Las Palmas Aquarium

Next day, on Thursday, we visited the Aquarium.

Taking photos in aquarium is allowed, but without the flash. As I noticed, my camera had some problems coping with focus (especially when I zoomed in) in dim light, and reflexions of the front glass didn't help either. Nevertheless, I made some decent photos, that I divided into two blogs. Even so there are many photos in each, but just for the info: all in all I took over 720 photos in aquarium, so here are just the few of them.

First part of aquarium is dedicated to fresh water, mainly Amazonas. I don't know all the names of the fish, this one was occasionally cleaning the algae from the glass.

The chameleon looked jut like the ones we saw in October in Rota in mainland Spain.

Don't know which more fascinated me - the translucent fish or the black one below them that was swimming vertically by moving it's fin on the belly (the white bar is on the tail).

These Axelotls from Mexico reminded me of Proteus (človeška ribica), that is found in Slovenian karst caves.

Turtles with snouts

Pretty fish

A Horseshoe crabs (ostvar) are considered living fossils, the species is some 450 millions year old.

First seawater tank was for the kids, filled with colourful corals and fish.

Captain decided he was not too old to climb through the tunnel, just like other kids.

Puffer fish was cleaned by Cleaning wrasse

Next seawater tank was a huge cylinder filled with corals and hundreds of fish. There were benches around it so people could just sit there and watch fish swim by. This is a Leopard shark...

...and this is his belly.

This belly belongs to a Stingray.

There were many pretty, but also pretty unusual fish.

This one has been one of my favourites since I first saw it many years ago while snorkelling in Maldives - an Emperor angelfish.

And this one I know from Maldives and Red sea - Unicorn fish.

Not sure, who this is.

This was another tank with shallow water fish, among others with Lookdowns in the middle and a Cowfish left on the rock. There was more light here.

The tank with Garden eels appears more blueish, like it normally would in a bit deeper water. Garden eels are normally very shy and difficult to get a photo of, as soon as they notice a snorkeler, they disappear back into the sand.

This is a Fire dartfish.

In different tanks there was different light, obviously to mimic the light in natural environments, the deeper the water, less light there is and more blue everything appears. These giant crabs were still fluorescent red despite low light.

Very pretty sea cucumber

And some colourful shrimps

In one of the rooms they had a small tank with shark eggs...

...and already two small sharks developed from then. Probably when they grow up enough, they'll be transferred into one of the big tanks.

What came next absolutely thrilled me - a gigantic tank with some pretty big Sand tiger sharks and hundreds of huge tunas and other fish.

I just couldn't stop photographing them.

Then I noticed some Guitar sharks on the ground.

I said to Captain he should go and sit down on one of the benches in front of the tank for a while, I already knew this photo session is going to be a long one.