Seattle Aquarium Seattle Aquarium 'Ocean Pavilion' Grand Opening Species List

Quick rundown of some recent additions:
New Species:
  • A group of Bristle Tail Filefish (Acreichthys tomentosus) were added to the Non-Photosynthetic Tank in At home in the Ocean
  • A second Moray Eel was added to the Reef. Though the species was not specified, so it's either a second Giant Moray or the Honeycomb Moray that's been BTS for a long time. I will have to get confirmation on which it is (@Zoological Point would you happen to know ?)

More additions of previous species:
  • More Six-Line Wrasses were added to the Non-Photosynthetic Tank (one being egg-bound which is pretty interesting)
  • A pair of Coral Banded Shrimp were added to the smaller tank that currently houses the Twin Spot / Signal Gobies
  • It looks like a couple more Razorfish were added to their tank as well
And species who I was able to confirm (that weren't specified before) are actually what I thought they were:
  • The Upside Down Jellies on exhibit are confirmed to be the Mangrove Upside Down Jelly (Cassiopea andromeda)
  • The Sea Apples on exhibit are confirmed to the Australian Sea Apple (Pseudocolochirus violaceus)
Once the New Year rolls around, I'll do another updated species list that will hopefully be after the Black Tips and larger fish are introduced into the Reef.
 
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I'm not gonna lie, the Non-Photosynthetic tank seems to have a lack of deep reef species...
 
Ebirah766 said:
I'm not gonna lie, the Non-Photosynthetic tank seems to have a lack of deep reef species...
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Yeah that's definitely my main disappointment with the OP if I'm being honest. I was hoping since this tank is so much larger than the old Non-Photosynthetic Tank, there'd be room for Deep Reef Butterflies, Anthias, etc but that doesn't seem to be the case so far. Not sure if it's a sourcing issue or something else since there are quite a lot of Deepwater species available in the Aquarium trade we could easily pick up. Even in the old tank, I found a picture from 2016 that showed we had a Moorish Idol, Copperband Butterfly, and some sort of Fairy Wrasse in the tank which those aren't Deep Reef fish either.
I noticed so far that most of the stocking for the tank might be correlated with pest control. Such as Copperband Butterflyfish & Bristletail Filefish eat Aiptasia anemones, and the Sixline Wrasses eat Flatworms. But I'm not sure if that's on purpose or just a coincidence (I'll have to ask).
Some species I'd love to see on exhibit that are relatively obtainable would be:
Purple Queen Anthias / Randall's Anthias / Blotchy Anthias / Flathead Perch possibly since those are captive bred / Some sort of Deepwater Wrasses and Butterflies. Hopefully in the near future.
 
Kuda (the Zebra Shark) has been moved out of 'The Reef' and is currently in the big quarantine pool in the viewable 'Animal Care' area. I've heard this is because he's getting re-target trained (was being a little stubborn) and to help with a minor scrape he got near his mouth. At least this makes him a bit easier to see.
There was some speculation on whether the Female Zebra Shark was moving in so I wanted to clear that up in case (you probably won't see her for another year while she grows at the offsite facility).

Also there are some Baby Dwarf Cuttlefish growing up in the viewable 'Animal Care' area too. If I had to guess these will be the new batch that will go on display since the animals on exhibit are getting close to that 6 month mark (Dwarf Cuttles typically only live 6 to 8 months). I doubt we'll be getting Flamboyant Cuttlefish for a while, but also a possibility is a Day Octopus (Octopus cyanea) since when OP opened and the digital signage was still being tinkered with, there was a species profile already programmed into the system. Plus the tank is big enough for one so, that'll be something to look forward to in the future as well.
 
Unfortunately it looks like it'll take a Christmas miracle for the Black Tip Reefs to go into the exhibit before the end of the year (I'm half joking when saying that but the Aquarium is open a little later on Christmas so, Christmas morning would be an excellent time if the Life Sciences team wants to make a surprise gift to the guests).

The only recent changes are that the Peacock Mantis Shrimp tank was changed around a little bit but that's about it. What I'm guessing will happen is 1) Black Tips will go in within the next few weeks 2) The larger reef fish will move in after (ex. Napolean Wrasses, Queensland Grouper, etc) 3) then the Javanese Cownose Rays (whenever they arrive at the facility since they're not onsite yet) will go in after them.
The other exhibits will still have species moved in at various times, especially since a lot of these animals have been here since July.

After the Black Tips, it'll be a while before any other Elasmobranchs go in since the Cownose Rays aren't here yet to my knowledge, but also because I believe the team isn't entirely sure on what to add next. I've heard they're going to try and follow the ReShark program and possibly add species that get nominated for that conservation work (bringing in a Male Bowmouth Guitarfish somehow would be pretty sick if the Bowmouth gets nominated).

500,000 Gallons gives quite a bit of room for potential options. Unfortunately all 3 of PDZA's Scalloped Hammerheads just passed away this last month (you can see my thought's on that in the PDZA species list) so those will not be coming to Seattle (I don't think they would've anyways given our stocking, I think Monterey Bay would've been much more likely). A couple species I would love to see that I think are realistic options would probably be
  • Grey Reef Sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) being that they are one of the most common sharks in the Coral Triangle and currently PDZA has 3 of them who may outgrow their current tank in the near future
  • Blacktip Shark (Carcharhinus limbatus) would be pretty awesome to see, it looks like they're kept at Okinawa-Churaumi who we have connections to so, maybe a possibility?
  • Another species of Walking Shark since it looks like ReShark could potentially partner up with another team in Indonesia as there's currently a lot of Walking Shark conservation and preservation being pushed over there.
I'm so happy we have our Life Sciences President who has all these connections to Japan, Hong Kong, and a couple other places in Asia so, always expect the unexpected since he could bring something from overseas with his connections
 
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Northwest_FIsh_Keeping said:
After the Black Tips, it'll be a while before any other Elasmobranchs go in since the Cownose Rays aren't here yet to my knowledge, but also because I believe the team isn't entirely sure on what to add next. I've heard they're going to try and follow the ReShark program and possibly add species that get nominated for that conservation work (bringing in a Male Bowmouth Guitarfish somehow would be pretty sick if the Bowmouth gets nominated).

500,000 Gallons gives quite a bit of room for potential options. Unfortunately all 3 of PDZA's Scalloped Hammerheads just passed away this last month (you can see my thought's on that in the PDZA species list) so those will not be coming to Seattle (I don't think they would've anyways given our stocking, I think Monterey Bay would've been much more likely). A couple species I would love to see that I think are realistic options would probably be
  • Grey Reef Sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) being that they are one of the most common sharks in the Coral Triangle and currently PDZA has 3 of them who may outgrow their current tank in the near future
  • Blacktip Shark (Carcharhinus limbatus) would be pretty awesome to see, it looks like they're kept at Okinawa-Churaumi who we have connections to so, maybe a possibility?
  • Another species of Walking Shark since it looks like ReShark could potentially partner up with another team in Indonesia as there's currently a lot of Walking Shark conservation and preservation being pushed over there.
I'm so happy we have our Life Sciences President who has all these connections to Japan, Hong Kong, and a couple other places in Asia so, always expect the unexpected since he could bring something from overseas with his connections
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Sorry to be replying to your messages so often, but there is just so much interesting stuff coming out of your area and you are such a wealth of knowledge on all of these subjects!

I would be absolutely thrilled if a blacktip shark were to arrive at Seattle. I’m very sad about the fact that they’ve basically vanished from North American aquaria after the death of the individual at ABQ BioPark. I think your facility would be legitimately perfect for them, so I hope that somehow your life sciences team are seeing this lol. I do imagine that the gray reefs are the most likely, but C. limbatus would be as good an outcome as possible in my view.
 
Local_Shark said:
Sorry to be replying to your messages so often, but there is just so much interesting stuff coming out of your area and you are such a wealth of knowledge on all of these subjects!

I would be absolutely thrilled if a blacktip shark were to arrive at Seattle. I’m very sad about the fact that they’ve basically vanished from North American aquaria after the death of the individual at ABQ BioPark. I think your facility would be legitimately perfect for them, so I hope that somehow your life sciences team are seeing this lol. I do imagine that the gray reefs are the most likely, but C. limbatus would be as good an outcome as possible in my view.
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For sure, their range is so widespread I can't imagine there's one that doesn't end up in a situation where it needs to be rescued.
I can also see a few Whitetip Reef Sharks joining as well since there is a good amount of floor space for them, and they're pretty common I'd say, but hopefully we get some more open-water swimmers.
Potentially a species of Wobbegong too would be pretty neat but I'm not so sure where'd we get one, especially since PDZA already has a Tasseled Wobbegong.

What I might do when the new year comes around is migrate this to a new thread with the updated species list going into 2025, since this one is named as "Grand Opening" unless a mod is able to change it to just "Seattle Aquarium 'Ocean Pavilion' Species List" that would be amazing
 
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@Local_Shark I think you'll like this, I found an interview piece from all the way back in 2022 where Grant Abel states that there will be a total of 26 Sharks & Rays in the building. Didn't say which species of course but if we break that number down right now:
  • 2 Female Blacktip Reef Sharks (not on exhibit yet of course, but soon)
  • 2 Zebra Sharks (the female is at the offsite facility like I mentioned earlier)
  • 3 Ocellated Eagle Rays
  • 1 Leopard Whipray
  • 1 Bowmouth Guitarfish
  • 2 Blue Spotted Mask Rays
  • 1 Epaulette Shark
Comes out to a total of 12 Elasmobranchs currently on exhibit or in collection. Plus the unspecified amount of Javanese Cownose Rays we'll be getting though I'd imagine the number being at least 3 to 4.
Another key thing to note is that he mentions they will all be coming from other facilities. Now unless something has changed in these past 2 years (I don't think so since last I heard, "they haven't been transferred yet" is what I was told), that still accounts for at least 10 Elasmobranchs that are still on the list. So it sounds like all of the species are confirmed, they're just not here yet. I will try and ask if we know what species those are, but hearing that they're all coming from other aquariums is a good hint.
I'd imagine we might be getting another Zebra Shark (the article does state 1 Male and 2 females, so most likely we'll be getting another female in the future), but the other vacant spots I'm not sure about. Just leaves room for the imagination and speculation lol

I should also say that when the digital signs were still being tweaked with during the opening and all of the species profiles were available to the public to look through, there were signs for the Black Tips (next species to go in), and the Cownose Rays (hopefully sometime soon), however I did not see any other species that is not on exhibit currently, have a profile already programmed. So I'm guessing these other species will not be added for a while
 
Northwest_FIsh_Keeping said:
@Local_Shark I think you'll like this, I found an interview piece from all the way back in 2022 where Grant Abel states that there will be a total of 26 Sharks & Rays in the building. Didn't say which species of course but if we break that number down right now:
  • 2 Female Blacktip Reef Sharks (not on exhibit yet of course, but soon)
  • 2 Zebra Sharks (the female is at the offsite facility like I mentioned earlier)
  • 3 Ocellated Eagle Rays
  • 1 Leopard Whipray
  • 1 Bowmouth Guitarfish
  • 2 Blue Spotted Mask Rays
  • 1 Epaulette Shark
Comes out to a total of 12 Elasmobranchs currently on exhibit or in collection. Plus the unspecified amount of Javanese Cownose Rays we'll be getting though I'd imagine the number being at least 3 to 4.
Another key thing to note is that he mentions they will all be coming from other facilities. Now unless something has changed in these past 2 years (I don't think so since last I heard, "they haven't been transferred yet" is what I was told), that still accounts for at least 10 Elasmobranchs that are still on the list. So it sounds like all of the species are confirmed, they're just not here yet. I will try and ask if we know what species those are, but hearing that they're all coming from other aquariums is a good hint.
I'd imagine we might be getting another Zebra Shark (the article does state 1 Male and 2 females, so most likely we'll be getting another female in the future), but the other vacant spots I'm not sure about. Just leaves room for the imagination and speculation lol

I should also say that when the digital signs were still being tweaked with during the opening and all of the species profiles were available to the public to look through, there were signs for the Black Tips (next species to go in), and the Cownose Rays (hopefully sometime soon), however I did not see any other species that is not on exhibit currently, have a profile already programmed. So I'm guessing these other species will not be added for a while
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Oh, you know me very well haha. I do love this, about as good a Christmas gift as you could have given me! I hope that we start to get some idea soon, but if you guys have a preexisting relationship with Okinawa…god, that could be so many things. Any or all of the possible sharks and rays that could be sent over from them are fascinating options. Silvertips, spinners, blacktips, hell one of theirs that got posted on here might actually be an Australian blacktip (C. tilstoni)…the possibilities are endless.
 
Local_Shark said:
Oh, you know me very well haha. I do love this, about as good a Christmas gift as you could have given me! I hope that we start to get some idea soon, but if you guys have a preexisting relationship with Okinawa…god, that could be so many things. Any or all of the possible sharks and rays that could be sent over from them are fascinating options. Silvertips, spinners, blacktips, hell one of theirs that got posted on here might actually be an Australian blacktip (C. tilstoni)…the possibilities are endless.
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Silvertips and / or Spinner Sharks would be so cool, I was looking at their species list and it sounded like they're predatory shark tank was only 220,000-ish gallons? Would be a nice upgrade for those species. I also saw our stocking for 'The Reef' is turning out to be pretty similar to Ocean Park's largest tank in their "Grand Aquarium" (species list here) minus a couple notable species like the Hammerheads of course.
I would love to see / put money on we could get a Black Blotch Fantail Ray (Taeniurops meyeni) in the future since those seem to be quite common over in Asia, plus PDZA also has one currently, and could fit right in since the Leopard Whipray is currently the only benthic ray we have.

Speaking about 'The Reef', this little easter egg on the Aquarium's website if you literally just type in "Blacktip Reef Shark" in the search bar will lead you to the species profile page for the Blacktip Reef Shark! This must mean she's moving in very soon.
Now it sounds like they'll be introducing them one at a time, just like they did with the Eagle Rays which makes sense, although it is a little disappointing to not see both of them go out on exhibit at the same time. Hopefully before New Years Eve? But I would confidently say she'll be in at least before the end of January
 
Northwest_FIsh_Keeping said:
Silvertips and / or Spinner Sharks would be so cool, I was looking at their species list and it sounded like they're predatory shark tank was only 220,000-ish gallons? Would be a nice upgrade for those species. I also saw our stocking for 'The Reef' is turning out to be pretty similar to Ocean Park's largest tank in their "Grand Aquarium" (species list here) minus a couple notable species like the Hammerheads of course.
I would love to see / put money on we could get a Black Blotch Fantail Ray (Taeniurops meyeni) in the future since those seem to be quite common over in Asia, plus PDZA also has one currently, and could fit right in since the Leopard Whipray is currently the only benthic ray we have.

Speaking about 'The Reef', this little easter egg on the Aquarium's website if you literally just type in "Blacktip Reef Shark" in the search bar will lead you to the species profile page for the Blacktip Reef Shark! This must mean she's moving in very soon.
Now it sounds like they'll be introducing them one at a time, just like they did with the Eagle Rays which makes sense, although it is a little disappointing to not see both of them go out on exhibit at the same time. Hopefully before New Years Eve? But I would confidently say she'll be in at least before the end of January
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Georgia’s got black-blotched/round ribbontail rays as well, as do the National Aquarium, SeaWorld Orlando and The Seas at Epcot among others. They’re pretty gettable and do extremely well if you have a sizable enough facility, so I could definitely see it. Excited to see the blacktip reefs enter, and definitely can’t wait to hear anything you find (and can divulge) about other planned species!
 
Starting off the New Year with a complete species list since the last one I did was back in October. Originally I was going to upload this as a new thread but since there's still a good chunk of the species that haven't moved in yet, I'll hold off till the building is closer to being 80 / 90% stocked (I'd say it's closer to 50% now). Hopefully the next update will be the news of the first Blacktip Reef Shark going in since they're starting to hype it up. Here we go:

The Reef |
  • Zebra Shark (Stegostoma tigrinum) (One Male)
  • Ocellated Eagle Rays (Aetobatus ocellatus) (Three Males)
  • Bowmouth Guitarfish (Rhina ancylostoma) (One Female)
  • Leopard Whipray (Himantura leoparda) (One Female)
  • Giant Morays (Gymnothorax javanicus) (Two of them)
  • Yellowtail Fusiliers (Caesio cuning) (over 250+)
  • Bluespine Unicorn Tangs (Naso unicornis)
  • Naso Tangs (Naso lituratus)
  • Eye-Stripe Tangs (Acanthurus dussumieri)
  • Ringtail Tangs (Acanthurus xanthopterus)
  • Blue Hippo Tangs (Paracanthurus hepatus)
  • Emperor Angelfishes (Pomacanthus imperator)
  • Clown Triggerfishes (Balistoides conspicillum)
  • Porcupine Pufferfish (Diodon holocanthus)
  • Grey Dogface Pufferfish (Arothron nigropunctatus)
  • Pyramid Butterflyfishes (Hemitaurichthys polylepis)
  • Saddle Butterflyfishes (Chaetodon ephippium)
  • Spotted Sweetlips (Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides)
  • Purple Square Anthias (Males & Females) (Pseudanthias pleurotaenia)
  • Blue Streak Cleaner Wrasses (Labroides dimidiatus)
  • Yellow Stripe Wrasse (Coris flavovittata)
  • Moorish Idols (Zanclus cornutus)
  • Foxface Rabbitfishes (Siganus vulpinus)
  • Coral Rabbitfishes (Siganus corallinus)
  • Yellow Stripe Goatfishes (Mulloidichthys flavolineatus)
  • Manybar Goatfishes (Parupeneus multifasciatus)
  • Dusky Batfishes (Platax pinnatus)
  • Snub-Nosed Pompanos (Trachinotus blochii)
  • Barred Flagtails (Kuhlia mugil)
  • Hawaiian Flagtails (Kuhlia xenura)
The Archipelago |
Mangrove Lagoon side:
  • Blue Spotted Mask Rays (Neotrygon kuhlii) (Two Females)
  • Australian Stripey's (Microcanthus strigatus)
  • Spotted Scats (Scatophagus argus)
  • Yellow Stripe Goatfishes (Mulloidichthys flavolineatus)
  • Scopas Tangs (Zebrasoma scopas)
  • Chocolate Chip Stars (Protoreaster nodosus)
  • Red Mangrove Trees (Rhizophora mangle)
Inshore Reef side:
  • Lyretail Anthias (Pseudanthias squamipinnis) (Males & Females)
  • Blue-Green Chromis (Chromis viridis)
  • Moorish Idols (Zanclus cornutus)
  • Gold Rim Tangs (Acanthurus nigricans)
  • Double-Lined Fusiliers (Pterocaesio digramma)
  • Bicolor Angelfishes (Centropyge bicolor)
  • Flame Angelfishes (Centropyge loricula)
  • Pearly Soldierfishes (Myripristis kuntee)
  • Foxface Rabbitfishes (Siganus vulpinus)
  • Scopas Tangs (Zebrasoma scopas)
(Corals include: Plating Montipora, Staghorn Coral, various Mushroom Corals, Zoanthids, Hammer Corals, Bubble Corals, Rumphella sp. Gorgonians, Scroll Corals, Pagoda Cup Corals, Leptoseris Corals, and a few others)
(Inverts include hundreds of Astrea snails, Turbo snails, and Blue leg Hermit Crabs)

At Home in the Ocean |

"Want to be Friends?"
  • Ocellaris Clownfishes (Amphiprion ocellaris)
  • Tomato Clownfishes (Amphiprion frenatus)
  • Orange Spotted Filefishes (Oxymonacanthus longirostris)
  • (baby) Blue Hippo Tangs (Paracanthurus hepatus)
  • Rainbow Bubbletip Anemones (Entacmaea quadricolor)
  • Giant Carpet Anemones (Stichodactyla gigantea)
  • Cushion Star (Culcita novaeguineae)
  • (plus a bunch of Astrea and Turbo snails)
"Want to play Hide and Seek?"
  • Epaulette Shark (Hemiscyllium ocellatum)
  • Razorfishes (Aeoliscus strigatus)
  • Five-Lined Cardinalfishes (Cheilodipterus quinquelineatus)
  • Gold Head Sleeper Goby (Valenciennea strigata)
  • Sand Sifting Stars (Astropecten polyacanthus)
  • Pink & Black Sea Cucumbers (Holothuria edulis)
"Want to go out... or stay in?"
  • Purple Weedy Scorpionfish (Rhinopias frondosa)
  • Orange Weedy Scorpionfish (Rhinopias frondosa)
"Read my mind?"
  • Dwarf Cuttlefishes (Sepia bandensis)
  • (Plus Rumphella Gorgonians and a few other soft corals)
"Want to see a Magic Trick?"
  • Spotted Garden Eels (Heteroconger hassi)
  • Splendid Garden Eels (Gorgasia preclara)
  • Purple Square Anthias (1 male and 7 females) (Pseudanthias pleurotaenia)
  • (Plus some “Kenya Tree” soft Corals on the back)
"Watch out!"
  • Devil Scorpionfish (Scorpaenopsis diabolus)
  • Ornate Spiny Lobster (Panulirus ornatus)
  • Cushion Star (Culcita novaeguineae)
"Are you a Night Owl too?"
  • Blue-eye Cardinalfishes (Zoramia leptacantha)
  • Copperband Butterflyfishes (Chelmon rostratus)
  • Sixline Wrasses (Pseudocheilinus hexataenia)
  • Longnose Hawkfishes (Oxycirrhites typus)
  • Bristle Tailed Filefishes (Acreichthys tomentosus)
  • Australian Sea Apples (Pseudocolochirus violaceus)
  • Orange Sun Corals (Tubastraea faulkneri)
  • Black Sun Corals (Tubastraea micrantha)
  • “Ghostly Green” Sun Corals (Tubastraea sp.)
  • Blueberry Gorgonians (Acalycigorgia sp.)
  • Purple Gorgonians (Menella sp.)
  • Wire Corals (Cirrhipathes spiralis) (Green, Pink, and Orange / Yellow)
Tanks that don't have a corresponding theme;
  • Yellow Leaf Scorpionfishes (Taenianotus triacanthus)
  • Banded Coral Shrimps (Stenopus hispidus)
  • Twin-spot Gobies (Signigobius biocellatus)
  • Banded Coral Shrimps (Stenopus hispidus)
  • Mangrove Upside Down Jellies (Cassiopea andromeda)
  • Australian Sea Apples (Pseudocolochirus violaceus)
  • Chocolate Chip Star (Protoreaster nodosus)
  • (also featuring a couple Plate Corals (Fungia spp.)
  • Peacock Mantis Shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus)
One Ocean Hall |
  • Yellow Seahorses (Hippocamus kuda)
  • Chocolate Chip Star (Protoreaster nodosus)
Jelly Nursery |
  • Spotted Lagoon Jellies (Mastigias papua)
Animal Care Area |
(Kuda the Zebra Shark is currently in the large holding pool getting help with target training. Also there are a couple coral colonies in the holding tanks)
 
A group of Royal Dottybacks (Pictichromis paccagnellorum) and Blue Sapphire / Springeri Damselfishes (Chrysiptera springeri) were recently added to the "Inshore Reef" side of the Archipelago the other day. Technically this side is called the "Coral Canyon" which does make more sense so I think I'll call it that from now on, along with more Bristle Tail Filefishes.
 
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Stopped by today and a few updates to mention:
  • The Epaulette Shark is currently BTS since the Seagrass Tank in AHITO is currently being treated with meds for the Shrimpfish (Small sharks are pretty sensitive to various medications). He'll eventually go back in once the med treatment is over
  • Blue Devil Damselfishes (Chrysiptera cyanea) were also added to the "Coral Canyon", they're pretty similar to the Blue Sapphire Damsels so I'm not surprised that they weren't mentioned initially.
  • Also a Pair of Copperband Butterflies and group of Sixline Wrasses were also added to the "Coral Canyon"
  • Peacock Mantis Shrimp is currently off exhibit (I believe it might be molting right now so they took it off to reduce the amount of stress, I expect it to go back on exhibit in a few weeks)
  • (Unfortunately was not able to get any word about when exactly the first Blacktip Reef Shark would be going in since they're still debating on what day. Hopefully by the end of the month)
Northwest_FIsh_Keeping said:
Starting off the New Year with a complete species list since the last one I did was back in October. Originally I was going to upload this as a new thread but since there's still a good chunk of the species that haven't moved in yet, I'll hold off till the building is closer to being 80 / 90% stocked (I'd say it's closer to 50% now). Hopefully the next update will be the news of the first Blacktip Reef Shark going in since they're starting to hype it up. Here we go:

The Reef |
  • Zebra Shark (Stegostoma tigrinum) (One Male)
  • Ocellated Eagle Rays (Aetobatus ocellatus) (Three Males)
  • Bowmouth Guitarfish (Rhina ancylostoma) (One Female)
  • Leopard Whipray (Himantura leoparda) (One Female)
  • Giant Morays (Gymnothorax javanicus) (Two of them)
  • Yellowtail Fusiliers (Caesio cuning) (over 250+)
  • Bluespine Unicorn Tangs (Naso unicornis)
  • Naso Tangs (Naso lituratus)
  • Eye-Stripe Tangs (Acanthurus dussumieri)
  • Ringtail Tangs (Acanthurus xanthopterus)
  • Blue Hippo Tangs (Paracanthurus hepatus)
  • Emperor Angelfishes (Pomacanthus imperator)
  • Clown Triggerfishes (Balistoides conspicillum)
  • Porcupine Pufferfish (Diodon holocanthus)
  • Grey Dogface Pufferfish (Arothron nigropunctatus)
  • Pyramid Butterflyfishes (Hemitaurichthys polylepis)
  • Saddle Butterflyfishes (Chaetodon ephippium)
  • Spotted Sweetlips (Plectorhinchus chaetodonoides)
  • Purple Square Anthias (Males & Females) (Pseudanthias pleurotaenia)
  • Blue Streak Cleaner Wrasses (Labroides dimidiatus)
  • Yellow Stripe Wrasse (Coris flavovittata)
  • Moorish Idols (Zanclus cornutus)
  • Foxface Rabbitfishes (Siganus vulpinus)
  • Coral Rabbitfishes (Siganus corallinus)
  • Yellow Stripe Goatfishes (Mulloidichthys flavolineatus)
  • Manybar Goatfishes (Parupeneus multifasciatus)
  • Dusky Batfishes (Platax pinnatus)
  • Snub-Nosed Pompanos (Trachinotus blochii)
  • Barred Flagtails (Kuhlia mugil)
  • Hawaiian Flagtails (Kuhlia xenura)
The Archipelago |
Mangrove Lagoon side:
  • Blue Spotted Mask Rays (Neotrygon kuhlii) (Two Females)
  • Australian Stripey's (Microcanthus strigatus)
  • Spotted Scats (Scatophagus argus)
  • Yellow Stripe Goatfishes (Mulloidichthys flavolineatus)
  • Scopas Tangs (Zebrasoma scopas)
  • Chocolate Chip Stars (Protoreaster nodosus)
  • Red Mangrove Trees (Rhizophora mangle)
Inshore Reef side:
  • Lyretail Anthias (Pseudanthias squamipinnis) (Males & Females)
  • Blue-Green Chromis (Chromis viridis)
  • Moorish Idols (Zanclus cornutus)
  • Gold Rim Tangs (Acanthurus nigricans)
  • Double-Lined Fusiliers (Pterocaesio digramma)
  • Bicolor Angelfishes (Centropyge bicolor)
  • Flame Angelfishes (Centropyge loricula)
  • Pearly Soldierfishes (Myripristis kuntee)
  • Foxface Rabbitfishes (Siganus vulpinus)
  • Scopas Tangs (Zebrasoma scopas)
(Corals include: Plating Montipora, Staghorn Coral, various Mushroom Corals, Zoanthids, Hammer Corals, Bubble Corals, Rumphella sp. Gorgonians, Scroll Corals, Pagoda Cup Corals, Leptoseris Corals, and a few others)
(Inverts include hundreds of Astrea snails, Turbo snails, and Blue leg Hermit Crabs)

At Home in the Ocean |

"Want to be Friends?"
  • Ocellaris Clownfishes (Amphiprion ocellaris)
  • Tomato Clownfishes (Amphiprion frenatus)
  • Orange Spotted Filefishes (Oxymonacanthus longirostris)
  • (baby) Blue Hippo Tangs (Paracanthurus hepatus)
  • Rainbow Bubbletip Anemones (Entacmaea quadricolor)
  • Giant Carpet Anemones (Stichodactyla gigantea)
  • Cushion Star (Culcita novaeguineae)
  • (plus a bunch of Astrea and Turbo snails)
"Want to play Hide and Seek?"
  • Epaulette Shark (Hemiscyllium ocellatum)
  • Razorfishes (Aeoliscus strigatus)
  • Five-Lined Cardinalfishes (Cheilodipterus quinquelineatus)
  • Gold Head Sleeper Goby (Valenciennea strigata)
  • Sand Sifting Stars (Astropecten polyacanthus)
  • Pink & Black Sea Cucumbers (Holothuria edulis)
"Want to go out... or stay in?"
  • Purple Weedy Scorpionfish (Rhinopias frondosa)
  • Orange Weedy Scorpionfish (Rhinopias frondosa)
"Read my mind?"
  • Dwarf Cuttlefishes (Sepia bandensis)
  • (Plus Rumphella Gorgonians and a few other soft corals)
"Want to see a Magic Trick?"
  • Spotted Garden Eels (Heteroconger hassi)
  • Splendid Garden Eels (Gorgasia preclara)
  • Purple Square Anthias (1 male and 7 females) (Pseudanthias pleurotaenia)
  • (Plus some “Kenya Tree” soft Corals on the back)
"Watch out!"
  • Devil Scorpionfish (Scorpaenopsis diabolus)
  • Ornate Spiny Lobster (Panulirus ornatus)
  • Cushion Star (Culcita novaeguineae)
"Are you a Night Owl too?"
  • Blue-eye Cardinalfishes (Zoramia leptacantha)
  • Copperband Butterflyfishes (Chelmon rostratus)
  • Sixline Wrasses (Pseudocheilinus hexataenia)
  • Longnose Hawkfishes (Oxycirrhites typus)
  • Bristle Tailed Filefishes (Acreichthys tomentosus)
  • Australian Sea Apples (Pseudocolochirus violaceus)
  • Orange Sun Corals (Tubastraea faulkneri)
  • Black Sun Corals (Tubastraea micrantha)
  • “Ghostly Green” Sun Corals (Tubastraea sp.)
  • Blueberry Gorgonians (Acalycigorgia sp.)
  • Purple Gorgonians (Menella sp.)
  • Wire Corals (Cirrhipathes spiralis) (Green, Pink, and Orange / Yellow)
Tanks that don't have a corresponding theme;
  • Yellow Leaf Scorpionfishes (Taenianotus triacanthus)
  • Banded Coral Shrimps (Stenopus hispidus)
  • Twin-spot Gobies (Signigobius biocellatus)
  • Banded Coral Shrimps (Stenopus hispidus)
  • Mangrove Upside Down Jellies (Cassiopea andromeda)
  • Australian Sea Apples (Pseudocolochirus violaceus)
  • Chocolate Chip Star (Protoreaster nodosus)
  • (also featuring a couple Plate Corals (Fungia spp.)
  • Peacock Mantis Shrimp (Odontodactylus scyllarus)
One Ocean Hall |
  • Yellow Seahorses (Hippocamus kuda)
  • Chocolate Chip Star (Protoreaster nodosus)
Jelly Nursery |
  • Spotted Lagoon Jellies (Mastigias papua)
Animal Care Area |
(Kuda the Zebra Shark is currently in the large holding pool getting help with target training. Also there are a couple coral colonies in the holding tanks)
Click to expand...
I also forgot to mention the Ringtail Tangs (Acanthurus blochii) that also live in 'The Reef'. Can't believe I keep forgetting about those. Acanthurus xanthopterus is actually known as the 'Yellowfin Tang' so I'll have to correct that on the next list.

Northwest_FIsh_Keeping said:
A group of Royal Dottybacks (Pictichromis paccagnellorum) and Blue Sapphire / Springeri Damselfishes (Chrysiptera springeri) were recently added to the "Inshore Reef" side of the Archipelago the other day. Technically this side is called the "Coral Canyon" which does make more sense so I think I'll call it that from now on, along with more Bristle Tail Filefishes.
Click to expand...
And with these latest additions, if I'm referring to the species binder that volunteers are using to help guests ID fish, this makes about 28 Fish Species (not including the Elasmobranchs but then again it's only the Blacktips for now) that haven't been added to the OP yet. (Potentially. That binder was last updated in July and definitely has changed since then as for example, neither of the filefish species were named in that binder. Along with the supposed Ribbon Eels that are on the Aquarium site). (Also not including the species that were housed over in the PCR gallery on Pier 59 since we're not sure which species exactly will be moving)

Most of them are smaller species like various Tangs, Butterflies, Wrasses etc so I won't talk about those but some species that I'm 100% positive we probably still have that will end up moving in (hopefully) soon that I've mentioned before include:
  • The 3 Napolean Wrasses (Cheilinus undulatus) | Have a sign in the OP section over on Pier 59 + they're such an iconic species, I don't see why we would've gotten rid of them
  • The Queensland Grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus) | Another iconic species that seemingly most large scale Indo-Pacific exhibits have
  • Banded Archerfishes (Toxotes jaculatrix) | Now would it really be a Mangrove exhibit without some Archerfish? ;)
  • Diagonal Banded Sweetlips (Plectorhinchus lineatus) | Have a sign in the OP section over on Pier 59 + featured in some of the old Mangrove Lagoon concept art, however I'd probably expect them to go into the Reef as the Mangrove exhibit is on the smaller side for the species
  • Golden Sweepers (Parapriacanthus ransonneti) | Bred by some Aquariums over in Japan, and usually found in very large groups in Reef Slopes and Inshore Reefs (the perfect fit for the Coral Canyon, I'm confident there will be a large group going in)
  • Alligator Pipefish (Syngnathoides biaculeatus) and Banded Pipefish (Dunckerocampus dactyliophorus) are actually already signed with the Seahorses, they're just not out on exhibit yet.
  • Other fish such as the Sailfin Tangs, Yellow Tangs, Convict Tangs, Red Corris Wrasses, and Yellow Longnose Butterflies were all kept over in PCR (plus the Red Corris Wrasse has a sign in the OP section on Pier 59) so it's pretty obvious they'd be moving over to this much larger tank.
I'm guessing some species could've been dropped off of the list but there have obviously been many new acquisitions since that July update. Hopefully they'll release an updated one soon for the volunteers. Also didn't name a lot of Inverts since most of them most likely won't be on exhibit for a while longer (such as the various species of Giant Clams, all aquacultured so they're only a couple inches right now), or have short lifespans (ex. some Jelly species that were mentioned in the binder) so we might not have them at all currently. The word is that 2025 will be a BIG year so, let's hope that means lots of new species for the OP!
 
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New Additions that went in as of this morning:
  • Dragon Face Pipefish (Corythoichthys sp.) now reside in the smallest tank in AHITO. Theser weren't mentioned in the old binder so they must be recent acquisitions.
  • Alligator Pipefishes (Syngnathoides biaculeatus) now reside in the Seahorse Tank (no Banded Pipefish yet however)
  • 2 Volitan / Red Lionfish (Pterois volitans) now reside in the "Watch out!" tank, to my knowledge that should be the last of the additions for that tank that are on sight now but more fish can definitely go in there so we'll see in the future.
  • (along with a couple more Shrimpfish that were added to the Seagrass tank)
Also unfortunately, there is no definite timeline for when the Blacktip Reef Sharks will be going in (coming directly from the Life Sciences team). Not entirely sure why it's taking much longer than the other Elasmobranchs but if I had to guess, they probably want to add Kuda (the Zebra Shark) back into the Reef first before adding the Blacktips.
 
Sad news I received this morning, unfortunately the Epaulette Shark passed away suddenly behind the scenes :(
They're not sure how or why, I believe they're going to do a necropsy to see what happened. I'm not sure what the plans are now, since that Epaulette Shark was eventually going to move over to the Mangrove Lagoon when it was a bit bigger. They're easy to acquire captive bred but yeah, just an unfortunate turn of events. It's species profile has already been removed from the website so this should be fine to talk about.

Northwest_FIsh_Keeping said:
Dragon Face Pipefish
Click to expand...
Northwest_FIsh_Keeping said:
(Corythoichthys sp.)
Click to expand...
Also confirming this species is Corythoichthys intestinalis, which also goes by the "Scribbled Pipefish"

AND the Honeycomb Moray (Gymnothorax favagineus) is now on exhibit in AHITO with the Weedy Scorpionfish, glad to see this guy on exhibit now
 
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Northwest_FIsh_Keeping said:
AND the Honeycomb Moray (Gymnothorax favagineus) is now on exhibit in AHITO with the Weedy Scorpionfish, glad to see this guy on exhibit now
Click to expand...
The Honeycomb Moray actually lives by himself in that tank, the Weedy Scorpionfish were moved to one of the smaller display tanks where there are now 2 Purple Weedys (the orange one is back BTS). The Sea Apples and Chocolate Chip Star that were in that tank have been distributed to other exhibits.
I'm not sure how well normal Morays and Ribbon Eels get along together, but the way that the tank was redone, I wouldn't be surprised if the Ribbon Eels were to move in too. Especially since the Honeycomb Moray is stunted unfortunately (was a rescue from a closed down fish store who had her in too small of a tank) so she's only 2ft long, which length wise would match up with the Ribbon Eels pretty well.

So I have no idea where these guys came from, but in the Reef I discovered this morning are some Longfin Batfish (Platax teira). I noticed because some of the Batfish were oddly larger than the rest, and the pics I took match up with observations on iNat. So it looks like there are two species of batfish now which is super cool. Or, the juveniles are actually just Longfin Batfish but considering how much larger these "new" ones are, I'm going to guess there are 2 different species now.

I forgot if I mentioned it earlier but the Peacock Mantis Shrimp is also back on exhibit (was moved BTS while it was molting), it's just a little harder to spot since the tank was redone.

Kuda (the Zebra Shark) is still in his holding area, they're not sure when he'll go back in to the Reef unfortunately. I'm hoping the Archerfish and Napolean Wrasses move in next since both of those exhibits haven't gotten any recent major additions lately.
 
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