Baltimore Aquarium

[YHSublime]

Went to the Baltimore Aquarium today. I'm glad I did, but I don't think I had as nice as a time as I could have. Mask required, but public places are still shared the same way, which means be prepared to have strangers press their head against yours, children that aren't yours grabbing you, and having to fight for a view at just about every exhibit. The rookie move was going in between the holidays, I'd like to get some time in there when it's a little quieter so I can read and observe. 

 

Complaining aside, I was shocked that there was little to no coral in the whole space. There was one exhibit that had some poorly colored cabbage coral (mostly leathers) some toadstools with no polyps, and I did see a frag of half alive birdsnest. Was there ever any? I think what's left at the Smithsonian Zoo is superior on the coral front. Fish wise they had a great collection, and everything seemed really healthy. 

 

There was a coldwater anemone pool that dropped water down over the top like waves crashing in a tidepool, a phenomenal exhibit. 

 

The dolphin section was really sad. All their dolphins have been born in captivity, and are terrified of things like algae. They have essentially been living in a swimming pool their entire lives. The youngest dolphin was 12, and the oldest was in it's 40's. Good news is, they are redoing the entire exhibit and making it more of a natural enclosure, to provide entertainment and enriching education to some of the smarter creatures on this planet. 

 

The layout is really well done. The tiers and levels are excellent. While you might not get a good view on one floor, you can find space up or down a floor for the big exhibit spaces.

 

My favorite exhibit was the jellyfish exhibit. I was instantly soothed of my crowd rage. This is star of the show from an aesthetic standpoint. Enjoy some of the jellyfish photos I took while there:

 

 

 

 

[howaboutme]

It's a nice aquarium for kids and general aquarium life. Just don't expect much in terms of real life reef exhibits. The anemone tank is awesome though (not the cold water one, the one w/ all of the clowns). We went earlier this year and were duped into thinking they were limiting the amount of guests based on their wording. Like you, it was not the case. They pack it to the gills. At leas we went before Omicron existed.

 

I took my family to the VA Aquarium (in VA Beach) recently. Although smaller, they have an active coral propagation program. Unfortunately the exhibit was "in progress" when we went but I saw 3 large volume frag tanks (empty) with Radions, calc reactor, Apex, etc, just like what we would have. Hopefully the exhibit comes back soon. I've seen it in full bloom in the past.

[DaJMasta]

I don't remember exactly how to get access to it, but the National Aquarium (Baltimore) has a husbandry/research site a little ways from the main aquarium that they occasionally do tours of (the site for the last signup was here https://www.doorsopenbaltimore.org/events/national-aquarium-animal-care-and-rescue-center-tour/ ), and that may be of more interest to those in the hobby - not sure if they do any work with corals, really, but seeing the equipment, the research, and some amount of raising of young would probably be cool to see.

Very cool pictures!

Edited December 29, 2021 by DaJMasta

[YHSublime]

6 hours ago, howaboutme said:

It's a nice aquarium for kids and general aquarium life. Just don't expect much in terms of real life reef exhibits. The anemone tank is awesome though (not the cold water one, the one w/ all of the clowns). We went earlier this year and were duped into thinking they were limiting the amount of guests based on their wording. Like you, it was not the case. They pack it to the gills. At leas we went before Omicron existed.

 

Oh yeah, total ruse, we selected an 11:15 slot and were in at 11am, nobody really cared or checked what was happening. I'm not a prude, and I'm not a huge "You have to do this or else" kind of person, but I definitely DID NOT feel comfortable with the amount of bodies in the space, and neither did the staff (who made several comments about how it wasn't par.) Anemone tank with the clowns doesn't exist anymore. If it does, I did not catch it. I presume what I saw was coldwater based on the style of anemones and the way the water was crashed into the tank. 

 

I had 6 unknown to me children grab my leg. I had my foot stomped on 4 times by 2 different children leaping off display ledges. I hope the aquarium is making money off these folks. 

 

6 hours ago, howaboutme said:

I took my family to the VA Aquarium (in VA Beach) recently. Although smaller, they have an active coral propagation program. Unfortunately the exhibit was "in progress" when we went but I saw 3 large volume frag tanks (empty) with Radions, calc reactor, Apex, etc, just like what we would have. Hopefully the exhibit comes back soon. I've seen it in full bloom in the past.

 

Sounds more my speed. I hope they've kicked it off since, but I bet it is hard. From a fish perspective, I was beat, from a coral perspective, the best show in town is at my house. Apologies to pretty much everybody else in MD that has a nicer reef tank than myself

 

5 hours ago, DaJMasta said:

I don't remember exactly how to get access to it, but the National Aquarium (Baltimore) has a husbandry/research site a little ways from the main aquarium that they occasionally do tours of (the site for the last signup was here https://www.doorsopenbaltimore.org/events/national-aquarium-animal-care-and-rescue-center-tour/ ), and that may be of more interest to those in the hobby - not sure if they do any work with corals, really, but seeing the equipment, the research, and some amount of raising of young would probably be cool to see.

Very cool pictures!

 

Its literally right next door. I don't know what it's made up of, or what is there. If you're looking for coral, it's not at the Baltimore National Aquarium. 

 

And thanks, Jellyfish really provide the best pictures!