Gilman Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 I have a friend who volunteers at the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific, and yesterday morning I had a chance to go "backstage" there before it opened to the public. It was amazing to see how this place runs, and to see the exhibits from the back or top instead of the front. The Long Beach Aquarium is amazing to say the least. I saw alot of fish feeding going on, and was allowed to stand above many of the tanks (grouper/cleaning wrasse tank, eel tank, clown tank, baby shark tank, seahorse tanks, 27ft deep kelp forest tank, 27ft deep tropical island tank) and take pics of fish being fed. Unfortunately I was so on the run there that I only had about an hour to shoot from the front sides of the tanks. I can't wait to go back and spend some time shooting from the front. They only have one reef tank, but it is very impressive. It has the largest coral colonies that I have ever seen. They also have a few specimens in there that I haven't seen in the aquarium trade. Anyhow, here are some of the photos.... I will post more later. Almost a full tank shot of their reef tank. Very large colony... The purple acro is about as big around as my wrist. Never seen anything like it in hobbyist tanks. Brain larger than a basketball. Largest hammer colony I've seen. Finally got some photos of a Copperband Most photos to come...... Gil Link to comment
bmxer Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 Beautiful as always, nice pics. When i was snorkling in cuba i saw a brain about 2.5 feet in diameter, it was huge! Link to comment
JohnnyMTB Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 Looks awesome, Gil! Keep them coming. Link to comment
DAP Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 That is incredible, thanks for sharing. Link to comment
caja Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 wow gil. thanks for sharing!! Link to comment
JLTRUK Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 Thank you for posting those Gil. The Aquarium of the Pacific is one of my favorite places out here. I try to go at least once or twice year since I only live about 20 minutes away. My sister loves the touch tanks. Have you seen the Aquarium of the Pacific "Tank on Wheels" display. They were at my university last semester and it was pretty sweet to see that as well. Link to comment
FlyGTI Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 Great stuff Gil. I've got a trip to go backstage at the Doorly Zoo's aquatics exhibit out in Omaha in May. I'll try and get some good pictures of that and post 'em. Link to comment
Gilman Posted January 22, 2004 Author Share Posted January 22, 2004 Thanks for the responses JL I haven't seen the tank on wheels before. Sounds interesting thats for sure. I was totally impressed with the aquarium and exhibits. Truly amazing the scale which they are dealing with for some of the exhibits. They use restaraunt quality food to feed the fish. I was in their freezer and saw boxes of cod fillets etc. A girl passed me in their kitchen with a block of frozen krill that was HUGE. Not sure where they were going to end up. With some of their fish, they log the diets to the ounce. They also watch carefully and weigh the seals food so they know who is eating what and when. They really keep tabs on the food intake of their creatures. The logistics behing it are quite impressive to see. Gil Link to comment
Gilman Posted January 22, 2004 Author Share Posted January 22, 2004 Some more photos..... This is some kind of encrusting acropora..... Not sure what type. Anglers Not sure what this one is... Panther Grouper Not sure what type of Grouper... More to come....! Gil Link to comment
Gilman Posted January 22, 2004 Author Share Posted January 22, 2004 Feeding that last Grouper! Gil ps. still more to come.... Link to comment
supernip Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 The red one is a rhinopias frondosa. Gorgeous scorpion fish :woot: Link to comment
JLTRUK Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 the aquarium on wheels is pretty sweet. imagine a u-haul truck with fish tanks inside. what they have on wheels puts most peoples home systems to shame/ i have some pics on my computer at home from my last Aquarium of the Pacific visist. As soon as I get home I will put them up so you can see em. Link to comment
Smokin-Reefer Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 "I've got a trip to go backstage at the Doorly Zoo's aquatics exhibit out in Omaha in May. I'll try and get some good pictures of that and post 'em." Fly I was just there on monday (granted not behind the scenes) But It's always amazing none-the-less. I wish I had a digital camera, It's really really really tight. anyways, Look for a huge porcupine pufferfish, It was a buddie of mines, his wife donated the fish to the zoo. they quarantined it, and now it is in display. It's huge. The jellyfish are also really sweet. and the pengiuns! geez, I need to relax. lol Link to comment
J-Bass Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Gil in the L B C. Sweet pics as always bro. Love the LB Aquarium. Got any shark pics?? Link to comment
Gilman Posted January 22, 2004 Author Share Posted January 22, 2004 J ya proof I left OC at least for a moment eh? grrrrr Gil Link to comment
bmxer Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 I'd have to saw Gil that is the coolest shark picture i've ever seen, nice work Link to comment
caja Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Wow, check out those teeth. Pretty cool Gil! Link to comment
FlyGTI Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 Gil, that shark pic is just WILD...:woot: Link to comment
drdrew Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 shark pic...new wallpaper. Link to comment
rehren Posted January 22, 2004 Share Posted January 22, 2004 do you have any more photos of the behind-the-scenes feeding and such? i think i'm heading over to the aquarium on monday... Link to comment
Gilman Posted January 24, 2004 Author Share Posted January 24, 2004 hah glad you guys liked the shark wallpaper. I will post some more behind the scenes stuff soon rehren. Definitely check it out if you have the chance. I will be going back soon to spend more time in front of the tanks shooting as soon as I can. Gil Link to comment
Gilman Posted January 24, 2004 Author Share Posted January 24, 2004 A shot showing the hallway behind the Clownfish, Baby Sharks and Upside Down Jellyfish exhibits. These tanks are all fiberglass on three sides and very tall. Link to comment
Gilman Posted January 24, 2004 Author Share Posted January 24, 2004 Here is the shark nursery exhibit from above. Shark eggs hang from the rings you can see in this photo. When the food hits the bottom these sharks really get moving and even try biting each other (harmless). Here is the back of the Grouper and Wrasses exhibit. There were also some large Eels in this exhibit as well. Feeding the eels was pretty crazy... Needless to say tongs were used for this. These guys hit the food pretty hard, and I'd be willing to bet they wouldn't want to give you your finger back. Another shot of an eel from the top. You can see a Cleaner Wrasse in this shot as well. Link to comment
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