Galway: Fishy Fun

Hello my friends! So sorry to have kept you waiting for my next installment. I simply HAD to wait until today to write because I did homework all weekend (midterms, ugh!) and absolutely nothing else! Not to worry, today I had some fun with the other members of ZooSoc (the NUIG Zoology Society) and went to the Galway Atlantaquaria for a special two hour behind the scenes tour! The Atlantaquaria is part of The National Aquarium of Ireland and BIAZA member (British and Irish Association of Zoos and Aquariums) and showcases the native species of fish and crustacean that one can find in and around Galway Bay and greater Ireland.

The baby Bass tank

 The first tank you will find upon entering the Atlantaquaria is the baby Bass tank! It's pretty rad, not only does it have a massive amount of adorable baby Bass in it, but one cubic ton of water is released from the ceiling into the tank every 47 seconds to simulate the turbulent and violent wave activity in the Bass's natural environment! The Atlantaquaria is very big on two things: keeping exhibits as close to the real world environment as possible, and everyone's favorite...

She says the water's grand

Touch tanks! Just about every other exhibit in the Atlantaquaria is a touch exhibit! Above is the common rock lobster, very yummy. This is Laura, she is a young female, you can tell by her wider tail region which is used to carry her eggs. Another fabulous touch tank is the ray tank, also home to flounder and two species of docile sharks!

One Ray decided to do a dance

Two docile species of shark shown above

We were also treated to a short peak in the background, or plant, of the Atlantaquaria. There we learned about quarantined animals, water treatment, feeding procedures and fish/ray eggs!

Aren't they precious? Maybe not like this, but the Baby Tank sure is!!!

Baby Shark!!!

On a larger and more scary note, the Ocean Tank is home to the oldest living captive shark in Ireland. Valentine was born (as an egg) in the Atlantaquaria fifteen years ago and now dominates the shark presence in that tank... they have tried introducing other sharks... but Valentine isn't a sweetheart. Aside from that dark note, the Ocean Tank is pretty awesome!

Valentine secures the perimeter 

Perhaps the most fun of the whole trip was feeding time! I got to feed some fishies, which was actually pretty awesome! Some species eat right out of your hand! Something else that is pretty interesting is that not all fish eat other fish! Some eat pellets that are extremely reminiscent of cat food (carp and koi), and others eat white bread. Yup, white bread!

So yeah, it was a great afternoon, truly so much fun! But alas, I have fishy fingers and more work to do on my midterm essays! But let me leave you with this fishy fun fact: flounder start their lives like normal fish. Normal fish shape, two eyes on either side and swimming upright. As they mature they start to lay in the sand on their side and the eye on the bottom moves up around and over the head to the opposite side to meet up with the other, the fish then becomes a flatter bottom dweller!