Atlantis Marine World Aquarium

[rsarvis]

I saw someone's post last week that mentioned Atlantis, and I was going up to NYC this past weekend, so I decided I'd drive out to check it out.

 

It's no mega-aquarium like Atlanta or Baltimore, but if you're in the area and have a day to kill, it's worth the drive out there (coupled with a stop at the Tanger outlet mall). About 75-90 minutes from the city. It's a little pricey ($20/person), though, given that it's a pretty small place.

 

Anyway, the reef tank, which was the highlight for me, is 20,000 gallons with, as you can imagine, TONS of fish and coral. Gave me some nice ideas for aquascaping, too. The fish selection wasn't amazing, in terms of having exotic species, but it was still impressive based on the sheer number, size, and variety (mostly tangs) of fish. Unfortunately, their signs aren't as informative as I would have liked; the reef tank listed most (not all) of the fish but didn't say what any of the corals were, and many other displays had minimal, if any, information. So that was a little frustrating for me, since I don't yet know my coral very well.

 

The coolest display was a shallow (couple inches) circular tank, viewed from the top, half with black sand, half with white sand, and filled with winter flounder. You could watch them jump the median to the other side and change color over about 90 seconds to blend in with the sand. I guess they were very young, 'cause they were only about 2 inches long each, while this website suggests they grow quite big. Otherwise, I'd love to have a couple.

 

And for those who're interested, you can pay to go into the shark tank for 45 minutes (in a steel cage).

Edited February 5, 2007 by rsarvis

[Rascal]

This tank was featured in Paletta's Ultimate Reef Aquariums book, I think soon after it was set up, and then again more recently here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_3/cav...at_atlantis.htm.

 

Pretty cool to see the growth & development over time. Would love to see it in person some day.

[WallyBackm]

I was there over Christmas. I agree on your assessments of the reef tank. The price is a bit steep for such a small place--especially when they charge 12 bucks for three year olds. Allowing the kids to feed the sting rays is cool though.

Edited February 5, 2007 by WallyBackm

[dbartco]

I posted the last after meeting up with the owner. I'd admit it's probably a better summer stop. They have outdoor snorkel and wade in touch tanks, penguin exhibits, and bulding a lot more for kids fun things.

 

The reef tank does have a bunch of what I would find rare though. The largest bimac's I'd ever seen in an aquarium, 6 orange spot filefish (an obligate corallivore) that have been in there for years, hybrid tangs, pairs of interuptus, reproducing magnifica anemones, and almost all corals captive grown from frags. Also keep in mind, the place started from a hobbyist like you and me.