This aquarium has more words in its name than it does exhibit tanks. John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park Visitor Center and Aquarium (JPCRSPVCA) is a very small aquarium located in John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park, in Key Largo, Florida. I visited on February 6, 2017. It took me only about 15 minutes to visit the whole facility, though I went back later for photos (of the animals, which was extremely difficult due to the layout) and to talk with a friend.
JPCRSPVCA is an aquarium with six tanks that have living creatures in them. It's in one room, in the shape of a circle. The entire facility is 30,000 gallons, most of which goes to the central tank, for groupers. The species listed in the grouper tank are: Nassau grouper, red grouper, graysby grouper, black grouper, French angelfish, queen angelfish, blue-striped grunt, white grunt, and porkfish.
The exhibits were hard to photograph properly because there was glare in every which direction. The first wall exhibit was called "Inhabitants of the Outer Reef." It was a decent sized tank home to smaller fish, and educational graphics did well in explaining the habitat as well as listing other species found in the habitat. The species were: blue hamlet, spotfin hogfish, cherubfish, short-spined sea urchin, Atlantic blue tang, and orangeback bass.
The following tank is for "The Spiny Lobster" and of course exhibits Caribbean spiny lobster as well as slipper lobster. It's fairly simple, with a rock structure and three lobsters.
A tank I unfortunately do not have the name of is situated in an alcove. It focuses primarily on fish, like the rest of the aquarium's tanks. The decoration for the tank is another rock structure. It holds: Spanish hogfish, queen angelfish, high-hat, ocean surgeonfish, blue chromis, and red-spotted hawkfish.
Next is "Symbiotic Relationships". The species highlighted are giant anemone and spotted cleaner shrimp. A fairly simple setup, but effective nonetheless. Signage above the tank gives examples of other symbiotic relationships between aquatic species.
The final animal exhibit tank (there are only six animal tanks in the building) is over one of the region's most infamously invasive species: the lionfish. It is a small tank with juvenile animals, and one of few cases where I prefer a wild caught animal. The two signed species were red lionfish and brittle stars.
That's it for the animals of this facility. A few other displays are focused on threatened habitats and native species, and contain taxidermy or fake specimens but not live animals. The aquarium itself is free. The entrance price to the state park is $2.50 a person. This includes a small nature trail (which I went on but saw nearly nothing), a gift shop (which I forgot to go in), a beach scene (good for native gulls and terns, as well as passerines in a nearby mangrove forest), and a few other parts I did not explore. Overall, it's worth it if you are in the area and have extra time, but this is not a park I would go out of my way to visit again.
JPCRSPVCA is an aquarium with six tanks that have living creatures in them. It's in one room, in the shape of a circle. The entire facility is 30,000 gallons, most of which goes to the central tank, for groupers. The species listed in the grouper tank are: Nassau grouper, red grouper, graysby grouper, black grouper, French angelfish, queen angelfish, blue-striped grunt, white grunt, and porkfish.
The exhibits were hard to photograph properly because there was glare in every which direction. The first wall exhibit was called "Inhabitants of the Outer Reef." It was a decent sized tank home to smaller fish, and educational graphics did well in explaining the habitat as well as listing other species found in the habitat. The species were: blue hamlet, spotfin hogfish, cherubfish, short-spined sea urchin, Atlantic blue tang, and orangeback bass.
The following tank is for "The Spiny Lobster" and of course exhibits Caribbean spiny lobster as well as slipper lobster. It's fairly simple, with a rock structure and three lobsters.
A tank I unfortunately do not have the name of is situated in an alcove. It focuses primarily on fish, like the rest of the aquarium's tanks. The decoration for the tank is another rock structure. It holds: Spanish hogfish, queen angelfish, high-hat, ocean surgeonfish, blue chromis, and red-spotted hawkfish.
Next is "Symbiotic Relationships". The species highlighted are giant anemone and spotted cleaner shrimp. A fairly simple setup, but effective nonetheless. Signage above the tank gives examples of other symbiotic relationships between aquatic species.
The final animal exhibit tank (there are only six animal tanks in the building) is over one of the region's most infamously invasive species: the lionfish. It is a small tank with juvenile animals, and one of few cases where I prefer a wild caught animal. The two signed species were red lionfish and brittle stars.
That's it for the animals of this facility. A few other displays are focused on threatened habitats and native species, and contain taxidermy or fake specimens but not live animals. The aquarium itself is free. The entrance price to the state park is $2.50 a person. This includes a small nature trail (which I went on but saw nearly nothing), a gift shop (which I forgot to go in), a beach scene (good for native gulls and terns, as well as passerines in a nearby mangrove forest), and a few other parts I did not explore. Overall, it's worth it if you are in the area and have extra time, but this is not a park I would go out of my way to visit again.
