Based on the Churaumi Fish Encyclopedia, a full list of species at the Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium by area.
Life in the Inoh
2,500 gallon open-topped touch tank with full-length viewing window for various invertebrates. "Inoh" refers to shallow coastal waters surrounded by coral reef. 16 species of invertebrate call this exhibit home:
Brownfish Sea Cucumber (Actinopyga echinites)
Two-Ribboned Sea Cucumber (Bohadschia bivittata)
Black Sea Cucumber (Holothuria leucospilota)
Greenfish Sea Cucumber (Stichopus chloronotus)
Reef Box Crab (Calappa hepatica)
Red Frog Crab (Ranina ranina)
Granulated Sea Star (Choriaster granulatus)
Cushion Sea Star (Culcita novaeguineae)
Luzon Sea Star (Echinaster luzonicus)
Blue Sea Star (Linckia laevigata)
Honeycomb Sea Star (Pentaceraster alveolatus)
Horned Sea Star (Protoreaster nodosus)
Tiger Cowrie (Cypraea tigris)
Chiragra Spider Conch (Harpago chiragra)
Spider Conch (Lambis lambis)
Collector Urchin (Tripneustes gratilla)
The Coral Sea
An 80,000 gallon living reef tank, home to over 440 colonies of corals that have been growing for over 15 years as of this posting. Natural sunlight from overhead and a constant supply of fresh saltwater from the ocean below provide ideal conditions for growing coral, especially when combined with a reef-safe community of fish. This exhibit houses 61 species of fish and 34 species of invertebrate, including 28 coral species:
This post is getting a bit long, so we will end here. The next areas covered will be the Sea of Tropical Fish, the Coral Reef World, and the Coral Reef Gallery.
The Sea of Tropical Fish
This tank is 185,000 gallons, and houses a variety of larger and/or more aggressive fish species from the waters off of Okinawa. Housed here include an incredible 127 species of fish, as well as 4 invertebrates.
Coral Reef World
This is not a single attraction at the aquarium, but rather a smaller gallery with several displays featuring various species of venomous and dangerous marine life. Unfortunately, I cannot distinguish between what is housed in which display, so this is a composite species list for the area. A dozen species are represented here, half being fish and half invertebrates.
Dwarf Lionfish (Dendrochirus brachypterus)
Zebra Lionfish (Dendrochirus zebra)
Spotfin Lionfish (Pterois antennata)
Red Lionfish (Pterois volitans)
Reef Stonefish (Synanceia verrucosa)
Striped Eel Catfish (Plotosus lineatus)
Crown of Thorns Starfish (Acanthaster planci)
Floral Egg Crab (Atergatis floridus)
Long-Spined Sea Urchin (Diadema setosum)
Glass Anemone Shrimp (Periclimenes brevicarpalis)
Upside-Down Jellyfish (Cassiopea sp.)
Viper Box Jellyfish (Chironex yamaguchii)
In order to avoid losing my progress (again), the next post will contain the entirety of the Coral Reef Gallery, a massive collection of both fish and invertebrates found within the waters near coral reefs.
Coral Reef Gallery
This is not a single attraction at the aquarium, but rather a smaller gallery with several displays featuring life found in the waters surrounding Pacific coral reefs. Unfortunately, I cannot distinguish between what is housed in which display, so this is a composite species list for the area. Species-wise, this is among the largest areas of the aquarium, with 147 fish, 74 invertebrate, and 4 plant species for 225 total.
This concludes the Coral Reef Gallery - as you can see, some of these lists get quite long, so to save progress we will end here for now. Next, we will take a look at the Kuroshio Sea, the aquarium's feature exhibit.
The Kuroshio Sea
This is the aquarium's largest exhibit, coming in at a hair under 2 million gallons. The tank itself is 115 feet long, 88 feet wide, and 33 feet deep, and the exhibit focuses again on species native to the waters around the Okinawan Islands. On this level of the aquarium, the focus shifts from coral reef inhabitants to more pelagic creatures. 56 species of fish are included here, including 4 sharks and 9 rays.
Shark Research Lab
This 210,000 gallon tank houses the main predatory sharks at the aquarium, including several iconic species. Some individuals in this exhibit are decades old, and several have bred. A dozen species live in this system, 10 of which are sharks.
Silvertip Shark (Carcharhinus albimarginatus)
Silky Shark (Carcharhinus falciformis)
Bull Shark (Carcharhinus leucas)
Blacktip Shark (Carcharhinus limbatus)
Dusky Shark (Carcharhinus obscurus)
Sandbar Shark (Carcharhinus plumbeus)
Tiger Shark (Galeocerdo cuvier)
Sicklefin Lemon Shark (Negaprion acutidens)
Scalloped Hammerhead (Sphyrna lewini)
Whitetip Reef Shark (Triaenodon obesus)
Bowmouth Guitarfish (Rhina ancylostoma)
Pilot Fish (Naucrates ductor)
Tomorrow, we will take the Journey into the Deep Sea, visiting a total of 4 additional exhibit areas. We will then look at a selection of the freshwater species found on Okinawa, and end off with sea turtles and marine mammals.
Deep Sea World
This is not a single attraction at the aquarium, but rather a smaller gallery with several displays featuring life found in the deeper waters surrounding Okinawa. Unfortunately, I cannot distinguish between what is housed in which display, so this is a composite species list for the area. Of particular interest (and not noted below) are preserved specimens of Goblin Shark (Mitsukurina owstoni) and Giant Squid (Architeuthis dux). This area houses a total of 50 species of fish and 13 invertebrates.
