View Full Version : Public Cephalopod Aquariums
SanClementeEric
Dec 08, '07, 12:30am
Has anyone compiled a list of public Ceph tanks?
For example, I know there are some Big Red Octos at the Morro Bay Aquarium in Morro Bay, CA.
I'll try to dig up some pics I have from there.
Can anyone else add to this list?
Great idea!
Here are a few I've been to:
MOTE in Sarasota, Florida
Steinhart Aquarium in San Francisco
Monterey Bay Aquarium
Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach CA
Is the Seattle Aquarium just called that? And what's the name of the one near the NRCC that Greg B works at?
edit: there's also a small aquarium near or on Fisherman's Warf in San Fransisco that has a GPO, or at least did in 2000...
There's an octopus and 3 cuttlefish here at the Birch Aquarium at Scripps, La Jolla, CA.
Not sure on the species. All I remember is that the cuttlefish were simple labeled Sepia. It wasn't dwarf.
Animal Mother
Dec 08, '07, 9:48am
There's an octopus and 3 cuttlefish here at the Birch Aquarium at Scripps, La Jolla, CA.
Not sure on the species. All I remember is that the cuttlefish were simple labeled Sepia. It wasn't dwarf.
There's actually 3 octo tanks at the Birch Aquarium. 1 GPO, and 2 Bimacs. One of the Bimacs is kept outside in a "tidepool" display :goofysca:. The care taker told me she's only seen it out once, but it's very big for a Bimac.
There is also a cuttle and GPO display at the Sea World in San Diego. Funnest GPO I've gotten to see.
GPO and Sepia pharaonis at Dallas World Aquarium.
Bit far afield for you guys but the New Zealand Marine Studies Centre and Aquarium (Dunedin, NZ) has NZ Common Octopus (Pinnoctopus cordiformis) and Midget Octopus (Octopus warringa/huttoni complex) and what we call "cuttlefish" Actually a bobtail squid (Sepioloidea pacifica).
J
tonmo
Dec 09, '07, 10:24am
Definitely a great idea. We should have a living document for this. A modification of the Tank Owner's Database would be good.
I know currently there is an octopus in the Camden, NJ aquarium as well as at the Baltimore aquarium.
Tintenfisch
Dec 09, '07, 2:47pm
Ooh, can I play too? :heee: Aquaria with cephs that I saw this year...
- Two Oceans Aquarium (http://www.aquarium.co.za/), Cape Town (cuttlefish and octopus)
- Monterey Bay Aquarium (http://www.mbayaq.org/) (I think they had an octo?)
- Steinhart Aquarium (http://www.calacademy.org/aquarium/), California Academy of Sciences (nautilus... maybe more if the new site is open now? Thales?)
- Thales' Personal Home Aquarium (wunderpus and cuttles 8-) )
- Waikiki Aquarium (http://www.waquarium.org/), Honolulu (octopus)
- Akvariet i Bergen (http://www.akvariet.no/engelsk/), Norway (octopus... O. rubescens I think?)
- Kelly Tarltons's Underwater World (http://www.kellytarltons.co.nz/home/), Auckland, NZ (Octopus gibbsi, [dead] Architeuthis dux 8-))
- the Auckland Museum (http://www.aucklandmuseum.com/) also has a live octo on display most of the time
Steve O'Shea
Dec 09, '07, 3:27pm
...and Midget Octopus (Octopus warringa/huttoni complex) ...
Not sure if there's a 'complex' there Jean. Is there something you're not telling us? Certainly the Fiordland specimens are larger than elsewhere, but the likelihood of their being an endemic in this region is exceedingly remote (and I'm not sure if there's a precedent).
I looked at this years ago, and couldn't differentiate those from around NZ, and NZ from Australian specimens, referring all to O.huttoni (Benham); I'd love research (genetic) to be done on it; is this happening?
Most public (and large private) aquariums have some sort of ceph exhibit, usually an octopus. If there's only one octopus, most likely it's a GPO, at least in the U.S.
Nancy
Not sure if there's a 'complex' there Jean. Is there something you're not telling us? Certainly the Fiordland specimens are larger than elsewhere, but the likelihood of their being an endemic in this region is exceedingly remote (and I'm not sure if there's a precedent).
I looked at this years ago, and couldn't differentiate those from around NZ, and NZ from Australian specimens, referring all to O.huttoni (Benham); I'd love research (genetic) to be done on it; is this happening?
Oooops bit of presumption and a typing slip here! I have no idea if these are a complex or not! I was reading about the O. horridus complex and it just slipped into my ramblings! I'd love to look into the genetics too.....hmm could be postdoc in that! Any idea on how long the larvae are in the plankton? There is some evidence that larvae that have a short planktonic period do not leave the Fiords (I'm thinking of Kina here). So that could be interesting to look at these small octopus from different locations and look at their genetic relatedness.......ponder, ponder!
J
shipposhack
Dec 17, '07, 6:01pm
The Living Planet Aquarium in Sandy, UT has a GPO.
Thales
Dec 17, '07, 8:35pm
- Steinhart Aquarium (http://www.calacademy.org/aquarium/), California Academy of Sciences (nautilus... maybe more if the new site is open now? Thales?)
- Thales' Personal Home Aquarium (wunderpus and cuttles 8-)
:grin:
Steinhart only has nautilus right now, still at the 'temp' site (though we start moving stuff next month!). Sadly, there aren't any firm plans for any other cephs at the new site.
DWhatley
Dec 17, '07, 9:45pm
Atlanta aquarium both cuttles and GPO displays.
SuzeAustralia
Dec 18, '07, 12:19am
Melbourne Aquarium in Australia has a Maori Octopus, a Sand Octopus (who just laid eggs and won't be with us much longer) and some Giant Cuttles.
esquid
Dec 30, '07, 3:36pm
-The New England aquarium in Boston has cuttlefish and a giant octopus. Last time I was there they had nautitus, but they are not listed on the site.
-The National Zoo in DC has cuttlefish(S. officinalis) and a giant octopus.
AquaForce
Dec 30, '07, 4:20pm
Riverbanks zoo in Columbia,SC Has at least one Octo (if not more, just remember one) and they have a nautilus tank.....
The South Carolina Aquarium, in Charleston,SC Generally has a O. vulgaris on hand in a smaller exhibit
L8 2 RISE
Dec 30, '07, 4:35pm
-The New England aquarium in Boston has cuttlefish and a giant octopus. Last time I was there they had nautitus, but they are not listed on the site.
-The National Zoo in DC has cuttlefish(S. officinalis) and a giant octopus.
The National Zoo in D.C. sometimes has cuttlefish, but they dont currently have any, the have a Giant Pacific Octopus, and they also have 3-5 nautilus on display and keep several more tucked out of site. (I live right next to the zoo so go there a lot and know some people that work in the invertibrate exhibit.)
Actually Im not sure about the cuttlefish, Last time I went--3-4 weeks ago-- there weren't any on display, but they may have had some behind seens.
Shadow Mantis
Jan 22, '08, 7:24pm
At the National Aquarium in Baltimore we currently have two chambered nautilus on display as well as our newest GPO, Miki. We did have two pharaoh cuttlefish on display for a brief period of time during the past spring/summer.
gjbarord
Jan 22, '08, 9:57pm
We have one Enteroctopus dofleini, three Nautilus pompilius, and usually four to six Sepia pharaonis or Sepia officinalis (but the exhibit is being overhauled right now) at the Aquarium at Moody Gardens.
I visited the Georgia Aquarium in December and they had one E. dofleini.
Greg
DWhatley
Jan 22, '08, 10:06pm
Greg,
I wish I had known you were here, we could have done a mini-TONMCON at the aquarium!
gjbarord
Jan 23, '08, 8:26am
It was a very brief trip. My girlfriend and I had my dog so we could not walk around the aquarium as long as I would have liked. I am sure I will be back...
Greg
DWhatley
Jan 24, '08, 2:42am
We are about 1.5 hours north of downtown but have a fenced yard (our neighbors dogs have actually dug INTO our fence to play with our overly large dogs) and a spare bedroom ;>) so let us know when you plan another trip this way!
fishkid6692
Feb 11, '08, 6:07pm
there's an O. Vulgaris at the maritime aquarium in norwalk,C.T.
they also have another octo but it's not on display.
daddysquoc
Feb 11, '08, 7:47pm
National Aquarium in Baltimore has a nautilus, a GPO, and a pharaoh cuttlefish(?)
flyngurnard
Feb 27, '08, 8:24pm
The North Carolina Aquarium at Fort Fisher has O. vulgaris and has had S. officinalis and S. pharaonis
:welcome: to TONMO, and thanks for the heads up on that aquarium...
craigl
Mar 02, '08, 10:23pm
At the new england aquarium there is a cuttle display and an octopus tank.
fishkid6692
Mar 03, '08, 12:59am
i'm going to the new england aquarium in a few weeks! i can't wait!
Deacon
Jun 18, '08, 9:56pm
If I might put in a plug for the Flint Riverquarium (in Albany, GA, about 3 hours south of Atlanta) we had a habitat with a female bimac who laid eggs. The kids really loved watching her tend them, then really enjoyed watching some of them grow up - our last one just passed at 12 months. Currently awaiting another female bimac - hope to have greater success this time.
monty
Jun 18, '08, 11:18pm
:welcome: to TONMO, and thanks for the info on the Flint!
Hi Deacon -- I hadn't heard of this, thanks for sharing. That is neat about the tending of eggs and the kids watching them grow up. Keep us posted on your next acquisition!
Deacon
Jun 22, '08, 10:45am
Received our female bimac on Friday - already on Saturday she was pole-feeding like a champ! Excellent color on her eyespots. I'm very excited.
DWhatley
Jun 24, '08, 12:53am
Deacon,
You might start a journal on your new octo and take the approach of recording the student's reactions and participation. Additionally, do you know for sure that this octopus is a bimac (ie did you get it from an educational institute?). I ask because the Caribbean 2-spot (Hummelincki) has often been misidentified as a bimac and there seem to be quite a number of the Hummelinckis showing up in the aquarium trade. The major importance would be the water temperature requirements since the Caribbean Hummelincki is warm water vs the coldwater Pacific bimac.
Deacon
Jun 24, '08, 7:37pm
We got her through a contact our curator made on this site, a researcher who collected her just for us (can't remember his name off the top of my head.)
chrono_war01
Jun 30, '08, 4:20am
There's a GPO..in our local aquarium in Hong Kong.
daddysquoc
Jul 01, '08, 10:12pm
in Perth, W. Australia, the AQWA has an. O. cf tetricus, and a group of beautiful native cuttlefish wit amazing purple colouration.
cuttlegirl
Jul 13, '08, 10:24am
The octopus at the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium has eggs. I think it is a GPO. I couldn't see little eye spots, so I am not sure if they are fertile. They are really tiny compared to mom... :shock:
cuttlegirl
Oct 06, '08, 11:39pm
I was back at the Pittsburgh Zoo and Aquarium today. The GPO is still there and so are her eggs. I didn't see any eyes but they are sooo tiny it would be hard to tell. The staff said that it has been three years since she could have had contact with another octopus, so it would be unlikely that they are fertile. She looks ok, her color is still good. She had an opened clam shell in front of her, still uneaten.
I just visited the new Steinhart Aquarium and California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park, and got a bit of extra tour from Thales, who works there. The cephs on display at the moment are one GPO, who was being shy and hiding in a corner, and 3 Nautiluses (didn't catch which species.) The displays downstairs are quite good in a lot of non-ceph areas, including some nifty dragon pipefish, sea dragons, a number of large reef tanks, and quite a bit more. Although it's been completely redone, several of the styles of the old Steinhart were preserved: a lot of small, single-species tanks, a lot of amphibians and reptiles, and an alligator pit. Also, there is a 3-story sphere of "rainforest" and the planetarium is now inside another sphere in the museum. There is also a display on Humboldts that has a pickled squid in a big jar that's pretty impressive. Thales took be behind the scenes a bit to see some of the plumbing, and some animals not on display, including a "backup" GPO who was easier to see and a bit more outgoing.
Overall, I had a great time... two thumbs up! I recommend getting advance tickets on the web, since they were sold out of general admission tickets, but that may have been more because it's winter break for a lot of students than because this'll be a regular occurrence.
L8 2 RISE
Dec 24, '08, 11:10pm
Since this has been bumped, I'll add in. If you live in the DC area, it will be great for you ceph lovers to visit the invert house at the national zoo in about 3-4 months. They just got 5 young officinalis, are about to get some (number unknown :roll:) pharaonis, currently have 10-15 nautilus (and they are actually breeding!), 2 GPO's, one of which is pushing on 5 years old, and at some point in the FORESEEABLE future, will be getting flamboyants. I've actually been given the ("joyous" :banghead:)task of helping to write the species acquisition form for the flamboyants. Joyous because, we are in a mammal world where, when the appropriate people at the zoo see the words - cuttlefish, invert, and poisonous together on paper, they freak and we will have to convince them that flamboyants are no more "dangerous" than the sea apples they already have and took 1.5 years to attain due to the work it took to convince the "bosses" that they didn't pose a "danger to guests", however, it is a rather simple matter to get a lion, tiger, and especially at the national zoo, cheetah :mad:. So I'll definetly be looking to you guys for help.
On a different note, if anyone is going to be in the area, shoot me a PM and I should be able to work up something special for you at the invert house :wink:. Especially because the older of the two GPO's is behind the scenes and can't really be seen without going back there.
Thales
Dec 25, '08, 9:21am
Do you know Tamsen?
L8 2 RISE
Dec 25, '08, 9:57am
yes!, that's who wants me to help convince the mammal lovers :bonk: