This is a part of a huge tank that represents deep sea. This glass wall is slightly curved and measures 36 x 7 m, and it is supposed to be the largest curved glass wall in the world. I'm not so very much into biggest this and largest that, but I'm happy that the sharks and other fish really have plenty of space. One can walk around the tank and look into it also from other sides, but this one is most impressive. It is like a huge window looking into the ocean.
Years back when we were in Lisbon, we visited Oceanarium there. They have a huge tank there as well, with many sharks, rays, turtles, all kind of fish and even whale shark. I was blown away by what was on display. While whale shark looked quite content and the tank was really big, I was wondering if it is not still a bit small for a fish of that size. This one here is more than big enough for Sand tigers, and they look quite happy in it.
One of the Sand tigers had a bite mark in his fin. I asked an aquarium employee if sharks feed on the fish that are swimming in the same tank and he told me that Sand tigers are hand fed three times a week by divers, each one has a name and his own diet and divers make sure, they are getting enough food and exactly what they need. The few scars are the result of occasional disagreement between them, not from hunting or fighting over food.
There were also some Nurse sharks in the tank, they are mostly lying on the sand, just like in nature. The name has nothing to do with nurses, but comes from the sound they make when they are sucking crabs and octopuses from the sandy bottom, which is similar to the sound babies make when their moms are nursing them.
There were some huge tunas swimming in the tank as well. Captain said, that just the tunas would be worth tons of money in Japan, and that he understands now why the entrance fee was so high.
A little bit of everything - a nurse shark in the back, Guitar shark on the bottom, Eagle ray in front and some fish around them.
A portrait of Sand tiger
I was chasing after sharks so much I mostly forgot to look upwards to the fish.
Besides tunas there were some impressively large groupers there as well.
We stayed at that tank for quite a while, also because we thought that was it. But there were plenty of smaller tanks to follow. In one of them there were beautiful colourful Stone fish.
Captain watching the diver cleaning the tank with Triggerfish.
Seahorse
This tank was probably most colourful of all. I was a bit annoyed because couple of people were taking photos for ages and it was difficult to get close to the glass wall. They kept looking at their phones and then they took some more photos, and it went on and on. When I finally got close and started to photograph, I soon realised that colours almost vanished on the photos. That's what must have been bothering other people as well and why they took so many photos. Obviously the tank was lit with some kind of fluorescent light and while the human eye could see all the beautiful colours, camera couldn't catch it. In reality were the colours of these Zoanthids much brighter than what is shown on the photo.
It was the same with this fish...
...and with Ribbon eel. I was a bit frustrated, but I didn't remember to try different camera settings.
The jellyfish in next tank photographed quite well.
A cute anemone.
And a couple of sea stars.
This tank was full with Moray eels, they were looking out from under every rock. It even looked a bit crowded.
Probably my favourites were the Sea dragons, they look so very elegant.
We saw some huge Spiny lobsters, this one must have been the size of my arm...
...and even bigger crabs.
Back in the huge fresh water tank the diver was feeding the big rays. She had a bucket full of squids and hand fed one by one, giving rays a scratch behind the ear as well. There was a turtle and many fish waiting for scraps.
We returned to the sea water cylinder with reef life to have a chocolate cake in a coffee shop and watched fish some more. The cake was delicious.
On our way out we saw some more fresh water tanks with funny fish...
...of which I don't know the names...
... but I know these are Discus. Each was of different colour and pattern, from white to orange to blue.
This might not be the prettiest animal there, but it's quite impressive - it is a giant freshwater Electric eel.
We were really impressed by aquarium, we had very high expectations, but I think they were surpassed. It was worth every cent of 25 Euros of entrance fee. If I ever visit it again, I might take a guided tour, it seems like people who work there know so much interesting and fun things about the fish.
On our way back to marina we passed by Technical museum and replica of Columbus ship Pinta. It was made by same design and with similar materials and actually even sailed to America and back, like real Pinta.
After two days so full of impressions and also so much walking around we needed some rest and stayed on the boat the next day. And I needed time to process my countless photos.
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