Description: The Aquarium is entrancing. The shallows greet you, with the rays "flying" beneath the waves that wash up on a sandy beach where the shore birds walk. Then, into eel caves where the toothy grins of Moray eels menace from the depths. In one darkened room, lighted windows open onto the world of sea horses and umbrella jelly fish no bigger than a dime. In the center of the room is a column of water filled with larger, ethereal jelly fish. There are more educational bits as well, the reefs, natural and man-made, with brightly colored fish swimming among the coral, and an exhibit on the junk that has been dumped into the ocean and the damage it has done to the fish population. Outside, beside the old shrimp boat, swim half a dozen pelicans in the tiny "harbor."
The main attraction, however, is the "Open Ocean" exhibit, the 285,000 tank filled with a variety of sharks, barracuda, tuna, sea turtles, parrot fish, and a hundreds of schooling fish who swim around a coral reef. The effect is impressive. When you walk into the darkened room, it has the effect of a wall of water from floor to ceiling, teeming with fish. The plexiglass wall is so transparent, I have run into to it several times. This, the largest room, also has a bank of padded stairs to sit on, rather like stadium seating, and it is usually filled with people just watching the fish, which is something I could do for hours. The sleek, powerful movement of the sharks is positively hypnotic.
If you want a longer look in more comfortable surroundings, you can have lunch at the Shark Reef Café and watch the fish from the other side of the tank.
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