagotribune.com

$150 Yellow Tangs a possibility

Check out this bill being proposed in Hawaii.

Report Title:

Fishing; Ornamental Fish; Bag Limits; No Take Category; Appropriation

Description:

Imposes bag limits on certain ornamental fish; prohibits catching of certain ornamental fish; appropriation

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	3225
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO FISHING.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Chapter 188, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§188- Ornamental fish; bag limit; prohibition; yellow tang stock assessment. (a) There shall be a combined bag limit of twenty fish per person per day of ornamental fish, including but not limited to, yellow tang, flame angels, and butterfly; provided that the combined bag limit may include a maximum of only five yellow tang. No person shall catch, net, or trap more than the bag limit. The department of land and natural resources shall formulate an annual stock assessment of the yellow tang, beginning September 1, 2008, based upon data existing as of that date to provide an estimated inventory for preservation purposes; provided that the assessment shall be made publicly available.

(b) No person shall catch, net, or trap certain ornamental fish in a no-take category, including but not limited to, all puffer fish, all box fish, potter's angel, cleaner wrasse, all coralvores, and all eels.

(c) For purposes of this section, the term "ornamental fish" means salt water fish, usually found in or around reefs, that are commonly kept in aquariums.

(d) The department of land and natural resources shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 for purposes of this section, including adding other types of ornamental fish."

SECTION 2. There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $100,000 or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2008-2009 for the yellow tang fish stock assessment as provided in section 1 of this Act.

The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of land and natural resources for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 3. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval; provided that section 2 shall take effect on July 1, 2008.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

Sharks, 550 Fish Leave Casino For Aquarium - Connecticut News Story - WFSB Hartford

 

UNCASVILLE, Conn. -- The Mystic Aquarium has taken in 550 fish, including three blacktip sharks, after a fish tank sprung a leak at the Mohegan Sun gift shop.

Divers caught the three sharks on Wednesday so they could be taken to their new home.

"Our goal was to keep our hands away from them. Anytime you saw our hands around their body, it was from half of their body back," said Kurt Harrington, a diver.

The move required a couple of divers, a team of support and significant planning.

"It's going well. We caught the shark in the first 10 minutes, which is a good sign," said Catherine Ellis from the Mystic Aquarium. "The next two will be the next challenge."

Crews next placed the sharks in shipping containers to transport them to the aquarium via a box truck.

Channel 3 Eyewitness News reporter Aleesha Chaney reported everyone involved has to move quick because as soon as the divers step in the aquarium, the countdown is on and time is of the essence.

"Once we are in the tank with them, we are beginning to stress them out. So, we want them to experience stress as short of time as possible," Harrington said.

Read Full Article: Sharks, 550 Fish Leave Casino For Aquarium - Connecticut News Story - WFSB Hartford

kare11.com :: KARE 11 TV - Shark vs. shark attack at the Mall of America

 

Shark attack in Minnesota? Who woulda thought? Fortunately, the victim was another shark, and that shark survived. But not before a tunnel full of aquarium visitors were treated to a true, raw display of nature.
Jessie, the nine foot, 300 pound sand tiger shark is the biggest shark in the Underwater Adventures Aquarium at the Mall of America. On Friday, she chomped down on a four and a half foot, 50 pound white tip reef shark.
Workers used a pair of feeding tongs to grab the tail of the reef shark, pull and eventually free the little shark from Jessie's death-grip.
The little shark then swam to the other end of the tank where a couple more workers yanked her out just in time. Experts say a bleeding, flailing fish like the reef shark would not have lasted a minute in a tank full of other sharks.

Read Full Article: kare11.com :: KARE 11 TV - Shark vs. shark attack at the Mall of America

Aquarium of the Pacific | Blogs - Cool Post

 

The hierarchy of difficulty in aquaria is as follows: cold freshwater, tropical freshwater, saltwater, live planted freshwater, live coral saltwater. Cold freshwater aquaria, which are most often goldfish tanks, are the easiest to maintain while the live coral saltwater aquarium is the most difficult. What makes live coral so hard to maintain? Water quality! Live coral need very specific conditions in order to stay alive which includes the right nutrients in the water, the right lighting, the right temperature the right pH etc. Maintaining the proper conditions for a coral reef aquarium is time consuming and most of all, it is expensive! A basic lighting system for a small coral reef aquarium costs in excess of $500. Most people can’t even fathom spending that much money on lights. This is the primary reason why I have not been able to keep live coral at home....yet…

Read Full Article: Aquarium of the Pacific | Blogs

Practical Fishkeeping magazine | Blog: Sealed condom aquarium causes stir

 

Practical Fishkeeping Forum regular Bennystalebread (not his real name) pointed out a shocking video today which shows how you can make an ecosphere-like aquarium from a condom.
The video below, which Bennystalebread found on Metacafe, shows a condom being rinsed, filled with water and then decorated with some gravel and a live aquatic plant.
Two Neon tetras are added and the whole thing is sealed up, with no air gap, by tying a knot in the top of the condom.

Read Full Article: Practical Fishkeeping magazine | Blog: Sealed condom aquarium causes stir

Video of my tank from today.

Aquarium aficionados enjoy a full tank - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

 

First it was a goldfish in a bowl that his sister brought home from the Kaufmann's semi-annual fish sale Downtown when he was 10. Then it was a few more classroom fish and a tank that a science teacher rewarded him with in sixth grade. By graduation, he had 60 tanks and had worked at four aquarium shops. Now, at age 46, Eric Bodrock and his girlfriend maintain 100 aquariums in their Pleasant Hills home.

This is a common pattern for aquarium aficionados. When a simple fishbowl isn't enough, there's always a bigger tank to fill. Large aquariums, ranging from 30 to 200 gallons, require some planning to set up, but after they're stabilized, the colorful displays beg homeowners to sit back and relax.

"It's not work; it's a hobby. It's like asking a photographer how much time they waste taking pictures," says Bodrock, who owned All Oddball Aquatics in Baldwin for six years. He sold it in May, but still works in the aquatics business online and collects vintage aquarium products while he catches up with his "Honey Do" list.

Read Full Article: Aquarium aficionados enjoy a full tank - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review