This is an attempt to list every species on exhibit at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, Tennessee during my visit on 10-4-18. I am including species for which there is a sign on each exhibit, and using the named zones on the map in the order that they are encountered on the one-way visitor path in the two separate buildings. This list may be of more interest to those already familiar with the aquarium since I am not arranging the species by animal type. I will post each zone separately for clarity.
O C E A N J O U R N E Y:
The aquarium's saltwater exhibits are located within this building that contains 6 named exhibit zones. The visitor path through the building begins with a lobby that leads to escalators to the top floor to begin the journey.
TROPICAL COVE:
The top floor of the Ocean Journey building is lit from several triangular steel forms that form a skylit ceiling and flood the following three named zones with light.
LEMUR FOREST: (3 Exhibits)
Medium-sized simulated mudbank and netted yard:
Red-ruffed Lemur
Small-sized open-top pond:
Arowana
Common Plecostomus
Eartheater
Redhook Myleus
Silver Plochilodus
White-blotched River Ray
Medium-sized simulated mudbank and netted yard:
Radiated Tortoise
Ring-tailed Lemur
2 medium-sized adjacent wall tanks, each containing:
Bat Star
Copper Rockfish
Giant Green Anemone
Giant Pacific Octopus
Mottled Sea Star
Rainbow Star
Rose Sea Star
Vermilion Sea Star
Medium-sized wall tank:
East Coast Sea Nettle
4 medium-sized column tanks, each containing:
Moon Jelly
Large-sized quarter-round wall tank with visitor pop-up bubble window in center, titled 'Body Armor':
Common Snipefish
Giant Spider Crab
Pineconefish
SECRET REEF/UNDERSEA CAVERN: (1 Exhibit)
The feature exhibit of the Ocean Journey building, this 2-story habitat is viewed beginning on its upper floor and then descending down a series of ramps to its lower floor.
Very large-sized tank viewed from two levels through about 6 viewing areas including a rocky-walled grotto called 'Undersea Cavern':
Atlantic Spadefish
Balloonfish
Bermuda Sea Chub
Black Durgon
Blackbar Soldierfish
Blue Runner
Blue Tang
Cottonwick
Creolefish
Crevalle Jack
Doctorfish
French Angelfish
Gray Angelfish
Green Turtle
Horse-eye Jack
Longspine Squirrelfish
Lookdown
Ocean Surgeonfish
Ocean Triggerfish
Permit
Porcupinefish
Queen Angelfish
Reef Butterflyfish
Sandbar Shark
Sandtiger Shark
Sargeant Major
Southern Stingray
Spotfin Butterflyfish
Spotted Burrfish
Squirrelfish
Yellowtail Damselfish
Yellowtail Snapper
R I V E R J O U R N E Y:
The aquarium's freshwater exhibits are located within this building that contains 8 named exhibit zones. The visitor path through the building begins with a lobby that leads to an escalator to the top floor to begin the journey.
APPALACHIAN COVE FOREST: (8 Exhibits)
The top floor of the River Journey building is lit from several triangular steel forms that form a skylit ceiling and flood this zone with light. Simulated boulders and rocky walls define the spaces and simulated mature tree trunks tower up to the ceiling while real smaller plantings are scattered.
Medium-sized rocky-walled wall terrarium:
Black Rat Snake
Large-sized room (the whole zone) for free-flight:
Eastern Bluebird
Gray Catbird
Hermit Thrush
Northern Cardinal
Rose-breasted Grosbeak
Tennessee Warbler
Veery
Medium-sized rocky-walled yard with waterfalls and pond with underwater viewing:
North American River Otter
Small-sized terrarium set in simulated tree trunk:
Northern Pine Snake
Medium-sized open-top rocky-walled pond with underwater viewing panel:
Brook Trout
Brown Trout
Rainbow Trout
Large-sized open-top 2-story deep pool with waterfall, viewed from the 'Canyon' (interior lobby filled with ramps down to the lower levels of the River Journey building):
Brown Trout
Rainbow Trout
Medium-sized open-top shallow pond, viewed from the 'Canyon':
Brook Trout
Brown Trout
Rainbow Trout
River Chub
DISCOVERY HALL: (11 Exhibits)
This zone is in a dark low-ceilinged and unthemed hall.
The 3 following exhibits are titled 'Sunfish Diversity/Sunfish Celebration': Small-sized wall tank:
Banded Pygmy Sunfish
Bluefin Killifish
Golden Topminnow
MISSISSIPPI DELTA COUNTRY: (5 Exhibits)
This zone is the second to be located in a large themed room lit from the triangular-shaped skylit ceiling above. This time it is set in a swamp with simulated cypress trunks and knees interspersed with real deadfalls and plants and simulated bayou shack.
Large-sized room (the whole zone) for free-flight:
Hooded Merganser
Northern Cardinal
Snowy Egret
Summer Tanager
Wood Duck
RIVER GIANTS: (1 Exhibit)
This exhibit is previewed from a small half-round window in the previous zone, but its main viewing is in the 'Canyon' lobby.
Large-sized floor-to-ceiling tank with two large viewing panels:
Alligator Gar
Arapaima
Asian Bonytongue
Barramundi
Freshwater Whipray
Giant Gouramis
Giant Pangasius Catfish
Lake Sturgeon
Marbled Eel
Mustajuovamonni
Nile Perch
Redtail Catfish
Striped Catfish
Wallago Catfish
White Sturgeon
RIVERS OF THE WORLD: (13 Exhibits)
This zone is in a dark low-ceilinged and unthemed hall located approximately on the middle level of the River Journey building.
Large-sized wall tank titled 'Fly River':
Boeseman's Rainbowfish
Celebese Rainbowfish
Dwarf Rainbowfish
Lake Tebera Rainbowfish
Lake Wanam Rainbowfish
Macculloch's Rainbowfish
Parkinson's Rainbowfish
Pig-nosed Turtle
Red-bellied Short-necked Turtle
Red Rainbowfish
Threadfin Rainbowfish
Turqoise Rainbowfish
Medium-sized wall tank titled 'Chinese Mountain Stream':
Beal's Four-eyed Turtle
Black-breasted Leaf Turtle
Butterfly Hillstream Loach
Chinese Sucker
Crocodile Lizard
White Cloud Mountain Fish
Zhou's Vermilion Goby
Small-sized wall tank titled 'Electric Eel':
Electric Eel
Ember Tetra
Large-sized wall tank titled 'Nishikigoi':
Japanese Pond Turtle
Koi
Medium-sized wall tank titled 'Amazon River':
Blackline Penguinfish
Bolivian Ram
Cardinal Tetra
Elephantnose Knifefish
Gold-ringed Headstander
Green Discus
Panda Corydorus
Red-headed Amazon River Turtle
Rummy-nose Tetra
Silver Hatchetfish
Striped Headstander
Three-spot Anostomus
Whiptail Catfish
Medium-sized wall tank titled 'Amazon River' (a second one):
Banded Leporinus
Eartheater
Pinktail Chalceus
Raphael Catfish
Redhook Myleus
Red Piranha
Red Wolf Fish
Silver Prochilodus
Small-sized wall tank titled 'Freshwater Pipefish':
Black Line Pipefish
Long Mouth Freshwater Pipefish
Reticulate Loach
Short-tailed Pipefish
Stone Catfish
Small-sized square column tank titled 'Rain Forest Pond':
Aquatic Caecilian
TENNESSEE RIVER: (35 Exhibits)
This zone is in a dark low-ceilinged and unthemed hall located approximately on the middle level of the River Journey building.
The 18 following exhibits are in a subzone titled 'Turtle Gallery': 3 small-sized wall terrariums, containing 1 species each:
African Pancake Tortoise
Chinese Big-headed Turtle
Flattened Musk Turtle
Small-sized wall terrarium titled 'Riches of the Orient':
Chinese Three-striped Box Turtle
Four-eyed Turtle
Keeled Box Turtle
Spiny Turtle
Yellow-headed Temple Turtle
Very large-sized 2-story tank viewed from two sides titled 'Nickajack Lake':
Bigmouth Buffalo
Black Buffalo
Black Crappie
Blue Catfish
Bluegill
Channel Catfish
Common Carp
Common Goldeneye (a bird that lives unseen above the surface mostly)
False Map Turtle
Freshwater Drum
Hybrid Striped Bass
Largemouth Bass
Longear Sunfish
Longnose Gar
Ouachita Map Turtle
Paddlefish
Redbreast Sunfish
Redear Sunfish
Red-eared Slider
River Cooter
Rock Bass
Smallmouth Buffalo
Spotted Bass
Spotted Gar
Warmouth
White Bass
White Crappie
Yellow Perch
By my count, the total number of exhibits currently at the Tennessee Aquarium is: 93
By my count, the total number of species in permanent exhibits with identification signs is: 361 (probably at least 20 more if Butterfly Garden species had been noted)
The number of species I counted can be broken down into the following categories:
Mammals: 3
Birds: 15
Reptiles: 55
Amphibians: 12
Fish: 251
Invertebrates: 25 (probably at least 20 more if Butterfly Garden species had been noted)
Thanks for your usual dedication to details and Tennessee Aquarium having almost 70 reptile/amphibian species is more than can be said for many major American zoos! I personally love the aquarium and it is easily amidst the 5 best I've ever visited of the 90 or so different aquariums that I've toured in my lifetime.
I'm thinking about visiting this aquarium later in the year so this species list will definitely be of help to me! I take it the aquarium no longer keeps Cape Speckled Padloper, Alabama Red-Bellied Cooter, or Tennessee Cave Salamander?
I was within driving distance of this Aquarium on the US road trip but unfortunately had no idea where it was in the state and so didn’t really consider it, so you can imagine my dismay when I found out where it was located! But as usual I’m enjoying these species lists!
This list is amazing. I have always wanted to visit this aquarium and lookinh at that turtle collection makes me even more anxious to do it. I often see this place compared to the National Aquarium. How do you think they compare?
