Monterey Bay Aquarium Monterey Bay Aquarium News

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

It’s kind of the weakest area by default. Monterey Bay Habitats, Kelp Forest, Into the Deep, and Open Seas are all, at minimum, very good. So it’s Splash Zone or the sea otters. I’d say the sea otter exhibit is at least good for what it is. Splash Zone is the only one that kind of felt like something I’d see in a much lesser aquarium. Except the leaping blennies. Those were great.

Agreed, the Leaping Blennies and Sun Coral Dome are my favorite / strongest attributes of the area (the Sun Coral Dome comes from my bias of Non-photosynthetic corals, admittedly). Everything is quite common / done a lot at other aquariums. And some of the smaller tanks being inside areas where either only kids are allowed, or you have to get down and crawl to see, does obstruct it quite a bit (I get that's the intention behind it, that it's made for kids, but a better viewing for things like the Mantis Shrimp from outside the tunnel would be quite nice). I was thinking about it a little earlier, if they are going to do this renovation, I would love if they included attributes from some of the old special exhibitions, especially since it is the only Tropical area in the aquarium. Some of my obvious ones were:

• Upgraded African Penguin exhibit (basically confirmed)
• 30ft Reef Tank (which now, thinking about it, could be replacing the second stony coral tank that's to the left of the Clownfish and Anemone Tank. It'd be an upgrade in terms of looks and tank size)
• Add Garden Eels (from Viva Baja)
• Add a Tropical Cephalopod of some sort (Flamboyant Cuttlefish were the first to come to mind since they don't need a ton of room) (from Tentacles)
• Add a species of Seahorse or Seadragon (from that one Seahorse and Pipefish exhibit years ago, I forgot the name of it) since it just hit me that the Aquarium currently exhibits no Seahorse species which is quite surprising.
• Renovate the Moray Eel tank (I don't think there's much wrong with it, I've just never really seen the Morays every time I've been and it is basically a wall of white rock)

Those are just a few examples that come to mind. That way it'd still be target to kids through interesting species with unique characteristics, but also the general public because everyone loves Garden Eels and Cephalopods. Not sure how they could change the Leaping Blenny Tank, Clownfish and Anemone Tank, Spiny Lobster and California Moray Tank, or Nudibranch Tank, since those don't really need changes IMO. Though if they did want to give the Leaping Blenny exhibit a non-curved viewing area, that'd really make the photographer side of me very happy lol

 

[Great Argus]

Add Garden Eels (from Viva Baja)

Add a species of Seahorse or Seadragon (from that one Seahorse and Pipefish exhibit years ago, I forgot the name of it) since it just hit me that the Aquarium currently exhibits no Seahorse species which is quite surprising.

Both of these have previously been in the small domed tank, the seahorses most recently (more specifically Ribboned Pipefish 5 years ago or so). I seem to recall there was a Hippocampus species in there too. One of the larger now reef tanks I also remember having Leafy Sea Dragons many years ago followed later on by Pharaoh Cuttlefish. Since about the mid 2010's they've trended towards having standard reef tanks in the Splash Zone for whatever reason. Maybe just easier to have that area straightforward so they can focus on more challenging areas like Tentacles or Into the Deep?

 

[Ebirah766]

Splash Zone has nudibranchs...

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

Both of these have previously been in the small domed tank, the seahorses most recently (more specifically Ribboned Pipefish 5 years ago or so). I seem to recall there was a Hippocampus species in there too. One of the larger now reef tanks I also remember having Leafy Sea Dragons many years ago followed later on by Pharaoh Cuttlefish. Since about the mid 2010's they've trended towards having standard reef tanks in the Splash Zone for whatever reason. Maybe just easier to have that area straightforward so they can focus on more challenging areas like Tentacles or Into the Deep?

Thats true, I was wondering if that might be the reason why we haven't gotten a new Special Exhibition yet (as in they're probably putting all the resources and time to Into the Deep at the moment). Since it is technically a Kid's area, its probably the easiest to not make it overly complex.

Splash Zone has nudibranchs...

They're supposed to be in a small, cube shaped tank thats in the same hall as the Spiny Lobster / California Moray Tank, it's pretty passable though to be honest. IIRC they have 4 species of Nudibranch signed, but I've only ever seen the Monterey Sea Lemons unfortunately. The other species must be super small cause they should be pretty colorful and easy to spot, but I've never seen them

 

[Ebirah766]

Thats true, I was wondering if that might be the reason why we haven't gotten a new Special Exhibition yet (as in they're probably putting all the resources and time to Into the Deep at the moment). Since it is technically a Kid's area, its probably the easiest to not make it overly complex.
They're supposed to be in a small, cube shaped tank thats in the same hall as the Spiny Lobster / California Moray Tank, it's pretty passable though to be honest. IIRC they have 4 species of Nudibranch signed, but I've only ever seen the Monterey Sea Lemons unfortunately. The other species must be super small cause they should be pretty colorful and easy to spot, but I've never seen them

I've been there and seen 3 species

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

From a couple of recent posts on Facebook via visitors, it looks like the Aquarium just introduced a new school of Northern Anchovies into the Kelp Forest Tank, posts from 2 weeks ago don't show any anchovies so these have to be very recent. Which is really exciting since personally, I think the exhibit is at it's best with a group of Anchovies in there (picture via a post from Facebook I found)

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

Cigar Comb Jellies (Beroe forskalii) are currently on exhibit in the Jelly Gallery portion of 'Open Sea' gallery

Egg Yolk Jellies have taken their spot it looks like, and Cross Jellies have replaced the Crystal Jellies
It also looks like the Purple Striped Nettles are off exhibit again, so its just the Black Sea Nettles in that tank for now

So I believe the Drifters Gallery right now should consist of Pacific Sea Nettles, Black Sea Nettles, California Sea Gooseberries, Spotted Comb Jellies, Egg Yolk Jellies, Cross Jellies, Giant Bell Jellies, the various Moon Jelly sizes, and then whatever is in the other small plankton tank

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

Thanks to this image from @DesertTortoise , it appears there's a new species of Sea Nettle in the Drifter's Gallery, though I'm assuming it's one of the plankton tanks since it looks to be unsigned and still very young.
A lot of Sea Nettles at this stage are hard to tell apart since they don't have any easily identifiable traits; they're all just clear with barely any color. Though if I had to guess based off of the tentacle coloration, this looks like it could be a very young Northern Sea Nettle (Chrysaora melanaster), since there are pictures on iNaturalist that show very similar-looking ones, just with a little more color on the bell. July and August also appear to be the peak season for them as well, so it wouldn't surprise me if they were able to source polyps to grow out. I might have to ask someone I know at the Aquarium for confirmation, but if true, this looks like the first time in at least a decade they're exhibiting the species, which is really exciting

Jelly ID?

• DesertTortoise
• 31 Jul 2025
• 3

Monterey Bay Aquarium - July 18, 2025

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

Thanks to this image from @DesertTortoise , it appears there's a new species of Sea Nettle in the Drifter's Gallery, though I'm assuming it's one of the plankton tanks since it looks to be unsigned and still very young.
A lot of Sea Nettles at this stage are hard to tell apart since they don't have any easily identifiable traits; they're all just clear with barely any color. Though if I had to guess based off of the tentacle coloration, this looks like it could be a very young Northern Sea Nettle (Chrysaora melanaster), since there are pictures on iNaturalist that show very similar-looking ones, just with a little more color on the bell. July and August also appear to be the peak season for them as well, so it wouldn't surprise me if they were able to source polyps to grow out. I might have to ask someone I know at the Aquarium for confirmation, but if true, this looks like the first time in at least a decade they're exhibiting the species, which is really exciting

Jelly ID?

• DesertTortoise
• 31 Jul 2025
• 3

Monterey Bay Aquarium - July 18, 2025

So this turned out to be a very young Purple Striped Sea Nettle, as it turns out, they've replaced the Black Sea Nettles in the Drifter's Gallery it appears. Though they're still very young so they don't have the purple stripes yet.
Other updates I could find when compared to the last species list that was posted on the forum last year:

• There's a Bluefin Ronquil (Rathbunella hypoplecta) that's on exhibit in one of the "Monterey Bay Habitats" exhibits, which seemed to replace the Blackeye Goby that was in the tank (makes sense since Blackeye Gobies are in a different exhibit)
• This is a piece of news I never reported but since 2023, there's been a Fuzzy Carrot Coral (Paraminabea rubeusa) in the Sun Coral bubble exhibit in the "Coral Kingdom", it's not signed and it's all the way in the back so it's a little hard to see, but this is a really rare coral in the US. If I remember correctly, it was gifted by an aquarist who happened to get one of the first ones that came in Vietnam, and it's been there ever since. Really cool "easter egg" coral to find (I'll try and get a picture of it when I'm down there)

 

[Ebirah766]

Both are awesome additions!

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

Splash Zone renovation confirmed for 2026

Matt Wandell (Husbandry Operations Project Manager) was just on the "Reef Beef" Podcast
(you can skip to the MBA part) and confirmed the Splash Zone is getting a renovation next year and what it sounds like will be finished late next year as well.
He only touched on the Reef exhibits saying there will be a "5 to 6,000 Gallon Reef Tank" (that 30ft long one i mentioned earlier) and a lot of other new Reef tanks coming in to replace the existing setups. Him and Richard Ross (formerly of the Steinhart Aquarium) are hyping it up a lot so im very excited to see what's happening. Might have to ask him about it. Hopefully we do get some of those classics back from "Tentacles" and "Seahorses and Pipefish" (is forgot the actual name of that exhibit) back permanently with this renovation.
Now he didn't mention anything about the Penguin exhibit, but considering that when I talked to him in 2023 and he said it was in the plans back then, I'd imagine their finally doing it (granted, its not a huge expansion anyways, since they'd be extending it out more from the front and left sides so it shouldn't take too much time).
He says they'll be unveiling the new Reef Tank "late next year", which in context makes it sound like as a whole, all of the renovations will be completed as well. Looks like we were right, by default the weakest area of the Aquarium is getting it's first major face-lift for its 25 year anniversary

 

[Great Argus]

"Seahorses and Pipefish" (is forgot the actual name of that exhibit)

"Secret Lives of Seahorses" was the name, it was a cool exhibition.

Very interested to see how this renovation plays out, it sounds promising! I do hope the unusual species like the leaping blennies and nudibranchs stick around though.

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

"Secret Lives of Seahorses" was the name, it was a cool exhibition.

Very interested to see how this renovation plays out, it sounds promising! I do hope the unusual species like the leaping blennies and nudibranchs stick around though.

Ah thank you, thats what it was, I was super young when I saw it so it was blanking on me.
I should definitely ask if the Leaping Blennies are staying. From what it sounds like, they really want to expand on the tropical stuff since if this 1 tank alone is going to be larger than the total volume of all the existing tanks combined (4,000 total gallons right now), then they must have some crazy things in the works.
Honestly if they did some rearranging of animals, this area might turn into 100% Tropical (besides the Penguins of course and hopefully the Leaping Blennies). Since the non-tropical species in the gallery are from the Bay, they could in theory rearrange them to other parts of the aquarium. The Spiny Lobster tank i can see getting axed for something else, since there are already California Morays in the Enchanted Kelp Forest and they could move the Spiny Lobsters into that tank as well. Maybe move the Swell Sharks into the main Kelp Forest Tank.
I could also see them replacing the Red Octopus in the enchanted kelp forest with the Nudibranchs instead, since the current Octopus definitely seems too large now for that tank.
Whatever happens, it is MBA so expect the unexpected it seems lol. I'll have to get some final pics of the existing Splash Zone tomorrow for historical purposes

 

[Ebirah766]

Oh god please keep the nudibranchs

 

[Haliaeetus]

Transfer of 2 rescued young Sea Otters to Kansas City Zoo
Monterey Bay Aquarium on Instagram: "From rescue to rehabilitation, from surrogacy to sanctuary… It takes a village to save a species Meet Owin and Matti, two southern sea otters whose journeys are a true testament to the power of partnership in conservation. Both were rescued at just 3 weeks old—Owin along Scenic Drive in Carmel by the @montereybayaquarium, and Matti near Morro Strand Campground by @themarinemammalcenter. These bright, alert, and vocal pups were found alone and, after rescuers were unable to find mom in the wild, brought to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for care. They were deemed non-releasable by the US Fish and Wildlife Service when sea otter surrogacy was not an option. Once both pups were healthy, they were cared for at @aquariumpacific, which recently joined the Monterey Bay Aquarium as a key partner in otter surrogacy. These pups helped prepare resident female sea otters to be future surrogate mothers. After growing strong and healthy, Owin and Matti found their forever home together at @kansascityzoo, where they now serve as ambassadors for their species. Through swift saves, skilled support, surrogate moms, and steadfast stewardship, these sea otters found a second chance. Check out these amazing organizations behind sea otter rehabilitation & ocean conservation: Monterey Bay Aquarium – pioneers in sea otter rescue & surrogacy The Marine Mammal Center – world’s largest marine mammal hospital Aquarium of the Pacific – partners in sea otter care & surrogacy Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium – conservation partner and ocean ambassadors Together, we’re giving sea otters like Owin and Matti a future. #MontereyBayAquarium #SeaOtterAwarenessWeek #SeaOtterConservation #ItTakesAVillage #HeresTheStoryOfOwinAndMatti #WildlifeRescue #OceanHeroes"

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

While the Aquarium hasn't posted it yet, Matt Wandell did post this picture that basically confirms the Splash Zone is now closed and in the early phases of being demolished with all the animals being moved now. Which excitingly enough, shows they are working on the African Penguin exhibit.
There's a previous picture he also posted showing the plumbing for the "Sun Coral Dome" tank also being dismantled. Can't wait to see the end result, I thought they'd be starting a little later than this but this just means we should see the reveal sooner

 

[NAIB Volunteer]

Transfer of 2 rescued young Sea Otters to Kansas City Zoo
Monterey Bay Aquarium on Instagram: "From rescue to rehabilitation, from surrogacy to sanctuary… It takes a village to save a species Meet Owin and Matti, two southern sea otters whose journeys are a true testament to the power of partnership in conservation. Both were rescued at just 3 weeks old—Owin along Scenic Drive in Carmel by the @montereybayaquarium, and Matti near Morro Strand Campground by @themarinemammalcenter. These bright, alert, and vocal pups were found alone and, after rescuers were unable to find mom in the wild, brought to the Monterey Bay Aquarium for care. They were deemed non-releasable by the US Fish and Wildlife Service when sea otter surrogacy was not an option. Once both pups were healthy, they were cared for at @aquariumpacific, which recently joined the Monterey Bay Aquarium as a key partner in otter surrogacy. These pups helped prepare resident female sea otters to be future surrogate mothers. After growing strong and healthy, Owin and Matti found their forever home together at @kansascityzoo, where they now serve as ambassadors for their species. Through swift saves, skilled support, surrogate moms, and steadfast stewardship, these sea otters found a second chance. Check out these amazing organizations behind sea otter rehabilitation & ocean conservation: Monterey Bay Aquarium – pioneers in sea otter rescue & surrogacy The Marine Mammal Center – world’s largest marine mammal hospital Aquarium of the Pacific – partners in sea otter care & surrogacy Kansas City Zoo & Aquarium – conservation partner and ocean ambassadors Together, we’re giving sea otters like Owin and Matti a future. #MontereyBayAquarium #SeaOtterAwarenessWeek #SeaOtterConservation #ItTakesAVillage #HeresTheStoryOfOwinAndMatti #WildlifeRescue #OceanHeroes"

This is old news, commemorating two past rescues. The otters have been at KC Zoo since the Aquarium expansion opened in 2023

 

[Veno]

A Japanese marine fish trader recently shared on social media that Monterey Bay Aquarium has started exhibiting Pink-bearded snailfish (Careproctus trachysoma) he supplied last year. The aquarium was able to breed them quickly, and some of the offspring were sent back to Japanese aquariums a few months ago.

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

A Japanese marine fish trader recently shared on social media that Monterey Bay Aquarium has started exhibiting Pink-bearded snailfish (Careproctus trachysoma) he supplied last year. The aquarium was able to breed them quickly, and some of the offspring were sent back to Japanese aquariums a few months ago.

Awesome! I was thinking we were overdue for some Into the Deep news. I did hear a rumor about this a while ago but wasn't sure how much merit there was to it. Super happy to see that they've debuted now (except im just not there to see them ). I think this marks the 1st time in the US the species has been exhibited.
I can't say much obviously but 1 thing I'm okay to say is the Aquarium is doing a lot of work with Snailfish, especially breeding them. Not sure what species exactly but I believe this now marks 3 species (Salmon, Arbiter, and Rough/Pink-bearded). Super excited to see what's next.

 

[Northwest_FIsh_Keeping]

Over on the Aquarium's website, they mention the Sandy Shores Aviary is temporarly closed as they "make improvements to the exhibit". No timeline for when the Aviary will be open again, nor specific changes mentioned.