Adventure Aquarium Analysis Part 1
This was my first time at the Adventure Aquarium. This is one of the larger public aquariums I have been to, other than the Shedd which I would consider my “Home” Aquarium.
As previously reported, signage is definitely lacking here so I may fill in information if necessary. Their font choices are questionable and often difficult to decipher. Latin names are present on most of the signs, but the “common” names used often seem to be of their own invention. They often have a descriptive blurb about the species like “Fast Swimmer” where the common name would normally be on a sign with the common name in smaller font below. For this reason, I will not be attempting a full species list.
@Astrotom3000 Did one in April that was better than anything I might come up with now.
Also, I call this an analysis not a review because I try to take a more technical approach and also will only cover things I think are interesting rather than try to assign a value to the facility as a whole. There will be areas I just don’t talk about because I don’t have any meaningful commentary on them.
The first exhibit you are likely to see in here is the Piranha Falls. I think this is ironic as this one tank manages to exemplify the pros and cons of the entire facility. It is a reasonably sized tank for larger amazonian fish. I would guess maybe 20,000 gallons in volume. The tank is munch narrower at the bottom and this is done with a series of 1-3 foot vertical drop offs in the concrete bottom for a maximum depth I would estimate at 8-10 feet. The viewing window only while about 20 feet long only exposes the top 3 feet of the tank. This which makes actually viewing the bottom, of the tank impossible.
The main inhabitants of this exhibit are of course Red-Bellied Piranhas (
Pygocentrus nattereri). Their website claims over 100 are present. I’m not sure it is actually that many but there are certainly several dozen. About a dozen species were listed on the signs but the only other ones visible were a couple Black Pacu / Tambaqui (
Colossoma macropomum), a handful of Banded Leporinus (
Leporinus fasciatus) and one very bored looking Ocellate Stingray (
Potamotrygon motoro) that didn’t move from the top of one of the drop-off ledges the whole time I was there (I made 2 passes through the aquarium over about four hours).
The top of the tank is open air reaching about 30 feet to the ceiling. The background is a rock wall with a combination of real and fake plants creating a nice jungle effect. The lighting and soundtrack changes throughout the day to simulate changing weather. While this is a nice backdrop it really just feels like wasted space. If this area were to be sealed in with acrylic or netting, it would make a perfect environment for a variety of reptile or bird species many of which are kept in less-than-ideal environments elsewhere in the facility. Indeed, immediately behind you when viewing the falls is a rotational parrot exhibit that looked like it belonged in a Rainforest Café not an AZA accredited institution.
Proceeding down the hall are some turtle tanks. The Diamond Back Terrapin and Snake-Neck Turtle tanks are adequate but not exceptional. The Common Snapping Turtle tank was a little on the small side but probably would have been fine if someone hadn’t seen fit to add a massive fake tree stump the negated most of the usable swimming area for a rather large member of this already large and active species. This theme of one or two poor decisions that go uncorrected and end up ruining an otherwise decent exhibit repeats itself in other parts of the aquarium. Also down this way is a lonely kookaburra; a group of these social birds would be another great option for the area above the Piranha Falls.
Before the next piece, for the record, I have only ever seen two penguin exhibits (for any species of penguin) that I thought seemed to have sufficient size. The African Penguins in San Diego’s Africa Rocks and the Humbolt Penguins at the Philadelphia Zoo (more on those in an upcoming post) both have wide and deep pools and a decently sized land area.
The only other place I have seen Blue Penguins is at the Birch Aquarium in San Diego. That one seemed a little on the small side but was massive compared to this one. Even for the tiniest of the penguins, three feet of water depth just seems lazy. That said the penguins did seem happy and well looked after. A few were in molt and looking shaggy but that’s just part of life for penguins.
I lucked out and arrived just as they started feeding which was a great experience. The way they feed is first each penguin gets a single fish with an added vitamin that is specific to the individual (they check the bird’s bands before adding it). Afterwards, everyone is allowed to return and get the rest of their meal. Most of the penguins understand the system and are very cooperative, going to wait at the back until the next stage after getting their vitamin. There are a couple of individuals that like try to steal the other’s vitamins and generally cause chaos throughout the process though. Overall, this was a very engaging and amusing experience.
The African Penguin exhibit outside was closed for maintenance, with the animals out of sight but from what I could tell, the setup looked fairly average for the species.
Next is the Pirates Passage. This area is the most like a traditional aquarium. While I’m not too fond of this type of theming, families and kids tend to love it, so I get it. Here, a variety of colorful and interesting tropical saltwater fish reside in species appropriate habitats. There is a difference between husbandry and exhibitry however. The walkway is very dimly lit. While this is a common method to reduce in-habitat lighting needs and help to hide the visitors from the animals, even with this the habitats are too poorly lit for proper viewing (This isn’t Into the Deep in Monterrey where species are light sensitive). As a result, the whole hallway just feels dreary.
In keeping with the pirate theme, the sound track is of a continuously creaking wooden ship. This would be fine but the volume was set way too loud. Not the “it hurts my ears” kind of too loud but instead the “speakers are turned up too high and are starting to distort” kind of too loud. In keeping with our theme of simple but critical fixes, if they would fix the sound system and improve the lighting, this would probably be a really nice exhibit.
This is getting too long for a single post so part 2 will follow shortly.
