SEA LIFE Sunshine Coast Aquarium SEA LIFE Sunshine Coast Species List - 03/07/2020

WhistlingKite24

WhistlingKite24

Well-Known Member
10+ year member
I’ve seen this style of presenting species lists on ZooChat before and thought it would be an effective and clear way to create a list for SEA LIFE Sunshine Coast [formerly called Underwater World]. This is an attempt to list every species I saw on-display or that was signed during my visit on the 03/07/2020. Just a note - signage is virtually non-existent at this facility so most of these identifications are based off friendly aquarists, my own knowledge, and emails to the aquarium. I have also included scientific names as many species, especially fish often have several common names. I will break each zone into a post each for clarity.


TIDAL TOUCHPOOL (4 Exhibits):
Past the entrance way and admission, the first set of exhibits comprise of three touch pool tanks and a stingray pool. This zone is well-lighted and has a beach theme. This front area hasn’t changed much over the years and looks very similar to what it looked like prior to the Sea Life takeover.

A medium-sized ray pool with glass-fronted viewing and a mock rock border. The ray pool has a basic beach mural on the wall behind it:
Eastern Fiddler Ray (Trygonorrhina fasciata)
Blue-spotted Maskray (Neotrygon kuhlii)
Blue-spotted Fantail Ray (Taeniura lymma)
Red Bass (Lutjanus bohar)
Oblique-banded Sweetlips (Plectorhinchus lineatus)
Jansen’s Wrasse (Thalassoma jansenii)

Ray Pool - Tidal Touchpool

Ray Pool - Tidal Touchpool


Eastern Fiddler Ray (Trygonorrhina fasciata)

Eastern Fiddler Ray (Trygonorrhina fasciata)


A small, low-walled touch pool with glass viewing and rocky areas divided into three smaller sections. Pajama Cardinal (Sphaeramia nematoptera) and Banded Goatfish (Parupeneus multifasciatus) have traditionally been seen in this touch pool but were not seen during my visit yesterday:
Blue-Green Chromis (Chromis viridis)
Blue Sea Star (Linckia laevigata)
Granulated Sea Star (Choriaster granulatus)
Chocolate Chip [Horned] Sea Star (Protoreaster nodosus)
Sea Cucumber (unsigned, unidentified)
Starfish (unsigned, unidentified)

Touchpool -Tidal Touchpool

Touchpool -Tidal Touchpool

 
Last edited:
SEAHORSE SANCTUARY (6 Exhibits):
The second zone, Seahorse Sanctuary was constructed during the Sea Life renovation a few years ago. It contains many quintessential Sea Life elements like the odd lighting, weirdly shaped tanks and fake plants hanging from the ceiling.

Seahorse Sanctuary Entrance

Seahorse Sanctuary Entrance


A small walled tank shaped with a semi-spherical front. This tank formerly housed Hinge-back Shrimp (Rhynchocinetes serratus). However, on yesterday’s visit it contained:
Jointed Razorfish (Aeoliscus strigatus)

A large dark tank with fake plantings and a mock rock back. There were five seadragons in this tank:
Weedy Seadragon (Phyllopteryx taeniolatus)

Weedy Seadragon Tank - Seahorse Sanctuary

Weedy Seadragon Tank - Seahorse Sanctuary


A pair of similar tanks with a semi-spherical front. The first tank had fake plantings and the second had fake corals:
Potbelly Seahorse (Hippocampus abdominalis)
Kuda Seahorse (Hippocampus kuda)

Potbelly Seahorse Tank - Seahorse Sanctuary

Potbelly Seahorse Tank - Seahorse Sanctuary


A large horizontal tank that formerly housed razorfish:
Empty

A darkly lit tank with a very odd design of hanging the tube anemones:
Tubed Anemone (Pachycerianthus sp.)
Mushroom Coral (Fungiidae)
 
Last edited:
COASTAL WRECK (7 Exhibits):
The coastal wreck zone is basically a large room with several tanks holding the aquarium’s more unusual species. The common theme with most of the tanks is that they have household junk like terracotta pots, plates, bottles and even a few pearl necklaces in them.

General Walkway - Coastal Wreck

General Walkway - Coastal Wreck


A large tank with several terracotta pots and jugs as hiding places for morays. The tank is dimly lighted and also has several pieces of rope:
Sieve-patterned Moray Eel (Gymnothorax cribrosis)
Peppered Moray Eel (Gymnothorax pictus)
Snowflake Eel (Echidna nebulosa)
Two-barred Rabbitfish (Siganus doliatus)

Moray Eel/Rabbitfish Tank - Coastal Wreck

Moray Eel/Rabbitfish Tank - Coastal Wreck


A vertical tank with more terracotta pots and bottles:
Birdnose Wrasse (Gomphosus varius)
Slipper Lobster (Scyllaridae)

A well-lit vertical tank with a large net that stretches out vertically. This tanks also has plates, bottles, and a pearl necklace:
Yellow Assessor (Assessor flavissimus)
Bicolour Blenny (Ecsenius bicolor)
Hermit Crab (unsigned, unidentified)
Sea Urchin (unsigned, unidentified)

Yellow Assessor Tank - Coastal Wreck

Yellow Assessor Tank - Coastal Wreck


A large rocky tank signed with ‘lionfish’ and ‘stonefish’:
Red Lionfish (Pterois volitans)
Eastern Red Scorpionfish (Scorpaena jacksonensis)
False Stonefish (Scorpaenopsis diabolus)
Pencil Sea Urchin (specific species unknown)

A small dark tank with a rocky backdrop and fake seaweed. Far too small for its occupant:
Common Sydney Octopus (Octopus tetricus)

Common Sydney Octopus (Octopus tetricus)

Common Sydney Octopus (Octopus tetricus)


A largish tank with fake seaweed and an odd rusty-looking tank feature:
Ornate Cowfish (Aracana ornata)
Striped Cowfish (Aracana aurita)

Ornate Cowfish (Aracana ornata)

Ornate Cowfish (Aracana ornata)


A typical Sea Life tank with brightly coloured fish and the logo printed on the background. A very popular exhibit:
Pacific Blue Tang (Paracanthurus hepatus)
Ocellaris Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris)
Blue-Green Chromis (Chromis viridis)
Electric Blue Damsel (Chrysiptera cyanea)
Sixbar Wrasse (Thalassoma hardwicke)
Lyretail Anthias (Pseudanthias squamipinnis)

Sea Life Display Tank

Sea Life Display Tank

 
Last edited:
PENGUINS/LOWER PENGUINS (1 Exhibit):
The newest development at the aquarium as SEA LIFE Sunshine Coast's only birds and first ever penguins. This area formerly housed the majority of the aquarium’s turtle and exotic fish collection. The colony of around dozen birds have access to two pools of water, a relatively large land area and a bridge. Visitors are also able to see the penguins with underwater viewing located downstairs. The penguins are also mixed with a few fish species.

Little Penguin (Eudyptula minor)

Little Penguin (Eudyptula minor)


An open-topped, sandy enclosure that is fully shaded over. The enclosure has two pools with underwater glass viewing, a small bridge and nest boxes built into the rock at the back of the exhibit:
Little Penguin (Eudyptula minor)
Banded/Manybar Goatfish (Parupeneus multifasciatus)
Pinspotted Spinefoot (Siganus margarituferus)
Paradise Threadfin Bream (Pentapodus paradiseus)

New Little Penguin Enclosure

New Little Penguin Enclosure


New Little Penguin Enclosure

New Little Penguin Enclosure


Little Penguin Underwater Viewing

Little Penguin Underwater Viewing


Little Penguins - New Display Opposite Underwater Viewing

Little Penguins - New Display Opposite Underwater Viewing

 
FRESHWATER STREAMS (4 Exhibits):
The remnants of once an impressive collection of exotic freshwater fish. The total section of Freshwater Streams now consists of only four tanks. These tanks are situated directly opposite the new penguin enclosure.

A small tank with rocky features and live plantings [formerly housed cherry shrimp, clown panchax, and hatchetfish]:
African Butterflyfish (Pantodon buchholzi)
Congo Tetra (Phenacogrammus interruptus)
Celebes Rainbowfish (Marosatherina ladigesi)
Peacock Gudgeon (Tateurndina ocellicauda)
Pictus Catfish (Pimelodus pictus) [signed but not seen]
Bristlenose Catfish (Ancistrus sp.) [signed but not seen]

This nicely planted tank remains unchanged and is nicely landscaped with branches and rocks:
Red-tailed Black Shark (Epalzeorhynchos bicolor)
Silver Shark (Balantiocheilos melanopterus)
Red-lined Torpedo Barb (Sahyadria denisonii)
Flying Fox Carp (Epalzeorhynchos kalopterus)
Lampchop Rasbora (Trigonostigma espei)

Tropical Fish Tank

Tropical Fish Tank


A larger tank that used to have less tropical plants [formerly housed South American cichlids, Motoro Stingray etc.]. It has now been redone with nice plantings and wood features:
Discus (Symphysodon discus)
Cardinal Tetra (Paracheirodon axelrodi)
Common Plecostomus (Hypostomus plecostomus)

Cardinal Tetra/Discus Tank

Cardinal Tetra/Discus Tank


The final tank has been redone with red gravel and a rocky feature [formerly housed African cichlids]:
Goldfish (Carassius auratus)

Goldfish Tank

Goldfish Tank

 
BILLABONGS (2 Exhibits):
A small portion of the aquarium that only consists of two exhibits. Billabongs is located downstairs near the underwater viewing area for the penguins and the frogs.

A small indoor exhibit with glass fronted viewing and a small pool for its inhabitants. The only species of reptile that was on-display during yesterday’s visit:
Merten’s Water Monitor (Varanus mertensi)

A large open-topped tank with a low barrier and several branches that are raised out of the water. Crickets are placed on these branches daily so visitors are able to watch their large group of archerfish shooting water to dislodge the crickets:
Queensland Lungfish (Neoceratodus forsteri)
Sevenspot Archerfish (Toxotes chatareus)

Queensland Lungfish/Archerfish Tank

Queensland Lungfish/Archerfish Tank

 
FROGS (5 Exhibits):
Frogs are a newish addition to the aquarium (around 2019). They used to be located in Freshwater Streams zone but according to the map, they are now a standalone zone situated near Billabongs.

Frog Tanks

Frog Tanks


A small walled tank with live plants, located right next to the frog tanks:
Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum)


A set of four terrariums all of a similar size with a rocky back and fake plants. All of them have a pool of water at the bottom of the tank:
Dainty Tree Frog (Litoria gracilenta)
Red-eyed Tree Frog (Litoria chloris)
Peron’s Tree Frog (Litoria peronii)
Eastern Dwarf Frog (Litoria fallax)

Red-eyed Tree Frog (Litoria chloris)

Red-eyed Tree Frog (Litoria chloris)


Dainty Tree Frog (Litoria gracilenta)

Dainty Tree Frog (Litoria gracilenta)

 
SEAL ISLAND/LOWER SEAL ISLAND (1 Exhibit):
Probably SEA LIFE Sunshine Coast’s most popular attraction. The aquarium currently houses six seals across four species. They seem to be able to mix most of the seals together allowing them to be on display all at once.

The main seal exhibit has a medium-sized mock rock land area and a fake lighthouse. The large body of water has a glass-fronted underwater viewing area for visitors. The aquarium also has a large presentation area for their very popular seal show:
Subantarctic Fur Seal (Arctocephalus tropicalis)
Australian Fur Seal (Arctocephalus pusillus doriferus)
New Zealand Fur Seal (Arctocephalus forsteri)
Australian Sea Lion (Neophoca cinerea)

Subantarctic Fur Seal (Arctocephalus tropicalis)

Subantarctic Fur Seal (Arctocephalus tropicalis)


Seal Island- Underwater Viewing

Seal Island- Underwater Viewing

 
OCEAN TUNNEL (3 Exhibits):
Note – this isn’t a complete list for the ocean tunnel.

Main Entrance - Ocean Tunnel

Main Entrance - Ocean Tunnel


The largest ocean tunnel contains the majority of the aquarium’s sharks. SEA LIFE Sunshine Coast currently houses 2.1 Grey Nurse Shark, all of which came from the now closed SEA LIFE Manly Aquarium. SEA LIFE Sunshine Coast has bred several Grey Nurse Sharks in the past with the first birth occurring back in 1997. The oldest resident at the aquarium who lives in this first ocean tunnel, is Tsunami, a Brown Whipray who has been at the aquarium since they opened in 1989:
Grey Nurse Shark (Carcharias taurus)
Grey Reef Shark (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos)
Blacktip Reef Shark (Carcharhinus melanopterus)
Whitetip Reef Shark (Triaenodon obesus)
Tawny Nurse Shark (Nebrius ferrugineus)
Leopard Shark (Stegostoma fasciatum)
Brown-banded Bamboo Shark (Chiloscyllium punctatum)
Ornate Wobbegong (Orectolobus ornatus)
Black-blotched Fantail Ray (Taeniura meyeni)
Smooth Ray (Bathytoshia brevicaudata)
Brown Whipray (Himantura toshi)
Bluestripe Snapper (Lutjanus kasmira)
Humpback Red Snapper (Lutjanus gibbus)
One-spot Snapper (Lutjanus monostigma)
Golden Trevally (Gnathanodon speciosus)
Bigeye Trevally (Caranx sexfasciatus)
Oblique-banded Sweetlips (Plectorhinchus lineatus)
Queensland Grouper (Epinephelus lanceolatus)
Potato Cod (Epinephelus tukula)
Sabre Squirrelfish (Sargocentron spiniferum)

The second section of the ocean tunnel begins with the ‘Coral Kingdom’ area:
Pacific Blue Tang (Paracanthurus hepatus)
Bignose Unicornfish (Naso vlamingii)
Blue-spined Unicornfish (Naso unicornis)
Whitemargin Unicornfish (Naso annulatus)
Chocolate Surgeonfish (Acanthurus pyroferus)
Orange-band Surgeonfish (Acanthurus olivaceus)
Yellowfin Surgeonfish (Acanthurus xanthopterus)
Humpback Batfish (Platax batavianus)
Two-barred Rabbitfish (Siganus doliatus)
Coral Rabbitfish (Siganus corallinus)
Foxface (Siganus vulpinus)
Singular Bannerfish (Heniochus singularius)
Threadfin Butterflyfish (Chaetodon auriga)
Double-saddle Butterflyfish (Chaetodon ulietensis)
Spiny Chromis (Acanthochromis polyacanthus)
Whitley's Sergeant (Abudefduf whitleyi)
Bridled Monocle Bream (Scolopsis bilineata)
Humphead Wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus)
Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus)
Moon Wrasse (Thalassoma lunare)
Sixbar Angelfish (Pomacanthus sexstriatus)
Redfin Hogfish (Bodianus dictynna)
Humpback Red Snapper (Lutjanus gibbus)
Stars and Stripes Puffer (Arothron hispidus)

Coral Kingdom - Ocean Tunnel

Coral Kingdom - Ocean Tunnel


The final portion of the ocean tunnel is called ‘Bay of Rays’:
Tawny Nurse Shark (Nebrius ferrugineus)
Leopard Shark (Stegostoma fasciatum)
Eastern Shovelnose Ray (Aptychotrema rostrata)
Ocellated Eagle Ray (Aetobatus ocellatus)
Australian Cownose Ray (Rhinoptera neglecta)
Orange-spine Unicornfish (Naso literatus)
Bluespine Unicornfish (Naso unicornis)
Spotted Unicornfish (Naso brevirostris)
Chocolate Surgeonfish (Acanthurus pyroferus)
Threadfin Butterflyfish (Chaetodon auriga)
Jansen’s Wrasse (Thalassoma jansenii)
Banana Wrasse (Thalassoma lutescens)
Diamondfish (Monodactylus argenteus)
Golden Trevally (Gnathanodon speciosus)
Bluefin Trevally (Caranx melampygus)
Tarwhine (Rhabdosargus sarba)
Striped Large-eye Bream (Gnathodentex aureolineatus)
Humpback Red Snapper (Lutjanus gibbus)
Bluestripe Snapper (Lutjanus kasmira)
Red Emperor (Lutjanus sebae)
Barramundi (Lates calcarifer)
Redtooth Triggerfish (Odonus niger)
 
Last edited:
JELLYFISH KINDGOM (8 Exhibits):
The last zone, Jellyfish Kingdom has a range of smaller tanks for jellyfish, as well as a reef tank and a standard clownfish/anemone tank.

A large reef tank with a range of live corals and anemones. One of the old tanks from Underwater World days:
Yellowtail Coris (Coris gaimard)
Sixbar Wrasse (Thalassoma hardwicke)
Pacific Blue Tang (Paracanthurus hepatus)
Chocolate Surgeonfish (Acanthurus pyroferus)
Yellow Tang (Zebrasoma flavescens)
Black Ocellaris Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris)
Pink Anemonefish (Amphiprion perideraion)
Blue-Green Chromis (Chromis viridis)
Barrier Reef Chromis (Chromis nitida)
Lemon Damselfish (Pomacentrus moluccensis)
Electric Blue Damselfish (Chrysiptera cyanea)
Yellowtail Demoiselle (Neopomacentrus azysron)
Coral Beauty (Centropyge bispinosa)
Lyretail Anthias (Pseudanthias squamipinnis)
Pajama Cardinal (Sphaeramia nematoptera)
Threadfin Cardinal (Zoramia leptacanthus)
Banded Coral Shrimp (Stenopus hispidus)
Sea Cucumber (unsigned, unidentified)

Reef Tank

Reef Tank


Reef Tank

Reef Tank


Chocolate Surgeonfish (Acanthurus pyroferus)

Chocolate Surgeonfish (Acanthurus pyroferus)


A small vertical tank with a large anemone:
Ocellaris Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris)
Magnificent Sea Anemone (Heteractis magnifica)

Clownfish/Sea Anemone Tank

Clownfish/Sea Anemone Tank


A dark walled tank with changing coloured lights:
Moon Jellyfish (Aurelia aurita)

A small dark tank:
Lion’s Mane Jellyfish (Cyanea capillata)

A small rounded tank:
Blue-Green Chromis (Chromis viridis)
Upside-Down Jellyfish (Cassiopea sp.)

Upside Down Jellyfish Tank

Upside Down Jellyfish Tank


A pair of cylindrical tanks with changing coloured lights:
Lion’s Mane Jellyfish (Cyanea capillata)
Blue Blubber (Catostylus mosaicus)

A large tank attempting to convey the problems with littering:
Rubbish

And with that concludes the species list for SEA LIFE Sunshine Coast. I hope I provided a better understanding of the aquarium's current collection.
 
Last edited:
Thanks for this! Helped me identify a couple of species seen on my visit. Also, may I ask why you thought the octopus tank was too small? The size seems fine to me, comparable to other octopus exhibits I've seen. When did they get Lion's Mane Jelly? I don't recall seeing them when I visited.
 
DaLilFishie said:
Thanks for this! Helped me identify a couple of species seen on my visit. Also, may I ask why you thought the octopus tank was too small? The size seems fine to me, comparable to other octopus exhibits I've seen. When did they get Lion's Mane Jelly? I don't recall seeing them when I visited.
Click to expand...
No worries. Just a personal opinion I felt when I saw the octopus stretch across the tank. I think they could have done a better job accommodating it. In hindsight, whether that be with more hiding opportunities or a larger tank, not sure.

The Lion's Mane jellies were seen on my 2020 visit but not during the 2019 visit. So they must have gone on-display sometime during this period of time.
 
DaLilFishie said:
Also, may I ask why you thought the octopus tank was too small? The size seems fine to me, comparable to other octopus exhibits I've seen.
Click to expand...
I haven't been to this aquarium, but I can't say I've ever seen an octopus tank which wasn't too small. This is usually excused away as "they like to hide" or "they're more secure in small areas" - but a secure hiding place is vastly different to the actual living space itself, especially with how active (at night) and how intelligent octopus are.
 
Chlidonias said:
I haven't been to this aquarium, but I can't say I've ever seen an octopus tank which wasn't too small. This is usually excused away as "they like to hide" or "they're more secure in small areas" - but a secure hiding place is vastly different to the actual living space itself, especially with how active (at night) and how intelligent octopus are.
Click to expand...
That is a good point.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top